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My blog posts from my LIS 724 course where I have all of my assignments and projects I worked on!

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Hello and welcome to my little spot on the Internet! I am a former elementary school teacher, turned librarian. This is a place where I will be sharing some of my thoughts, and more!

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I created this escape room activity to use with patrons around Halloween!

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This was a fun project where we created a Makerspace for our library.

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Very fun project creating a flyer for an event at the library.

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I really enjoyed using Canva to create many of my school projects including presentations, flyers and more!

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Login to access and create your next design.

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Google Slides is another place to create great presentations!

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Beautiful presentations created together

Create and edit polished presentations in your browser-no software required. Multiple people can work at the same time so everyone always has the latest version.

Works across PCs, Macs, mobiles and tablets

View or even present your slides from your phone or tablet, so you always have the option to practice your presentation up until the last minute.

Unlimited revision history

Presentations get saved automatically online and versions are kept indefinitely without counting toward your Drive storage, so you can always track and undo revisions.

Simple sharing controls

Sharing is simple. You can assign permissions to control who views and edits your slides. You can also easily convert your Slides into the desired format to share with others.

What kind of features does Google Slides offer?

You can draw charts and diagrams, insert objects and shapes, format text and images, enable animations and much more.

Can I convert other presentations into Slides?

Yes. You can convert many different files types into Google Slides format. The original file will remain intact.

How does co-editing work?

Co-editing means that multiple people can work on the same slide at the same time. Sharing settings allows you to control who can view and edit a slide, and revision history enables you to revert to earlier versions. Also available in Google Docs and Sheets.

Start today - it's easy.

If you need help there's 24/7 email, chat, and phone support from a real person.

Get started

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Google Slides: Online Presentations for Business | Google Workspace

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Use Google Slides to create beautiful presentations together. Share, collaborate, and start quickly with pre-made templates. Get Slides as part of Google Workspace.

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Eye opening information about what we are sharing when we agree to the "terms of service"

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You can access most of the pages on the service's website without revealing any personal information

Your personal data is not sold

An anonymous payment method is offered

How it works

ToS;DR aims to provide easy-to-understand summaries of Privacy Policies and Terms of Service through a transparent and peer-reviewed process.

Terms of service are reviewed by volunteer contributors, who highlight small points that we can discuss, compare and ultimately assign a score: "good", "neutral", "bad", and scariest of all, "blocker".

Once a service has enough points to assess the fairness of their terms, we use a formula to provide ratings from Grade A to Grade E:

Grade A - The terms of service treat you fairly, respect your rights, and will not abuse your data.

Grade B - The terms of service are fair towards the user but they could be improved.

Grade C - The terms of service are okay but some issues need your consideration.

Grade D - The terms of service are very uneven, or there are some important issues that need your attention.

Grade E - The terms of service raise very serious concerns.

No Grade Yet - Not enough information exists to accurately grade this service yet.

Right now you will notice that many services do not yet have a grade assigned. This is where you come in! Help us analyse more documents so that we may increase our coverage.

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'I have read and agree to the Terms' is the biggest lie on the web. Together, we can fix that.

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I didn't use this tool, but I would like to learn more about how to use it.

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millions use Screencastify to create amazing videos

/* Sets tab pane to display block instead of default display:none */ /* Allows CSS opacity transitions */ .w-tab-pane, .w--current { display: block; } /* Any .w-tab-pane that does not have webflow .w--curent sets opacity 0 */ .w-tab-pane:not(.w--curent) { opacity: 0; } /* Any element with .w-tab-pane that has .w--tab-active sets the opacity 100% */ .w-tab-pane.w--tab-active { opacity: 1; } /* Set the opacity transition to 1 second ease-in */ .w-tab-pane { transition: opacity 1s ease-in; }

Educator, student, marketer, engineer, gamer. Whatever part you play, you'll have simple, yet powerful screen recording and editing tools.
Learn more

Easily share your creations in multiple channels. Let more viewers watch, pause and rewind on their schedule while maximizing time by eliminating unnecessary meetings.
Learn more

Collect video assignments to ensure any team or student is heard. Track viewing activity and add interactive questions and more to ensure your message is understood.
Learn more

Educator, student, marketer, engineer, gamer. Whatever part you play, you'll have simple, yet powerful screen recording and editing tools.
Learn more

Easily share your creations in multiple channels. Let more viewers watch, pause and rewind on their schedule while maximizing time by eliminating unnecessary meetings.
Learn more

Collect video assignments to ensure any team or student is heard. Track viewing activity and add interactive questions and more to ensure your message is understood.
Learn more

loved by everyday video creators

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Screencastify | Screen Recording and Video Editing

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Screencastify is the leading screen recorder for Chrome. Install the extension to record, edit, and share videos in seconds. Create video class assignments, training and tutorials, and make business communication faster.

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Vimeo was easy to use to create a video, but I didn't like that you had to pay to download your videos.

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Vimeo Interactive Video Experience Platform

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Record, upload, cut, crop, trim, make GIFs, and more. Not sure where to start? Creating content is easier than ever with our AI script generator and AI-powered editing. And you can always elevate your video by adding interactive, clickable elements.

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Honestly, one of my favorite tools to share videos. I love how easy it is to upload and edit things.

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This were helpful tips!

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5 Little Things You Can Do To Improve Your Videos - Classwork

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Whether for it is for education or entertainment we are all watching more videos than ever before. We have more tools to record and share videos than ever

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Resources curated by Mariela Siegert - a wealth of information!

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This course provides an overview of media technologies used in the teaching/learning process. Emphasis is given to effective utilization of media (including interactive and multimedia technologies); facilitating creation/production of media by students and teachers in elementary, middle, and

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Very useful and a good reminder of how to use accessible fonts for flyers and digital creations.

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To be clear; using accessible fonts is not optional. If you use an inaccessible font on your website, you run the risk of legal action. Using accessible fonts that conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is essential for compliance with key web accessibility laws in the US.

What are accessible fonts

Not all fonts have been designed with web accessibility in mind. Size, color, and contrast are the three key factors that determine whether a font is accessible.

To meet the principles of inclusive design, it's important to pick a font that is simple, unembellished, and clear. One of the easiest ways to narrow down your options is by knowing what features to avoid in a font. Inaccessible fonts tend to have one or more of the following characteristics:

Make content more difficult to read

Make it difficult to distinguish between the shapes of different letters and characters

Slow the reader down

Make it hard to separate one letter from another with overlapping characters or letters

Are decorative or include unnecessary adornments

Are specialty display fonts, such as hand-writing style, custom, or cursive

Why are fonts important for web accessibility

Most of the web's information - and the value your business offers - is communicated with text. With more than 32 million Americans experiencing vision loss, you risk endangering your reputation and commercial success by ignoring this group's website needs. This figure includes Americans who experience trouble seeing even when wearing corrective lenses or contacts. And that number will continue to swell as the American population grows older and experiences more age and disease-related issues with their vision.

It's not just people with visual disabilities who struggle to read certain fonts. People with learning difficulties like dyslexia can also be sensitive to certain typefaces. Your choice of font type can greatly impact their level of readability too. It's worth noting that dyslexia affects up to 20% of the US population.

By ensuring your website fonts are accessible, you can better reach this significant section of the population and safeguard your brand reputation as an organization that takes inclusivity seriously.

Besides being the right thing to do, using accessible fonts on your website is the only way you can avoid violating accessibility standards set out in US law. Using an inaccessible font can result in severe legal and financial penalties such as fines, lawsuits, and other enforcement actions.

Check your page accessibility score

Check if your page is accessible with our free website accessibility checker:

On what type of content should I use accessible fonts?

When selecting an accessible font, remember that accessibility and digital inclusion don't start and end on your web pages. Consider all the ways that you use written communications to connect with your target audiences, such as emails, landing pages, PDFs, videos, and images.

All these content formats should be written using the same font throughout. If that's not possible, as few font types as possible should be used.

It's a good idea to specify your accessible font choice in your brand guidelines and ensure all website stakeholders are aware of the varying web accessibility levels of different fonts.

Best fonts for web accessibility

To achieve web accessibility and minimize confusion for your website visitors, you should use as few fonts as possible across your website. But that rule doesn't help with picking the best font for web accessibility. It's not always obvious which fonts are accessible. Neither Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act nor the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specify requirements for choosing an accessible website font.

Fortunately, accessibility standards like WCAG help shine a light on which fonts provide the most inclusive website experience for all users.

Top accessible fonts

The good news is that you don't need to invest in a specialist, custom font to make your website's content accessible. Many standard and widely available fonts score highly for web accessibility. The most accessible fonts are Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman.

Slab serif fonts including Arvo, Museo Slab, and Rockwell are also considered to be accessible. These font types are mostly used in headings rather than the body text.

You may have heard that sans serif fonts are more accessible for screen reading. However, as the research is not conclusive either way as to whether serif or sans serif typefaces are more readable, the decision is up to you. For the best outcome, it's recommended to pick common fonts or font families that have strong and unique characters.

Fonts to avoid

You should opt for more common fonts over less popular ones, to increase the likelihood of your website visitor's device being able to correctly display it.

Avoid fonts featuring "imposter letter shapes" that are designed to be very similar to other letter shapes as part of their visual style, such uppercase Is, the number 1, and lowercase Ls.

What is the best font size for web accessibility

Even if you've chosen an inclusive font, your website text might still be inaccessible. Some of your website visitors will need larger or smaller font sizes for optimal reading. Using the wrong sized font can also result in your content being non-compliant with web accessibility standards.

Avoid this by:

Enabling your website visitors to increase or decrease text size without zooming in on everything else on a page.

Ensuring your text size allows your content to be displayed properly on a full range of devices, including mobile, tablets, and screen readers.

When it comes to font sizes, there are four different measurement units:

1. Ems (em). Defines a font size relative to the size of the parent element in an HTML page.

2. Rems (root ems). Relative to the font size of the root element in HTML.

3. Pixels (px). Aren't measured against a base element. They are an absolute unit of measurement.

4. Points (pt). Another absolute unit of measurement.

It's recommended to define font sizes in relative units such as percentages, rem, or em, instead of absolute units of measurement like pixels or points. In some browsers, it's not possible to zoom in on text set in pixels separately from the rest of a web page. Using relative font on the other hand, allows text to be resized appropriately across multiple devices and platforms.

But when it comes to sizing, accessibility legislation like the ADA and standards like WCAG do not specify an official minimum font size for web text. That doesn't mean that any font size is accessible - if text is too large or small, it can be too challenging to read. So, it's best to enable your website visitors to choose their optimal font size themselves via zooming-in.

WCAG compliance standards stipulate the following zooming-in requirement for text accessibility: "Except for captions and images of text, text can be resized without assistive technology up to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality."

Font color and color contrast for web accessibility

Color: When it comes to website design, color is often used to impart meaning. Such design choices can actually make your content inaccessible.

To make it easier for everyone to accurately see and perceive your content, WCAG recommends that font color should not be used as the only visual means of conveying information. That includes using color differences to prompt a user response or to interpret a visual element on your web page, such as colored but not underlined hyperlinks in a sentence or items in a list where some are presented in colored text to show a difference.

If you must use font color to communicate information, be sure to include alternate visual indicators to help people with low color perception to accurately interpret it. This might include actions like underlining, bolding, italicizing, or using other discernable cues that don't require full color vision to make it visually distinct from the surrounding text.

Contrast: It's helpful to note that accessibility laws and guidelines don't expressly prohibit the use of any specific colors or color combinations for web text. Instead, color contrast is the measure used to measure accessibility compliance.

Color contrast refers to the color contrast between the text and the background it's displayed on. Using sufficient color contrast for your text makes it easier for everyone - and especially people with low vision - to see your web text clearly. Too much (or too little) contrast can both cause problems. Think about trying to read colored text with a low contrast - like grey text on a white background - on a sunny day outdoors.

Black text on a white background is the default for web content, but many websites deviate from this for branding and stylistic reasons - and not all these combinations will be accessible. Helpfully, WCAG guidelines clearly state the contrast levels required for text to be deemed accessible:

Headings: Contrast ratio for large-scale text should be a minimum of 3:1.

Main Text: For text other than headings, a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 should be maintained.

Logotype: Text which is a part of a logo or brand has no contrast requirement.

Incidental Text: Text which is part of an inactive user interface, pure decoration, invisible, or part of a picture, and does not convey meaningful information, has no contrast requirement.

If you're not an expert in web accessibility, using a professional color contrast checker tool, like Siteimprove's Color Contrast Checker, is the easiest and most reliable way to check the accessibility of your web text's color contrast ratios.

Conclusion

Ensuring your website only uses accessible fonts makes your content easier for everyone to read and enjoy and helps you stay compliant with landmark accessibility laws, like the ADA and Section 508.

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Accessible fonts: How to choose a font for web accessibility

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To be clear; using accessible fonts is not optional. If you use an inaccessible font on your website, you run the risk of legal action. Using accessible fonts that conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is essential for compliance with key web accessibility laws in the US.

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This is a great resource and quick reference!

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How-To Guides | Accessibility Resources at UNCG

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Explore practical how-to guides on digital accessibility. Learn simple steps to create inclusive, accessible content for all users.

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QR Codes

A QR Code (it stands for "Quick Response") is a mobile phone readable bar code that can store website URL's, plain text, phone numbers, email addresses and pretty much any other alphanumeric data.

The QR Stuff QR Code Generator allows you to create either dynamic or static QR codes and download them for immediate use

Storing up to 4296 characters they are internationally standardised under ISO 18004, so a QR code is a QR code all over the world - they've been big in Japan forever, broke into Europe and the UK a few years back, and are now popular in North America.

Think "print-based hypertext links" and you'll get the idea.
Click here for more information about QR codes or visit the QRStuff QR Code Blog for QR code articles, tips and tricks.

Scan QR Codes

The QR Stuff QR Code Scanner allows users to scan QR codes simply and easily from within your browser with no need to download and install a QR code scanning app or QR code reader software. Simply go to Scan from the menu bar at the top of this page and after granting access to your device camera, you're ready to scan a QR code using your laptop or mobile device.*

Create Free QR Codes

Our QR Code Generator is FREE for anyone to use with no sign-up or account required - fully functional, 100% ad-free, permanent QR codes that don't expire. Generate as many QR codes as you need for FREE with no restrictions on commercial use. No time limits, just free QR codes you can use with confidence straight away.

Dynamic QR Code created without a subscription are subject to 50 scans per month per QR Code.

23 free qr code data types

Free users can access 23 of our 30 QR code data types (PDF, Image and Attendance Tracking require a paid subscription). Websites, YouTube, Google Maps? Meh! Everyone gives you those, but our free users can create fully functional non-expiring QR codes for App Store Downloads, Dropbox file sharing, SMS and email messages, Bitcoin, Paypal and more. And you can create as many of them as you like.

Download, Print Or Email Your QR Codes

Once you've created your QR Codes you can download them as PNG image files, print them as sheets of stickers, or email them to yourself or someone else. Just choose the Output Type you need.

100% Ad Free QR Codes

Our QR codes are guaranteed 100% ad-free, even for free users, so you can get on with promoting your product without someone else's brand getting in the way. By the way, if you do see an ad after scanning one of our QR codes, the scanning app that you're using put it there.

Custom QR Code Printed Products

Generate your own QR Code and then you and your code are sent to the Zazzle print-on-demand website to add your QR code to a t-shirt, a coffee cup, a hat, business cards, stickers, and more - all ready for immediate purchase, printing and delivery direct to your door.

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ll➤ Create non-expiring free QR codes with our online QR code generator ➤ No sign-up required ✓ QR codes for websites, images, menus, Instagram & more.

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1440 Daily Digest: News, sports, entertainment & culture

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1440 is the morning digest with everything you need to know. We deliver a daily email to keep you up to date on sports, tech, culture, business, & more.

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Good resource for how to use AI in libraries.

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As artificial intelligence continues to grow by leaps and bounds, how is AI technology manifesting itself in our public, academic, and school libraries?

AI-Powered Patron Assistance

Library digital services contain an amalgam of third-party e-media collections and software solutions, which we try to present as a unified library experience. While libraries have experimented (and continue to experiment) with using AI-powered chatbots ourselves, many of our vendors are increasingly rolling out sophisticated, patron-facing solutions. For example, library digital content distributor Overdrive now employs AI-assisted support to answer patron service FAQs.

In the near future, such vendor provided chatbots will become both increasingly commonplace and capable. Between these offerings, and the development of library-administered AI services that are likely to follow, an umbrella of 24/7 patron assistance options should continue to expand.

Marketing & Design Tools

Possessing limited marketing budgets, libraries often struggle with securing quality stock images and graphics. With the rise of automated image theft software, the use of graphics sourced from an internet search can be risky, even when the content purports to be copyright free! AI-generated images can provide a good on-demand option, and are especially useful when your need is an esoteric one! Canva's Text-to-Image Generator is an add-on to software already popular with libraries, while Craiyon, Midjourney, and other options exist. Even as text-to-image generators evolve, work is rapidly progressing on AI-generated video options!

Library Programs and Services

As with any emerging technology, the library has an important role in navigating disruption within our communities. Libraries can offer lecture-style programs helping patrons to understand the basic concepts of AI, its common uses, and the ethical debates surrounding the technology. We can also provide hands-on opportunities to utilize AI image generators, chatbots (such as ChatGPT), and even to train an artificial intelligence using Google's Teachable Machine.

Libraries have long taught media literacy. The rise of AI is both a challenge and an opportunity in this regard. As critical consumers (and referrers) of information, library staff must familiarize themselves with the new tools of the trade, which now includes discerning deepfakes and identifying AI-generated textual content (particularly important in school/academic settings). As these skills are learned and put to use in reference services, they must also be taught to our users. As students engage with AI-powered chatbots capable of writing reports, librarians (and educators more generally) will need to determine how to coexist with such tools in a learning environment.

ChatGPT as a Brainstorming / Troubleshooting Tool

AI bot ChatGPT has many staff-facing applications within a library setting. Some library staff may fall into the role of an accidental web-designer; ChatGPT can provide simple code from a text prompt, as well as troubleshoot existing sections of code. Posing a question to AI may generate a list of suggestions and arguments that are often a good starting point for tackling day-to-day problems. ChatGPT can also be an excellent antidote to writer's block, generating a starting point for a report that you can refine. Finally, while it may come as a shock, library managers may on occasion find themselves having to compose fairly rote memos! ChatGPT can rather effectively turn a few bullet points into a functional staff memo/email which can be lightly edited to match the tone and specific characteristics of your organization.

Impacting Collections and Collection Development!

AI-powered collection development tools will soon find their way into libraries. These tools can offer deeper, more powerful insights into materials, utilizing the full text of titles in the creation of lexile scores and the performance of diversity audits. Looking to audiobooks, the comparatively low cost of AI narration is likely to increase the number of titles published annually-a situation that is both concerning for narrators while potentially beneficial to overall collection accessibility.

Until Next Time!

We have only just scratched the surface in the field of AI. The years to come will present both challenges and opportunities to libraries as we navigate the shifting sands of what promises to be an extraordinarily impactful technology!

I hope you've found this post useful. If you're looking for a speaker for your event feel free to reach out! I cover emerging technologies, staff training, library tech trends, tech on a budget, change management, and more!

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How Can AI Be Used in Libraries? - The Digital Librarian

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As artificial intelligence continues to grow, how is AI technology manifesting itself in our public, academic, and school libraries?

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Love this, AI is so demonized, but it can also be used for good.

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Why Content Curation has become a vital skill for students

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Why Content Curation has become a vital skill for students

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Cut and dry, well-organized article about what curation is and how to get started with it.

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The term "curate" has become a buzzword in education. I've seen it referenced in TEDx Talks and tossed around in Twitter chats. It's easy to write off buzzwords as trendy. But what if an idea is trending for a reason?

We live in a world of instant information, where ideas go viral without much thought regarding accuracy and validity. It's a place where content is cheap. Cheaper to make. Cheaper to share. Cheaper to consume. The traditional gatekeepers are gone, which is great for students. They can create and share their work in ways that were previously unimaginable. But there's a cost. The best stuff doesn't always rise to the top and, if we're not careful, we mistake the speed of consumption for the depth of knowledge.

In recent years, we've seen the rise in popularity of a group of bloggers that specialize in content curation. In a world of information saturation, curation has become a critical skill. Curation goes beyond simply collecting items online. The best curators know how to find what is best by immersing themselves in a niche area while also making surprising connections between ideas in seemingly unrelated worlds. Curators find specific excerpts that are relevant in the moment but also timeless. They can explain the purpose, the context, and the necessity of what they are citing. Often, a great curator adds a perspective and a lens without quite reaching the place of commentary.

Farnam Street Shane Farnam has a description on his blog, "I want to go to bed each night smarter than when I woke up. I also want to live a meaningful life and become a better person."

Brain Pickings: Maria Popova is amazing. If you want a glimpse into her process and her personality, you should check out her interviews on the Tim Ferris Show.

Open Culture: I love the way they find seemingly random free items from our culture.

Mental Floss: Like Fast Company, Mental Floss is actually a magazine. However, they often curate information in a way that makes it deliberately popular. They use catchy titles and listicals in an approach that is the complete opposite of Brain Pickings.

I'm drawn toward an archaic definition of the term. It originally had a much more earthy, even gritty, connotation. Some linguists tie it back to the Medieval Latin word curare, which meant "to cure an illness." It had a connotation of providing loving attention and management. Other linguists tie the word "curator" goes back to the word curatus, which meant, "spiritual guide,"or "one responsible for the care of souls." I love both of those concepts.

Over time, this word morphed into an intense care and love for a particular subject, knowledge, or set of artistic works. Art curators were the ones defining the spaces in museums. Historical curators picked out key resources and shared it via conversation at the archives.

A curator is one who collects and manages information with a passion and love for the subject. Which is a wonderful endeavor. But I've noticed that some of the best curators are able to tap into that original sense of being "one responsible for the care of souls." As teachers, this is what we do. We help students grow in wisdom. We're curators.

But that's also what we want with our students. We want them to both an excited passion and a nuanced care for what they are learning. We want them to pay attention to context and purpose in the information they consume. We want them to make connections and provide their own lens.

Content curation begins with an intense love of the content. Think of gallery curators. They get giddy over the seemingly random (and yet almost impossible to replicate) approach of Jackson Pollock. However, they can engage in a two-hour discussion on the relationship between kitsch art and postmodern philosophy. They are both geeks and sages.

Curators have a holistic, connected knowledge combined with thoughtful commentary. While there is an overlap with criticism, curators are more likely to geek out on the subject in a way that is explanatory instead of evaluative. This is often combined with a desire to make a work accessible to the public. Both curators and critics are the gatekeepers of information. However, while critics are the ones shutting the gates, curators are often the ones who open the gates and convincing people to come inside.

If all of that seems too abstract, here are a few things that are a part of the curation process:

Searching for Content: The best curators are the ones who can find content that not everyone notices. This is what makes Maria Popova of Brain Pickings so amazing. She has this way of finding content that people are missing, looking in places we've overlooked.

Geeking Out on Content: The best curators are able to collect and consume great content. It's not mindless consumption. It is mindful and relaxed but also sharp and analytical. One of the things I've noticed about great curators is that they scribble notes all over the margins of books and yet they feel the complete freedom to skim and skip when necessary. They know how to find the information that actually matters.

Organizing Content: Curation often involves placing content into categories or themes. Often, students will try and figure out the "right" way to organize the information, because schools typically teach students an external organizational system. However, this sense of classification is deeply personal and should mirror the way that students think. It's a chance to engage in tagging and categorizing in a way that feels meaningful to the students.

Making Connections: The best curators are able to find connections between seemingly opposite artists, ideas, or disciplines in ways that make you think, "Man, I never considered that."

Finding Trends: This aspect of curation is a little more analytical. Sometimes it even involves picking apart data or crunching numbers. It's the idea of looking at information across several spaces and finding specific trends. This is often where someone arrives at a different, counterintuitive conclusion.

Adding a Unique Lens: Curators rarely write long, in-depth explanations of the content. There's typically a certain clarity and brevity in the commentary they add. When done well, a curator almost seems invisible, moving along the snippets of content. And yet, over time, you begin to appreciate the subtle personality and voice of a curator. If the critic and commentator are shouting their opinions, the curator is gently whispering people away from distractions and toward something awesome.

Sharing the Content: Content curation has the end goal of getting great content into the hands of a larger audience. It is deliberately others-centered, even when the curator is introspective. Sometimes, the goal is to provide a set of practical information into the hands of readers. Others are more about offering something intriguing, even if it's not inherently practical.

1. Model content curation. Notice that few students walk into class with curation skills. We live in a consumer culture that values speed and amusement over slower, deliberate thought that is needed in curation. It's not surprising then, that teachers often need to model the curation process.

2. Let students geek out. Curators are natural geeks. They get excited about ideas and topics within their domain. They engage in research in a way that feels like an adventure. If we want students to engage in content curation, we need to let them geek out. Tap into their prior knowledge and let them run with it.

3. Spend more time on it. Content curation takes time. Take a look at any master curator and you'll see this commitment to time. There's no way around it. If you want to see students curate, you have to carve out specific time for it.

4. Begin earlier. Traditionally, teachers wait until the end of the year to have students do research. It's usually part of a multi-week project. If you begin at the beginning of the year, they will slowly learn the art of curation as the year progresses.

5. Let students own the process. They should choose the topics, the questions, and the sources they find interesting. This could connect to research, silent reading, blogging, or Genius Hour. It's also important to let students choose the platform. Curation can happen in a journal or a notebook if they want to keep it private. Or it could happen in a blog, in a podcast, or in a video series. In some cases, visual curation sites like Pinterest can work for students who want to organize things in a spatial manner.

People often say things like, "the teacher is no longer the source of information now that students can curate it themselves." This is typically accompanied by the term "guide on the side" to describe a teacher's role.

While I see some validity in this sentiment, I think it proves that now more than ever, teachers need to be curators. They need to be geeking out on their subjects. They need to help students figure out where to go. Yes, they might be "on the side," but they are still guides, helping students navigate the terrain for the first time ever. And that's precisely what a curator does. We curate so that we can help students learn the art of content curation.

Teachers are already curators. We piece together resources, research, and ideas as we develop lessons. We curate the content that we teach. This isn't anything new or groundbreaking. It's what happens when we find a great book or video and share it with our students. It's what happens when we share our favorite sites with our colleagues.

But what if we take this art of curation and teach it to our students as well?

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Why Content Curation Has Become a Vital Skill for Students

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The term "curate" has become a buzzword in education. I've seen it referenced in TEDx Talks and tossed around in Twitter chats. It's easy to write off buzzwords as trendy. But what if an idea is trending for a reason? We live in a world of instant information, where ideas go viral without much thought regarding accuracy and validity.

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Image Candy provides you with a complete set of online image editing tools: convert, compress, resize, rotate, etc. 100% Free.

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Canva tutorials

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Tutorial on how to use WeVideo

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Curation List - Resources for Seniors in St. Charles, IL

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Curation List - Resources for Seniors in St. Charles, IL

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I created this curated list of resources that seniors at my library would benefit from.