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I used to think this was curating and wonder why students didn't utilize this hyperdoc

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I used to think this was curating and wonder why students didn't utilize this hyperdoc

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I currently share all resources in Google Classroom, with materials grouped by topic/unit. I think  decently limit resources that I share with students, and most of what I do share we interact with together during class time.

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"Then it carefully arranges those artifacts, starting with an introduction, often something written by the curators themselves to introduce the collection and provide us with meaningful context."

This made me think about the fact that I don't always introduce artifacts/materials very well, and that it something I want to do more often and more explicitly.

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Since I don't feel like this is a big struggle for me, I'm wondering if I'm not doing it well and just don't realize it. Or, maybe I should be sharing more resources that then need to be curated?

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I have hardly thought of being a curator in my class. I have been used somewhat dumping mode for my students. Start thinking how I can use curating in my class.

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Curation guidelines are really useful and helpful for me, curation starter. Especially, chunking resources into small sets is great takeaway!

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Feeling challenged in time manner-i might need a long time in transition from dumping to curating my lessons.

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What resonated with me was the use of curation tools that are teacher curated, but also student curated. I often use Wakelet as a great way to do both

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I think the thing I would add is a short introduction so that students know which of the pieces they wish to explore, rather than just clicking the first one

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The big challenge for a math teacher is what is really important to teach and how much are students ready for at any point in time.

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What resonated with me was that the curation process happens with end user and content in mind.

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Give students options when curating and  “Think of yourself less as a teacher and more as a designer of meaningful experiences.”

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As a mother of a child with ADHD, I definitely understand the sense of being overwhelmed with information. Also, coming off virtual learning after a year has had students need to figure out for themselves where information is. I think the proclivity in the beginning was to dump. It certainly was for me.

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As someone who has seen value in student choice, I think that I've been too quick to give too many choices. I think it's time to pull back just a bit.

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So much of the curating also has to do with design. Even considering white space is touted as being important. I think if we consider these design elements in other areas (classroom, documents, online spaces), students will feel less overwhelmed.

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Darcy: This article made me think of another one about single point rubrics. This is another place where design matters. The end-user cannot learn if she cannot stay engaged.

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The practice of using single point rubrics is slowly but surely catching on. The simplicity of these rubrics - with just a single column of criteria, rather than a full menu of performance levels - offers a whole host of benefits:

Teachers find them easier and faster to create, because they no longer have to spend precious time thinking up all the different ways students could fail to meet expectations.

Students find them easier to read when preparing an assignment. With only the target expectations to focus on, they are more likely to read those expectations.

They allow for higher-quality feedback, because teachers must specify key problem areas and notable areas of excellence for that particular student, rather than choosing from a list of generic descriptions.

Want to Learn More?

I first talked about this type of rubric in an earlier post ( Know Your Terms: Holistic, Analytic, and Single-Point Rubrics). If this is the first time you've encountered this type of rubric, reading this will give you some background knowledge on all the different types of rubrics and why the single-point deserves world domination.

To give credit where it's due, I did not come up with the name single point rubric. Although the idea for a simplified rubric with a single set of criteria came to me independently, when I went looking for academic support for its use, I found that the type of rubric I had in mind was given the name "Single Point Rubric" in 2000 during a conference presentation by someone named Mary Dietz. Attending that conference was a researcher named Jarene Fluckiger, who published a study on its effectiveness in 2010. (The reference to Dietz is in Fluckiger's paper, but no one named Dietz has published anything on the topic.)

Show Us Your Rubrics!

I urge you to take one of your most convoluted rubrics and make a single-point version of it. Then show it to the world, so other teachers can learn: Take a screenshot of it and post the picture on Twitter with the hashtag #singlepointrubric. If you aren't on Twitter or don't feel like doing this, just put a link to your rubric in the comments below. Help us start a movement to rid the world of ineffective rubrics!

Another Variation (Added in 2017)

After considering some of the limitations of this format, I played around with the rubric a bit more and came up with this variation:

The original version of the single point rubric allowed no space for actually pointing out when the student hit the standard, apart from maybe circling or highlighting the middle column. With this format, teachers can pinpoint where the student is on each descriptor, then offer feedback, either constructive, positive, or both.

To grab a copy of this for your own modification, click here.

Need Ready-Made Rubrics?

My Rubric Pack gives you four different designs in Microsoft Word and Google Docs formats. It also comes with video tutorials to show you how to customize them for any need, plus a Teacher's Manual to help you understand the pros and cons of each style. Check it out here:

Stick around.
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The practice of using single point rubrics is slowly but surely catching on. Try one for yourself and let us see it!

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Darcy: I often need help finding good sites for my students. I may need to reach out to colleagues or my librarian to help with better curation from the outset.

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Darcy: "Making it look nice" is hard for me. While page design has become easier, I wonder if a new platform would help. (I looked into elink--it looks good, but it is a pay to play platform, eventually.)

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I really like this new terminology - dumping vs. curating. The museum comparison was a particularly powerful example to help me see the difference. I do think that, in my enthusiasm to provide my students with a wealth of resources, I am sometimes guilty of overwhelming them.

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I really appreciated the list of resources towards the end that can help us to curate more visually appealing resource lists. Elink looks particularly promising, though I wish there were a less cost-prohibitive option.

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Ensuring that there are different platforms/delivery methods for students to access information (ie. reading/listening/watching)

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Time! Successful curation takes time, and I wonder where I can find this in my already very busy work life.

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I think that over the years I have progressed from a dumper to more of a curator. I like to provide choices, but experience has shown that offering too many is not effective for young children. I love the idea of considering ourselves as designers of meaningful experiences!

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The curation guidelines are very helpful. One practical next step I can implement is revamping the classroom library, with special displays, including student recommendations.

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A challenge in curating content will be to ensure that all learners can access this content. What kinds of classroom encounters with content will best accommodate diversity in student background and experiences?

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Using curation to enhance voice and choice in the learning process is something I have been working to implement across all of my classes. Sometimes I get rushed and go into dumping mode, but this solidifies my commitment to stay consciously with curation and not let myself get too invested in finishing a certain amount of content

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I haven't thought enough about the visual appeal of my curated resources and how to make them comprehensible via the use of space, image, font, etc. I would like to learn a bit more about some design principles that will make my curated content more engaging and not visually overwhelming.

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I feel challenged in thinking about design more strategically in my class. Traditionally, English class is about reading words on a page. I definitely don't want to lose the magical simplicity of that. But I also want to be able to engage students in learning experiences using the technology that connects them, so branching out to gain a bit more expertise in an area outside of my comfort zone is worth it!

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I am working on a challenging situation right now in which an exchange student from another country does not have the reading proficiency for the texts assigned to 9th graders and has other academic challenges too. I've spent the afternoon thinking about how I can engage this student with alternative materials that allow them to feel successful in our class discussions of the material. This makes me think that I also need to consider these types of learning needs as I curate content--how can I assure accessiblity to students across the spectrum of academic needs so that I am not only designing for a "default student"--most likely the "ideal student" I have in mind, not my actual students as they are.

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I love curation! I think I am getting much better at it. My husband is for sure a dumper and it drives me bonkers. I much prefer a "watch this" and then "this" and "these" are brilliant, type approach. When I am adding resources for kids I always try to summarize why they should bother clicking the link and what they will get from that click. But I also want them to develop the ability to choose and investigate for themselves so depending on their age, curation might look like: "These links will provide examples of student design projects" and then let them choose. Curation is everything.

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I definitely want to build a collection of artifacts. I am good at the digital curation but I think having some physical models and actual artifacts that kids can touch is my next step.

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I love the challenge of making a curated space accessible for future learning. I don't have a universal platform for sharing my resources that will outlive me at this school. I think schools underestimate the power of curation and digital curation tools that are designed to allow for development and curation over time and across subjects.

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Using curation tools that have built in accessibility options like Wakelet (w/ Immersive Reader) can help learners.