Curating Content ~ a New Essential Life Skill

We take in a ton more information than we did in the past and therefore, it is essential that we are able to first, find good information, but then also store that information in a useful way, and finally be able to easily share it with others.  Sounds easy?   Well.... I am going to suggest that in this 21st century, this has gotten far more complex.

Finding good information
Sounds simple enough but keep these questions in mind...

What searching strategies will I use to find the information I need quickly and efficiently?  

A basic Google search may not be strategy enough to find the best, high quality information.  Please check out these resources to become a better Internet Researcher.

What To Do with the Information You Find

Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you with this content curation step......

     What is my goal with this information?  Why do I need this information?  

     If I save this information, when will I use it?

  

     Just how good is this information?  

               Is this information valid?

               Is the source of the information a source you can trust?

               Can the information be validated with another source?

     How or where will you store this information so you can easily find it?

     If your links disappeared tomorrow, could you remember all of them? 

     Are your links well organized?

Check out these links for information on a few ways to save and organize information online:

               Bookmarking in Chrome

               Diigo ~ Social  Bookmarking

               Pinterest

                     6 Great tools for content curation

                     Cool Tools for School:  Curation Tools

Sharing the Good Stuff

If you have found good stuff, and spent a good deal of time in doing that, and don't share with others, what good is that? 

     Do you have a way to share the resources that you are collecting with others?

     How are other educators around you sharing their resources? 

               

How To... Genius Hour

How do you facilitate Genius Hour in your classroom? How do you get started?  There are many answers, but here are some of the ideas I think I will try.

Step 1:  Have student brainstorm... "What is your Interest?"  "What is your Passion?"  "What do you do for fun?" "What do you want to learn more about"

Step 2:  Have student write and submit Wonder or Genius (Essential) Questions.  These questions:

Click here to learn more about Essential Questions

• are open ended ~ there is not one single, final, and correct answer
• are thought provoking and intellectually engaging ~ would be great for a discussion or a debate.
• warrant higher level thinking.  They can not be answered by recall alone.
• relate to multi-disciplinary concepts and are naturally cross curricular in focus.
• require information to be supported and justified, not just an answer.
• can be revisited over time.

It is not a question that you can Google the answer.  There is more to it than that!

Step 3:  Have students use the KWHLAQ chart and complete the KWH part to start their thinking and planning process.  H will help them think about the resources they can use to learn more about their topic.  A gets students to think about how they can take their learning and cause change or act on that or put the learning to use. Q is an essential part of the inquiry process.  For inquiry to be at its best, questions should always lead to more questions.  In fact, questions should always lead to more questions and things to wonder about. 

Image and idea from:  http://langwitches.org/blog/2011/07/21/upgrade-your-kwl-chart-to-the-21st-century/

Step 4:  At this point, I may have my students keep a learning journal, a learning log, or a learning blog to show and share their learning journey.  This would be their evidence of learning and growth.  This would also keep them accountable to the process and help them (and I) manage their time and progress.  Questions for students to use to reflect on their learning process could include:  

• What are you learning?  
• What is interesting?
• What ideas do you have?
• Reflect on what the process is like and why you are motivated to keep learning.

Step 5:  Share or present their learning.  Again, if you are truly embracing the idea of choice, this could take a multitude of forms.  I also believe that these projects are about the process, not the end product, so be careful that this doesn't become the focus. Keep presentations or sharing short and simple.  Use these questions to guide your sharing / presentation.

• What did you learn?
• Why did you choose this topic / subject / area?
• What did you make?  Show and share...
• What went well and what would you change?

References for my thoughts:
Juliani, AJ. Learning By Choice: 10 Ways Choice and Differentiation Create An Engaged Learning Experience for Every Student. Vol. 1. N.p.: CreateSpace Independent Platform, 2015. Print.

McTighe, Jay, and Grant P. Wiggins. Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

"Creating Passion Projects (Genius Hour)." What's Going on in Mr. Solarz' Class? N.p., 20 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 June 2015. <http://psolarz.weebly.com/mr-solarz-eportfolio/creating-passion-projects-genius-hour>.

Why Genius Hour?

I am really thinking that the concept of Genius Hour (or Passion Projects, 20 % Time, Google Time, FedEx Time, or whatever name we call it) has great potential to change your classroom. 

All of these names are truly cool names for Student Centered Passion or Interest Based Learning. 

Imagine......

If students have choice in their learning, you would see:

• an increase in student buy-in (students can't be bored if they picked a topic they are interested and passionate in)
• the responsibility for learning in the hands of the students (a great way to teach them many life skills of time management, motivation, etc.)
• great flexibility in learning (differentiation will occur naturally for students since they can go as far or push beyond their point of learning.)
• that students can embrace current or new passions.  You could also use this to target areas in the curriculum.  For example, you may want to enrich math, so students would choose a passion or interest that correlates with math.
• student growth.  These projects are not about the end product or mastery.  In fact, at the end of the project there should be more questions, not just answers.  Looking at the learning as a portfolio and over time (the school year) seeing the growth and depth of growth is the goal with these projects.  Plus, imagine all of the learning targets you will hit with this project. (higher level thinking, research, reading, writing, speaking & listening, presentation, etc.)

Click here to learn How to "Do"  Genius Hour

References for my thoughts:

Juliani, AJ. Learning By Choice: 10 Ways Choice and Differentiation Create An Engaged Learning Experience for Every Student. Vol. 1. N.p.: CreateSpace Independent Platform, 2015. Print.