MOOcing Experiences - 1st in a series of MOOC reflections

This is the first, of [what I hope will be] a series of posts on my MOOCing experiences over the past 5+ months. I hope they will provide food for thought to my fellow co-learners and aspiring/experienced curators. If you’ve been ‘following’ my journey using #metaliteracy, #dcurate, #teachinglibraryresearchstrategies on Twitter, this series is being written with you in mind as my primary audience.

It’s Friday afternoon and the following Canvas notification appears in my email:

This “Teaching Library Research Strategies” MOOC only started on January 27, and, in addition to replying to our individual discussions on the discussion board, our instructor has already posted 8 announcements!

I appreciate how this MOOC instructor helps keep learners engaged by posting notifications like this. [But I digress - that’s NOT the point of today’s post nor do I want to call your attention to the fact that there are some discussions (the RED arrows) that I need to read.]

Since I already know that my instructor is looking for some discussion, I go to this new ‘Announcement’ on the Canvas site.

The page is replete with links. The instructor has certainly gotten my attention. [You’ll remember that I am an Informavore and aspiring curator!] 

But I immediately notice that this "Friday update" appears to contain some verbatim text and doesn’t provide a link to the source! [This IS a course on research strategies, right?]

As I scroll down the page, I notice something about the References it provides:

I go in search of the original article and find that, although it indicates today as its last modification date, it actually dates from January/February 2002 [making these links at least 12 years old]!

So, just for the ‘halibut’, I decided to follow the breadcrumbs so my co-learners could be alerted to the status of these antiquated links and shared my findings with the instructor and my co-learners:

My takeaway: In reflecting on this journey through the 'Valley of the Shadow of Dead Links', I'm reminded that a good book is often a better source than a soon-to-be outdated curated list of Internet resources!

Have you had similar experiences? Share them in the comments section below.

And stay tuned for more "MOOcing Experiences".

From Seeking to Sharing: a story about PLNs and Curation

This is a story about my curation and my PLN [Personal Learning Network].

Most days, I end up filing the cornucopia of blog posts, listserv and RSS feeds that come across my browser or email inbox into folders. Occasionally, they ‘grab’ me, lure me into actually reading them and following their breadcrumbs. And, since I am currently engaged in the the free Curatr Digital Curation mini MOOC (Massive Online Open Course), put together by Sam Burrough and Martin Couzins,  I decided that this blog post would represent my ‘call to action’ – my ‘ah ha’ moment.

The post was an insightful analysis by Harold Jarche, a man I consider to be a PLN ‘guru’. Jarche’s visuals curate his Seek>Sense>Share continuum by placing these three elements into a grid comprised of sense-making and sharing:

http://www.jarche.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/PKM-quadrants-520x390.jpg

Jarche then takes Patrick Lambe’s 6 PKM roles[i] and plots them on the same coordinate grid based upon each role’s levels of sense-making and sharing:

http://www.jarche.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/PKM-6C-520x390.jpg

Being intrigued, I decided to further investigate Lambe’s 6C’s  to learn more about my own curation push ↔ pull tendencies. And, after answering his self-assessment questions, found that I was a ‘collector’. [No news there!] Reading Tan’s introduction, I was (only somewhat) mollified by his observation: “different people have different personality types, and different personality profiles in relation to their personal knowledge affinities and capabilities.” I tallied my ‘tendencies’ to visualize my profile:

How I Scored on Lambe's scale

Looks like I’m doing OK on Jarche’s SEEK and SENSE. My goal, however, is the upper right quadrant: to be actively sharing. Here, then, are the goals I derived from this exercise:

• relationship-building to enhance the ‘connection’ (especially with my audience) and
• packaging and presentation to be a more consistent ‘creator’

Mike Fisher did a nice job of visualizing the Collection/Curation dichotomy as a continuum. So I'll leave you with one more image to ponder:

and challenge you to think about where you’re spending your time and how to move your own efforts to the right-hand side. Try taking Lambe’s assessment and share what you learned about your own style and what you intend to do to modify it.

RESOURCES:

Fisher, Mike. "Collection or Curation?" Digigogy. N.p., 11 June 2012. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. <http://digigogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/collection-or-curation.html>.

Jarche, Harold. "PKM Roles." Harold Jarche: Seek > Sense > Share. N.p., 12 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. <http://www.jarche.com/2014/01/pkm-roles/>.

Taylor, Donald H. "Skills for 21st Century L&D Professionals." N.p., 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. <http://donaldhtaylor.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/skills-for-21st-century-ld-professionals/>.

Lambe, Patrick. "Personal Knowledge Management: A DIY Guide to Knowledge Management - Part 2." Green Chameleon. Straits Knowledge, 2002. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. <www.greenchameleon.com/thoughtpieces/pkm.pdf>.

Tan, Edgar. "Personal KM: a DIY Guide to Knowledge Management - Part 2." Green Chameleon. N.p., 23 Apr. 2003. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. <http://www.greenchameleon.com/gc/guide_detail/personal_km_a_diy_guide_to_knowledge_management_part_2/>.

Zierten, Charity. "What Is 'Content Curation' Anyway?" Socially Engaged Marketing, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. <http://www.sociallyengagedmarketing.com/2012/04/content-curation/>.

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[i] Notes on Lambe's types:

• Collector – mind-mapper, knowledge organizer
• Connector – conversation, relationship-builder
• Communicator – storyteller, targets audience
• Creator – originator, translator
• Critic – analytical, authenticity, reality-check
• Consumer - passive

Infographics as a Form of Curation

On 13 December, a SUNY Conversation in the Disciplines on "Developing Metaliterate Learners: Transforming Literacy across Disciplines" was held. Paige Jaeger summarized the proceedings by creating this infographic:

This got me to rethink my fascination with Infographics. While I DO love to write, as you've noticed if you've slogged through my previous posts, I appreciate the value of an image. It's not just that "a picture is worth a thousand words". An image 'sticks' in a way that words alone can't. Jaeger's visual summary 'resonates': like the lyrics to a favorite song, like the refrain from a tune. [If only I could turn my spreadsheets of data into something memorable like this!] 

SOURCE:

Jaeger, Paige. "Metaliteracy, Megaliteracy and Information Literacy! " LibraryDoor. N.p., 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. <http://librarydoor.blogspot.com/2013/12/metaliteracy-megaliteracy-and.html>.