Reflecting on Effective Digital Curation

During the process of creating a checklist for curating digital content, I learned that curation is much more than simply sharing information. It is an in-depth process that requires much thought and consideration. Curating is not simply posting, tweeting, or sharing an article that I find interested or useful. It is a skill and a process that should be done with attention and intention. In researching and reading much about curation, it became clear that one must consider many things before posting content online. For example, it is important to consider your audience or network. It is also critical to find and select content from a reliable source because what you post is a reflection of yourself. If you post content with false or offensive content, then you will be perceived as an unreliable person. It is also important to post only content that is useful or relevant to those in your PLN or professional network. Another criteria for effective content curation that I learned to be extremely important, is organization. The more organized, ordered, searchable and easy to discover your content is, then the more effective you become as a digital curator. For example, using tags will help organize your content and it will help make it easy for others find what they are looking for. Overall, I learned that how you select, share and organize your online content is much like a digital footprint in the sense that it is a reflection of you as a person and you as a professional.

In regard to working with my PLN, this was a great experience. We were able to divide up the work and everyone did their part. We communicated all week via email and were able to do a great job. Using a shared document, we were able to add our criteria and also share resources and references. My PLN team members were creative, friendly and professional. It was honestly one of the most efficient and effective group project I've been a part of.