Thing 17 – Create content and content curation

If it wasn’t for thing 17 this week I would have had no idea about create content and content curation. This is extremely new to me.

First thing I did was find some meanings when it came to the terminology “content curation”

Thanks to Beth Kanter (www.bethkanter.org) I was able to understand what it all meant in a way I was comfortable with. Beth mentioned in her blog the following statement

 “Content curation is the process of sorting through the vast amounts of content on the web and presenting it in a meaningful and organized way around a specific theme. The work involves sifting, sorting, arranging, and publishing information. A content curator cherry picks the best content that is important and relevant to share with their community”

I also took the time out to look at the examples given on our 23 things blog. I managed to watch the YouTube clip for scoop.it. It was clear and easy to understand giving me a clearer picture as to what thing 17 is all about. A content curation tool I went and looked at in more detail was called “Flipboard”

Having an Ipad I decided to look at the Flipboard app. What I did love was that your personalized account gives you the same experience wherever you go, whether I am on an Ipad or an iPhone.  You can also connect with any social networks you may have like twitter or Facebook. What I like about Flipboard is that you can use the content guide to find anything that interests you say from a favourite blog to world news. I especially liked the terminology used on this app, that any content I find I can add these and then I can start “flipping”.  Flipboard is a great app when it comes to sharing photos, videos and even favourite sounds.

While I had the time I also had a closer look at “Scoop.it” I went to the home page for Scoop.it and took myself on their guided tour.

I could see Library staff using apps such as Flipboard and Scoop.it on library related topics. Maybe this could be used for library staff to place favourite book/s on a certain theme or topic. This could show our clients what books the ACU library staff enjoy. I think anyway we can engage our clients using apps or other social media is a plus in my mind.

I love the way how it looks like a magazine. The format is funky and easy to follow.

When it comes to online creation tools I took the opportunity to look at “Storybird” I decided to go straight to the webpage to delve deeper into this creation tool. What I did find really useful was the browse by topic function. It gave me a better understanding of what Storybird is all about. It was interesting to read all about things such as storyspotting and teachers and students using Storybird within a classroom environment.

http://storybird.com/books/about-us-a-peek-inside-storybird/ I found the following link to be quite useful when further understanding the Storybird format J

I can agree affirmatively with the Storybird mission of being an “advocate of imagination”

I can see Storybird being used as an app for creativity and the forming of new ideas.

Not only could content curation be used in the workplace it would also be a great way for individuals to express themselves in a creative format. If we are passionate about a certain “thing” then we could easily use apps such as scoop.it and Flipboard to our advantage in allowing others to read and to understand our personal “likes” away from the work environment.