APRIL 2016 VOLUME 16, NUMBER 4 Tips from the Pros

Tweeting as an Alternative to Interactive Self-Checks

Discussion Forums By Hannah Digges Elliott, Audrey Anton, and Andrew Swanson By John Orlando led students to think more deeply about course content because they any online courses still here has recently been quite a were forced to express themselves Muse static content such as Tbit of discussion on ways to use succinctly in order to fit the message readings, PowerPoint presenta- Twitter in education. But commen- into the 140 charter limit. The tions, and the like. Students are tators have said little about whether unlimited length of LMS discus- not “doing” anything other than Twitter offers advantages over consuming the information. traditional LMS discussion forums. We wanted to buck this trend Should the online instructor use by providing more interactive and Twitter instead of the tried and true When your cursor keeps engaging content. We did so by LMS? stopping during your creating the Conversations Linda Rohr and Jane Costello of with….Aristotle learning module Memorial University of Newfound- message, you are forced (http://bit.ly/1QQjVNx), an land compared tweeting to LMS to reflect on what you interaction that allows students discussion in their large enroll- to have a “conversation” with a ment online Human Kinetics and want to say. philosopher and answer a question Recreation course, and discovered about it afterward. Students work that Twitter does indeed produce in an animated environment where benefits over LSM discussion forums. sion postings allowed students to they can compare their answers Students were asked to tweet twice simply unwind their thoughts from against the philosopher’s and during the course in response to start to finish without going back express themselves in a fun and pre-assigned question prompts, as and considering what they said. But interactive way that resembles well as post to discussion forums. when your cursor keeps stopping the video game and role-playing They were also required to post a during your message, you are forced scenarios they so often use response to another student’s tweet, to reflect on what you want to say, recreationally. and were graded on the tweets, just picking out what is most important, When students enter the as they were for the LMS discus- and thinking about different ways to interaction, Aristotle greets them sion. Students then filled out surveys say it. This self-reflection improved and asks whether they are familiar about their experiences and the student understanding of the course with his Nicomachean Ethics. If researchers compared the tweets to content. they indicate that they are, he discussion postings. Students also felt more connected then asks them to explain his The surveys indicated that 71 to one another due to the real-time Doctrine of the Mean (feigning to percent of the students preferred interaction of tweeting. Tweeting is have forgotten it himself, since tweeting over traditional discus- sion. One reason was that Twitter Continued on page 6 >> Continued on page 7 >>

2 3 8 90+ Percent of Our Students Use Generating Lively Online Digital Content Curation Pinterest; Shouldn’t We? Discussion

5 The Whys and Hows of ePortfolios In This Issue

A MAGNA PUBLICATION TEACHING METHOD

President: William Haight ([email protected])

Publisher: David Burns 90+ Percent of Our Students Use ([email protected])

Managing Editor: John Orlando, PhD Pinterest; Shouldn’t We? ([email protected])

ADVISORY BOARD By Merryellen Towey Schulz, links, and why they thought the Jennifer Kolker, Kristin Haas, and links would be relevant to nursing. Randy Accetta, PhD Aline Paris Students presented their boards Mentor-in-Residence, Communication www.entrepreneurship.arizona.edu and what was learned about each nstructors today seek creative culture. All students continue to Toni Bellon, PhD Professor, Middle/Secondary Education Iways to use technologies with have access to these links, and have North Georgia College & State University which students are familiar as a a way to reference cultural links [email protected] means of improving student engage- when preparing for clinical experi- Jennifer E. Lerner, PhD ment. One good technology is ences or as they enter professional Associate Vice President for e-Learning Pinterest. Pinterest is a social media practice. Northern Virginia Community College [email protected] tool that has been described as a One of the other principles of “virtual bulletin board.” It allows this course is learning about visual B. Jean Mandernach, PhD students to group links from the affirmation and how marketing Professor & Senior Research Associate Grand Canyon University Internet to individual or shared media tries to be inclusive of such [email protected] pages with pictures and content. things as gender, race, and ethnicity John Orlando, PhD By designing effective Pinterest [email protected] classroom assignments, instructors can integrate visual representa- Lawrence C. Ragan, PhD Students were assigned Director- Faculty Development tions of their course content while World Campus providing students with useful to create personal Penn State University [email protected] resources that they can continue to Children’s Literature access after they have graduated. At our university, four instruc- boards on Pinterest that Online Classroom (ISSN 1546-2625) is published monthly by Magna Publications tors from a variety of backgrounds included books from each Inc., 2718 Dryden Drive, Madison, WI designed different classroom assign- 53704. Phone 800-433-0499; Fax: 608-246- of the seven literature 3597. Email: [email protected]. ments using Pinterest. Website: www.magnapubs.com. One-year Nursing (http://bit.ly/1OZjf5S) genres studied in class. subscription: $219 (Multiple print sub- Teaching the course Cultural & scriptions and Group Online Subscriptions are available. Call Customer Service Spiritual Care in Nursing requires at 800-433-0499.) Photocopying or time devoted to discussing diverse as a means of recruitment and other reproduction in whole or in part of appealing to a large variety of without written permission is prohibited. cultural and spiritual practices, POSTMASTER: Send change of address beliefs, symbols, and foods. This demographics. Students were asked to Online Classroom, 2718 Dryden Drive, class started by placing students to post to a single classroom board Madison, WI 53704. Copyright ©2016, Magna Publications Inc. into groups of four. Each group was with examples of how companies assigned to a unique cultural group. use visual affirmation. Not all Submissions to Online Classroom are Most of these cultural groups have students pinned correct images, welcome. Please review article submission guidelines located at www.magnapubs. a large presence in our community, which led to great discussions of com/catalog/online-classroom/ and nurses frequently interact with what constitutes visual affirmation Authorization to photocopy or reuse them. Students were asked to pin and what does not. Instructors can content from Online Classroom is available links to relevant health practices, also comment on the individual pins for academic institutions, businesses, and dietary practices, and informa- or discuss them in the classroom. individuals from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC). To see a list of options tion regarding spiritual beliefs. First-Year Seminar Pinterest available for you to reuse select content, Attention was given to beliefs on was used in a first-year seminar visit www.copyright.com or use the QR code to the right. You can also call CCC at medications, herbal remedies, family course on emotional intelligence. 978-750-8400 for more information. values, and death and dying that A class of 15 students was divided would be pertinent to professional into two groups. One group pinned nurses. Students were required to examples of how social media was a caption their pins with why they were chosen, descriptions of the Continued on page 4 >>

2 Online Cl@ssroom COLLABORATION

Generating Lively Online Discussion

By John Orlando posts and demonstrates that others for reasonable positions on either consider the topic interesting, which side. Of course, the faculty member iscussion is a critical component influences the students’ own percep- needs to monitor the discussion to Dof any online course, but faculty tion of how interesting the discussion make sure that it does not slip into are often puzzled about what makes is. A good way to preserve activity personal attacks, but fortunately this some discussions lively and others is to space out postings: Require an is rarely a problem in online courses. dead. To fill this gap, He and Gunter initial posting on Monday or Tuesday Leadership. While faculty often examined the factors that lead to and then a reply on Wednesday or set a minimum for participation, participation in virtual teams and Thursday. The instructor can also some people will naturally go beyond came up with principles that can set a regular schedule for adding that and become leaders in the help guide instructors in cultivating comments, giving the student a discussion. This is not a bad thing. a robust online discussion. reason to periodically check in to get These leaders can help seed new Reputation. People will share the latest updates. ideas, and a group without leader- knowledge with others when it Emotional bonds. Students are ship will have trouble getting going. enhances their reputation. It is easy more comfortable participating when The trick is to avoid having these to forget that students who speak they feel an emotional bond of trust leaders monopolize debate and thus in class are speaking not only to the and comfort with others. This is quash activity by others. Because instructor but to their classmates as what distinguishes discussions in there is no time limit to discus- well. They are cognizant of how they sion, as there is in a face-to-face appear to their classmates. Thus, course, one person’s posting does they are less likely to take risks People will share not prevent others from making postings. But too many postings by when there is an opportunity to be knowledge with others wrong in front of others. one person can create the impres- So instead of asking questions when it enhances their sion of an unbalanced discussion. This can happen when one person with objective answers that can be reputation. wrong, it is better to ask questions seems compelled to reply to all that allow students to express and others. Talk to anyone who seems defend their own views. Questions to be monopolizing discussions, but that allow students to bring in their an online course from the flaming understand that any group needs own experiences to illustrate a point posts on YouTube videos. The leaders, and so allow people to take provide an easy way to contribute instructor can facilitate this bonding leadership roles that help provide without fear of being wrong. by requiring students to post a bio the nudge that gets discussion going. Replies. Students are more at the beginning of the course, and You can even reach out to individual likely to get involved in a discus- the instructor should take the lead students to ask them to take leader- sion when they think that someone by providing a bio for himself or ship on certain discussions, as a is reading comments, and replies herself. Students, and instructors, coach does with particular players. are a measure of others’ attention. should be encouraged to make video Students will generally feel compli- Most online faculty require students bios—either using a webcam shot mented and respond positively when to make one or more replies to or “digital storytelling” format of this happens. other students in each forum, but narration over imagery—that better Following a few simple principles they often forbid students to make humanize them to others. will lead to exciting discussion in any simple “I agree” affirmations. While Task conflict. A discussion online class. these signs of approval should not where everyone is just repeating count toward a grade, students are what others say in different words Resource encouraged by seeing other students is not interesting. Faculty should He, J. & Gunter, G. (2015). approve of their posts, and so they facilitate “task conflict,” meaning Examining Factors That Affect should not be discouraged. disagreement about the task, not Students’ Knowledge Sharing within Activity. Students are more likely a personal disagreement, in order Virtual Teams, Journal of Interac- to get involved in a discussion that to generate interest. A discussion tive Learning Research, v. 26, n. 2, is already active. Prior activity gives question might ask for positions on 169-87. @ students more ideas for their own a controversial issue, one that allows

Online Cl@ssroom 3 << From Page 2 Students in two sections of the boards on Pinterest that included course Jesus Yesterday and Today books from each of the seven litera- positive influence on securing a job were assigned to search the Internet ture genres studied in class. For post-graduation, and the other was for images of Jesus, and to select each pin, students were required to a board on how social media could one that they found most meaningful provide a short summary, descrip- negatively impact someone seeking or appealing and post it to a private tions of notable features, grade level a job post-graduation. Students Pinterest board. Each student in which they would use it, and an were required to caption their pins wrote a comment under the image explanation of how they would use and comment on other pins. This that explained the reason for the the book in teaching. sparked debate related to respon- selection and how it related to the Technology in the Classroom sible use of social media in college content of the course. In class, the This assignment was intended and beyond. students presented their images and to be the beginning of a lifelong Occupational Therapy Students led class discussions about them. resource for preservice teachers. were placed into teams and invited to The discussion on interpretation Students in the course Technology a collaborative Pinterest board based of Jesus through art moved along in the Classroom were assigned to on the diagnosis of an assigned case smoothly because all the images evaluate technology resources for study the teams developed. Each were located on the single board, teaching and learning. Students team member was required to pin a and there was no need to wait while were instructed to create pinboards minimum number of links that met files were found and opened or for titled Classroom Technology, and to the criteria. Pins needed to include the instructor to insert them into make thoughtful selections of images a research article that made use of a PowerPoint presentation, as had from 25 educational technology sites evidence-based practice, a treatment been the case in the past. and pin them to their boards. They technique, a theory or model of In two sections of another course, were to describe how they would practice, evidence of collaboration Introduction to the New Testament, use each pin in teaching, including with other professions or specialists, an activity with Pinterest was appropriate grade level, why they an international resource, an evalua- used as a summary of the class. believed the item was worth pinning, tion or assessment, and discharge Every student was asked to select and the subject or subjects with planning or documentation. These two meaningful images from the which they would use each item. areas meet specific objectives of the Gospels; some of these were events Pinterest offers a unique way course, which in turn meet accredi- in the Gospels, while others were to integrate digital resources into tation standards for the occupational artistic descriptions of parables. classroom activities. The examples therapy program. Pins were required The students then explained their provided are just a few of the myriad to have captions that related back images to the class, and discussions possibilities for using social media to the diagnosis and the case study occurred on either the content of as a learning experience. We have so that students could easily find the images or the artistic interpreta- found that using a platform familiar meaning in the exercise. Students tions of the events. A benefit of this to our students increases their were asked to evaluate the websites activity is that the class session was engagement while allowing them to that they pinned using five criteria: student-led, enhancing their active express and share their work with accuracy, authority, objectivity, participation. instructors, fellow students, and the currency, and coverage. After the Teacher Education (http://bit. Pinterest community. Take a look at teams presented the case studies to ly/23BTwbe) Pinterest was used in this tutorial on how to use Pinterest the class, we discussed the Pinterest an assignment that gave preservice (http://bit.ly/1nGfLNd), as well as boards and how these resources teachers experience with children’s this page with helpful tools for using could be helpful. Students retain literature. Traditionally, preservice Pinterest for teaching (http://bit. access to these boards so they can teacher education has included ly/1WV4fJu), and think about ways refer to them in the future when they learning about genres and themes to use it in your classroom. treat patients with similar diagnoses in children’s literature and how to during fieldwork or in practice. These integrate these into lessons. With Merryellen Towey Schulz is an can be great study tools for those the emergence of online resources, associate professor, Jennifer Kolker preparing to take the national board students can almost instantly access is a nursing instructor, Kristin Haas exam to become an occupational information about books on every is an associate professor, and Aline therapist. subject. Students were assigned to Paris is a professor of theology at the Theology (http://bit.ly/1KPHOhC) create personal Children’s Literature College of Saint Mary. @

4 Online Cl@ssroom ASSESSMENT

The Whys and Hows of ePortfolios

By John Orlando and the like. But faculty can facili- Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram. tate students’ development of the One study of ePortfolios used Uses of ePortfolios skill by providing students a way to Taskstream to host student work Student portfolios have become formally organize their work to get and found that students did not popular in higher education. They feedback from others. know how to publish the product, or can document a student process, Finally, ePortfolios can be used even whether it was published. Plus, such as how an engineering class to facilitate two-way communica- the work will likely have a limited built a robot (Gallagher and Poklop, tion between the student and his audience, as institutional systems 2014). They can document a or her audience. The ePortfolio are generally designed to prevent student’s work across a program, can include a moderated comment outside access to student work. such as an architecture student feature to allow anyone to comment EduClipper (educlipper.net) is demonstrating the development of on the content. A portfolio used a nice alternative to institutional his or her design skills (Richards- across a program can be incorpo- systems, and allows students to Schuster et al., 2014), which can rated into individual courses, with easily create attractive Web content. help with program-level assess- students required to comment on A faculty member can set up a site ments. They can also be used to each other’s portfolios as a class as a companion to a course, with cultivate students’ reflections on assignment. This gives students a each topic given a board to which their learning. Portfolios force reason to continually return to the students post content that they find students to survey what they have work to revise it as they add to, and related to it. It also has an ePortfolio done, identify themes related to modify, their understanding (Coffey feature that allows individual underlying learning outcomes, and and Ashford-Rowe, 2014). This helps students to set up their own custom- gather those into a coherent whole. students engage in the material in ized portfolios. This “meta reflection” has been an informal, nongraded way that Google Sites is another good found to vastly improve retention expresses their own understanding. option because it integrates with and understanding of deep concepts. We generally think of portfo- all Google products. ePortfolios can The digital revolution carries lios as more appropriate to fields use the nearly unlimited storage the benefits of portfolios further by of study that require students to capacity of Google Drive to host allowing students to draw together produce something to display, but data, documents, or videos, and can text, video, images, podcasts, and they can be used for any subject. connect to Gmail for communication. so forth. Plus, they can integrate The basic principle is to capture and Plus, students will have access to the their own work with outside content reflect on learning, and any subject content after they leave school and through mashups. A history student allows students to express concep- can continue to develop their portfo- studying ancient Rome can create tual points through digital media. lios for different purposes, such as a Google Maps overlay of Rome that A student in a literature course can job applications. describes the area and events of use images to convey Tom Sawyer’s With a Google account, students the time through text, images, and struggle over laws about slavery, gain access to all of Google’s videos added by the student. while a student in an ethics course features, including a Google Sites ePortfolios also allow for a much can use videos to illustrate different page. Students should share their wider audience for a student’s work. views of animal rights. Sites pages with the instructor so Students get out of the mind-set that the instructor can monitor of developing work only for their Creating ePortfolios progress and make suggestions, teachers and instead consider other There are a variety of good and then publish it when it is done. students, friends, employers, or the systems for creating ePortfolios. Publicizing the work just requires general public. This requires them Many faculty assume that they must sending out links to the public, to think about how their messages use university-licensed systems, which can be done to all students will appear to different audiences. such as those built into the learning at once. Take a look at this tutorial The ability to speak to a wide variety management system (LMS). While on how to set up an ePortfolio in of audiences with digital tools is those can be simple to set up and Google Sites: https://youtube/ a critical 21st-century skill. Many connect to a course, their function- eU8xmw3eKVA. students are learning it on their own ality can be foreign to students used through homemade YouTube videos to working with applications such as Continued on page 6 >>

Online Cl@ssroom 5 << From Page 1 The researchers provide some or read tweets because it is not suggestions for faculty interested in organized well. Twitter aggregators something that a student can do integrating Twitter into their online allow users to sort tweets by sender, anytime, anywhere they have their teaching. One is that Twitter is ideal topic, hashtag, etc., and so are much cell phones—and they always have for field observations. Students in the better for viewing large groups of their cell phones. A traditional LMS course were asked to reflect on their tweets. TweetDeck is a well-known discussion requires logging into the own health habits, and could tweet aggregator that organizes tweets course once a day or every other about their activities as they were in a visually appealing format. The day. Twitter allowed students to post doing them, such as exercising or instructor can search for a single messages as they occurred to them, eating. The field observations can be student using the student’s handle and to respond to other’s postings incorporated into a variety of online (their “@” name), or set up a single in real time. The result was a better course subjects. Students in an art hashtag for the course and ask the sense of community in the course. course could tweet their thoughts students to preface their tweets with The online discussion became closer at a museum, and students in a that hashtag (a “#” tag). Then the to a synchronous face-to-face discus- marketing course can tweet about instructor can search on the hashtag sion. a striking ad they see on the street to get all of the course tweets at Students also tweeted more or in a store. Twitter thus connects once. often than they posted to discus- the course better with student lived Take a look at this good tutorial sion, with most students tweeting experience. on how to use TweetDeck, and more than the minimum required. Two, researchers asked students consider ways to incorporate This could be because of the greater to set up separate Twitter accounts tweeting into your online courses: ease of tweeting. But it could also for their coursework. This made https://youtu.be/6YysKcsDjt0. be because students felt that the some of the students more comfort- tweets expressed more of themselves. able because they were not posting References Students tend to enter an “academic” course related content to their Rohr, L. & Costello, J. (2015). frame of mind in discussion forums. non-classmate Twitter followers. Student Perceptions of Twitters’ But tweeting felt more a part of Three, it is a good idea to use Effectiveness for Assessment in a their everyday activities, and thus a Twitter aggregator to read and Large Enrollment Online Course, might have led to greater comfort in grade tweets. While Twitter has a Online Learning, v. 19, i. 4, expressing their real thoughts. website, few people use it to send September, 2015. @

<< From Page 5 References Coffey, U. & Ashford-Rowe, K. Next Month’s Another possibility is to use (2014). The Changing Landscape Topics Google Blogger, which also comes of ePortfolios: A Case Study in One with a Google account. Blogger is Australian University, Australasian Using Online Protocols for Google’s blogging app, and while it Journal of Educational Technology, v. Discussions does not have the variety of presen- 30, i. 3. tation options of Sites, it does allow Gallagher, C. & Poklop, L. (2014). Virtual Reality in the Classroom for easy upload of content and ePortfolios and Audience: Teaching a attractive display options. Because Critical Twenty-First-Century Skill, Use Dotstorming to Add a blog is organized chronologically, International Journal of ePortfolio, v. Interactivity to Live Sessions Blogger could be a good choice if 4, n. 1. Differentiating Instruction the instructor is looking only for Richards-Schuster, K. et al. in an Online Classroom students to post their thoughts and (2014). Using ePortfolios to Assess content related to class topics in Program Goals, Integrative Learning, What Documentary Film-Making order, as they are covered. and Civic Engagement: A Case Can Teach Us About Course Design Consider how ePortfolios can add Example, International Journal of to students’ learning in your courses ePortfolio, v. 4, n. 2. @ Digital Storytelling in the or program. Online Classroom

6 Online Cl@ssroom << From Page 1 appropriate virtue called for, its they respond to his prompts either corresponding vices, and how to through written text or button it’s been so long since he wrote determine the “relativity” of the clicking. it!). The students then type in an mean to the situation. Indeed, We created the interaction by essay response explaining the if the concept is usually part of combining Adobe After Effects doctrine of the mean. Once this in-class group work, or if the with Articulate Storyline. After is answered, Aristotle declares discussion in class is crucial to Effects is a program that allows that he’s found his manuscript! a student’s ability to write an users to create moving animations He asks the students to compare upcoming paper, that might be a with audio, and provides the their answer to his (the answer is good topic to select for an assess- flexibility to create a wide variety actually Dr. Anton’s summary of ment. of animations. We used it to create the topic). Finally, Aristotle asks Since Dr. Anton’s online features such as a talking philoso- how similar the two responses students were not going to have pher head and an arrow shooting were, and makes suggestions of the luxury of in-class discussion at a tree. Take a look at the After what to review in the event that the Effects Animation Demonstration responses weren’t terribly similar. (http://bit.ly/1NJvpvK) to see how The assessments allowed instructional designer Andrew Creating the module Swanson created the interactions. We wanted to do a number of students to “interact” Once we had the animations, things in this module: with philosophers we turned to Articulate Storyline to create the interaction. Articu- 1. Give students the opportunity to through a simulated late Storyline is an interactive practice answering essay ques- conversation, thereby e-learning content development tions. system. The developer creates 2. Present students with a model of creating the impression slides that utilize interactions a good essay question. that the student is and can branch to other slides 3. Allow students the opportu- depending on what the user does. nity to evaluate their answers participating in a sort of The developer can also create against the sample response. online game. complicated motion paths, embed 4. Take the students outside our animation and video, overlay learning management system to audio, embed quizzes, and do make the module feel less like a to work through such exercises, many other things with Articu- practice test. we decided to create a formative late Storyline. Plus, it can retain 5. Give students a low-stakes way assessment that gave students the student answers to be used in to be wrong. opportunity to answer potential other slides, and can record 6. Give students a practice op- essay exam questions, “get their information such as attempts in portunity without creating more wrong in,” and see what a model our learning management system grading work for the faculty answer to the question might (Blackboard). member. look like. These interactions were Combining After Effects and ungraded, and students had Articulate Storyline allowed us to Before designing the activity, unlimited attempts to practice. create an engaging interaction that the faculty member first identi- What’s more, the assessments met all of our learning goals. fied areas in her lessons in were designed to be fun. The which students struggled. For assessments allowed students Hannah Digges Elliott is an instruc- example, students in her face-to- to “interact” with philosophers tional designer, Audrey Anton is an face courses have had difficulty through a simulated conversation, assistant professor, and Andrew grasping aspects of Aristotle’s thereby creating the impression Swanson is an instructional support Doctrine of the Mean. Typically, that the student is participating specialist at Western Kentucky she spent an entire day discussing in a sort of online game. Basically, University. @ examples of this principle, with students enter the interaction and students working in small groups Aristotle begins speaking to them. tasked with discerning the As they move through the activity,

Online Cl@ssroom 7 TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY

Digital Content Curation

By Lisa Crawford-Craft of online content such as articles, find in your own Flipboard magazine blog posts, and tweets, making it or on other social media platforms. e run across excellent online a great choice for curating content Pearltrees (www.pearltrees.com) Wcontent all the time. Instruc- on current issues. As you add new is different from Flipboard in that tional designers are always finding content, Flipboard reorganizes the you can share many different types new tools and applications that information with the most recent of information. This tool allows you would be of interest to faculty and content first, but it does allow editing to share Web pages, photos, PDFs, course designers. Librarians also that lets you organize or even delete PowerPoints, and much more. One frequently have a wealth of informa- articles as needed. Flipboard’s great perk of this tool is that when tion on systems that would benefit visually appealing style of presenta- you share content like file attach- those involved in developing and tion and organization gives users ments, the user can view the content teaching online courses. Plus, every a new look and feel that might be in Pearltrees. There is no need to member of a department encoun- different from a generic list of links open another program or window. ters tools that others would find or a wiki. When used on a computer, Since Pearltrees allows the attaching helpful in teaching their courses and of files, it is not only useful for material in their subject that would content curation but can also be interest their colleagues and help utilized for group projects. Pearltrees students research topics for class. Digital content also allows notes, which allows users But most people keep this content to type notes or information within to themselves. Digital content repositories are a great their Pearltrees bundles to help repositories are a great way to share way to share your finds explain something or to give direction your finds with others. Below are to group members for next steps in two good tools for curating digital with others. the project. content online. These tools were Pearltrees organizes information chosen because they are available in bundles, or trees, that can branch on multiple platforms, including out into other areas. For example, Apple iOS and Android. They also Flipboard is displayed like a blog, a Pearltree about iPad apps can allow collaboration. You can invite but on a mobile device the user is have multiple bundles under it, like contributors, allow departments to able to swipe pages as if reading a productivity and weather apps; see work together, or perhaps utilize digital magazine. This trendier and the example found at http://tinyurl. them for group projects for students. techie look may make the users more com/oglkuzo. This tool allows you Both of these tools have browser likely to scroll through and read to search other users’ trees by topic buttons for utilization when on the more content and even have them and then subscribe to them or add Web as well. If a contributor finds coming back for more as you add the content to your own collection. content of interest, he or she simply more pertinent content. Follow this As you continue to follow others clicks the browser button and the link to see an example of a Flipboard and curate your own content, the content will be shared automatically, magazine on educational technology: bundles become interconnected, allowing quicker and easier content http://flip.it/Vd4bv. allowing a community of content curation. These tools do more than Flipboard is also great for curators to share content on similar just provide a list of links; they also personal use. Users can add their interests. In effect, other Pearltrees make the content more graphical, own social media accounts to their users are helping you curate content allowing users to decide what they Flipboard magazine, turning their as they add to their own collections want to read based on visuals rather Facebook and Twitter accounts into to which you subscribe. than just words. a visually appealing digital magazine. Anyone can be a curator by Flipboard (https://flipboard. This tool also allows you to search helping students, colleagues, and com) is touted as a digital person- by topic and find other content feeds even one’s self find the right informa- alized news magazine that allows to follow, allowing you to completely tion on just the right topic. you to create a magazine not only customize your experience. This type for your own personal use but also of customization can also lead to Lisa Crawford-Craft is the library for curating content for others. easier content curation, as you can director at the K-State Salina Flipboard only allows the curation choose to share any information you Library. @

8 Online Cl@ssroom