CURATION GETS A MAKEOVER: Teachers, known fondly to their family and friends as pack rats, filed and saved just about every piece of paper they could find,” writes Ms. Kristen Swanson in this SmartBlog on Education post on modern curation. Whereas previous generations of teachers curated classroom materials as individuals, today's social media tools allow curation to be a “highly social” event. Ms. Swanson suggests that the blood, sweat, and tears put into previous curation efforts most likely led teachers to keep findings to themselves. But with the ability to pin, post, share, and tweet, teachers should no longer feel the need not be so "zealous in protecting them." As we all decry dwindling opportunities for professional development and teacher collaboration, we take her words as a simple reminder that the digital world, and specifically the personalized learning networks that may result, provide new exploits for connecting, assisting, and improving the teacher profession.
