Take a Look at Scoop.it: A Content Curation Tool

How many of you are tired of conducting Google searches for topics that interest you?   Wouldn’t it be nice to have a site, which identifies relevant content that matches your interests.  Look no further than Scoop.it , a free resource where you create a magazine like web page to share what you find interesting to your students, colleagues, or the world.  For instance, this semester I developed a Scoop.it page for my EDT 620 class, so I could share the latest news in technology integration and best practices in the k-12 classroom.  Scoop.it automatically curates sites according to the content tags you provide.  Take a look at my Scoop.it topic page to obtain an idea of  the possible uses of Scoop.it in  the classroom: http://www.scoop.it/t/technology-pedagogy-best-practices-in-k-12-education

Is Scoop.it Easy to Use?

To begin with, you will need to create an account, then set up your first topic (basically a page), and then develop a list of keywords that describe your content for that page.  After you define your keywords, Scoop.it will recommend content that you might want to add to your Topic.  An easy adjustment to your sources will fine tune your search results to align closer to your topic. Another way to locate common articles is to rescoop from another  Scoop.it page.  The scoops are the articles that make up the content of your topic.  Once you have a topic page created, you are provided an easily shared URL address specific to your topic page.

Possible Classroom Uses

• Develop a single  page devoted to a single topic or content you are studying in class.  Articles of your choosing will be aggregated in one place for your students to view.
• Publish a magazine and share it with your colleagues in your department,on current topics related to your discipline.
• Create a topic page  of educational videos to share with your classes.
• Use it as a place to share current news topics related to your discipline.

For additional classroom applications follow this link:  http://fusionfinds.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/content-curation-classroom-applications/