At St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, Dr. Corinne Weisgerber is teaching a class on social and interactive media. In addition to building a Personal Learning Network of online mentors and experts they can use to supplement their Google searches, her students are required to “curate” the information they gather for projects the same way a museum curator would curate an art exhibit.

“I told them they would need to comb through the resources received through their PLN to discover the significant and relevant, bundle those ideas together, contextualise them for their audience, repackage them and share them through a social media platform,” says Weisgerber. “In essence, I tasked students with creating the ultimate resource on a particular topic and to share it with the world.”

Weisgerber also mentioned that the project has been, without a doubt, one of her most rewarding to grade. In terms of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, curation covers it all, from lower to higher order thinking skills: labeling, naming, listing, organising, applying, judging, evaluating, analysing, synthesising—the list goes on.

But Weisgerber is ahead of the curve. Most of us are just starting to realise the importance of integrating curation techniques into our curricula. The truth is, as digital literacy becomes more and more critical to academic and career success, teaching content curation will no longer be a choice but a necessity.

What we call “information overload“—when the volume of potentially useful and relevant information available exceeds processing capacity and becomes a hindrance rather than a help—has only gotten worse in the near past. In fact, 90% of all the data in the world has been generated over the last two years. To put things in perspective, between the dawn of civilisation through 2003, about 5 exabytes of information was created. Now, that much information is created every 2 days.

“If we are not prepared for it, we can be force-fed by a very small amount of data (a unique video seen a billion times…) and even by false information, and let a vast amount of valuable data be wasted,” says Scoop.it Co-Founder Marc Rougier. “Students of all ages must be trained to search, select, qualify (and therefore disqualify), then enrich with their own thought, and then use and share information.”

Imagine receiving a graduate degree in “resource curation.” In our age of digital content and information overload, I challenge you to name a more practical credential. Because content curation offers a clear path through the clutter of the digital world, it can help specialists become influencers and thought leaders in nearly any niche or industry. We must make students aware of the importance of information management, both in their daily lives and in their educational careers, simply because they won’t succeed without it.

Where Do We Begin?

There are many definitions and uses of curation today, but a few common denominators should be considered before attempting to zero in on the goals of your own lesson.

Purpose: Curating traditionally involves organising and maintaining a collection of artwork or artifacts in a purposeful manner. The typical museum curator does more than group objects together at a whim; she selects and arranges them for accessibility, aesthetic quality, and historical or cultural context. There is always an element of intention in the curation process. Sharing: Today’s definition of curation also includes an element of sharing. The concept of social bookmarking, typically done through tools such as Diigo and Delicious, now falls within the category of curation as well. Creation: Creativity does not necessitate total originality; it can also be based on remixing and creating existing content. Consider remixes and mashups of songs or remakes of old movies. If these materials can be recycled and turned into art, then all digital material ought to reserve the same right. Contribution: “If curating content is easy, you’re doing it wrong,” says blogger and creative strategist Joshua Merritt. “Just linking to something without any semblance of thought, or an attempt to make a cohesive point, or adding your own commentary or expanding on is, isn’t curating. It’s content spamming, particularly when done en masse.” Curation needs to involve a unique contribution to a subject, something an audience will find valuable.

How Do We Teach Content Curation Effectively?

Once you’ve gained a solid understanding of what curation means and how it should be used, you can begin to teach others about it. But how, exactly? What specific habits should be cultivated in your students (and yourself) to make them effective curators of information?