Digital Curation
What does Digital Curation mean to
Curating and organinzing has always been something that I have always struggled with. Growing up I was always the kid who had an unorganized desk, and the one who would shove papers directly into a backpack, never to be seen again. Having poor organizational skills and ADHD made staying on track with school and knowing where things are super difficult, this is something I still struggle with to this day; my room is never as clean as I would want it to be, and I have papers scattered on my desk. So curating for me is not only a tool that I can use, but a skill that I need to work on. Right now curation is my safety net, it is something that I need, and it really keeps me from falling apart. I have got mostly everything set up into binders and labelled files that keep me from getting too unorganized. This is an ongoing thing for me and definitely a work in progress, I have a stack of papers I need to organize, and I often need to dig through my Google Docs to find the documents I need. Overall, curation is something that I am definitely not good at, but it is such a necessary facet of my life that I hope to improve on in time to come.
Describe Digital Curation.
Digital curation refers to the process of collecting, organizing, managing, and preserving digital assets, typically in a digital repository or archive. The goal of digital curation is to ensure the long-term usability, accessibility, and authenticity of digital information. It is a tool that I will be increasingly impactful for teachers to have a strong grasp of to create This process involves various activities and tasks to maintain and add value to digital content over time. Here are some key aspects of digital curation:
- Selection: Digital curators decide which digital assets are worth preserving. This involves evaluating the content’s relevance, significance, and potential long-term value.
- Collection: Curators gather and acquire digital materials, which can include text, images, videos, audio files, datasets, and more. These materials may come from a variety of sources, such as websites, social media, research projects, and digital publications.
- Organization: Once collected, digital assets need to be organized and classified. Metadata, which includes information like file format, creation date, authorship, and keywords, is often added to enhance discoverability and facilitate efficient management. This is something that will be increasingly crucial for teachers to be able to use, especially as learning becomes more and more online-focused .
- Storage: Digital curation involves decisions about the storage infrastructure and file formats to ensure the integrity and accessibility of the digital assets over time. This may involve considerations for redundancy, backup procedures, and migration strategies.
- Preservation: Ensuring the long-term viability of digital content is a critical aspect of digital curation. This may involve strategies such as data migration to new formats, emulation of outdated software or hardware, and periodic integrity checks.
- Access and Retrieval: Digital curators work to make curated content accessible to users. This involves designing user interfaces, establishing access policies, and implementing search functionalities to facilitate easy retrieval of information.
- Documentation: Curators document their curation processes and decisions to provide transparency and context for future users, researchers, or archivists. This documentation can include information about the criteria for selection, metadata standards, and preservation strategies.
- Quality Control: Regular assessments of the digital assets’ quality and relevance are essential. This involves ongoing monitoring, updating metadata, and making decisions about the retention or removal of content.
Digital curation is crucial in various fields, including libraries, museums, archives, research institutions, and digital repositories, as it ensures the long-term accessibility and usability of valuable digital resources. It plays a key role in preserving cultural heritage, facilitating research, and supporting information management in the digital age.
How do I incorporate Digital Curation into my life
Just recently, I had the pleasure of organizing my entire computer’s saved files due to storage space, and I can confidently say that my digital curation skills are slightly better than my real-life curation skills. I had tons of random, irrelevant, and important documents in the same “downloads” section of my computer’s drive, and organizing was not a fun experience. Where I possess a lot better skills in digital curation are in my Google Drive. In my Google Drive, I can organize all my folders and documents into individual classes, making my life easier. I have everything separated, labelled and put into the proper place. In this Google Drive, I also have an Excel sheet with every single due date for all my classes colour-coded and organized based on date. This is such an underrated tool for me; it allows me to stay on top of assignments and be proactive with my time management. For my photos, I have all my really important memorable photos saved onto a USB that is kept in a safe at home and backed up with iCloud and Google Photos. I do not take a ton of photos, but I cherish these photos, which has allowed me to organize them and keep them for safekeeping. Digital curation is going to be one of those things that I think will be key for me to thrive as a young teacher. Being able to keep everything organized and to have easy access to files and other online tools will make my life a lot easier, and it is something that I will work on as I progress through the program.
