Caveat Curator

This week I am going to continue to explore Learnist as a curation tool, and hopefully share some insights from the experience.  This is something I am very motivated to do this week.  I actually felt a pang of guilt when I learned about the FACETS model today.  The guilt was tied to the complete lack of tailoring I have practiced with my digital collections.

I am trained as an anthropologist and have worked on different parts of the museum curation process and I have friends who are museum curators.  I recognize that tailoring can be the most important part of the curation process, because it defines the character of a collection.  During this stage, the artifacts are not only displayed as a group, but displayed in a manner that demonstrates their relationships and connections.  For example, a Civil War exhibit may have an area for a battle, another for a special event, and another for a general or other significant person.  Sub exhibits in the battle area may include a map and paintings depicting the battle, the uniforms worn by soldiers (perhaps divided into Union and Confederate, and again divided into officer and enlisted), and a collection of weapons used in the battle organized by type.  This is all tailoring the materials to tell a story.

I have not tried to tell a story with the digital materials I have gathered.  And I want to change that.  I am opting for Learnist because it seems to lend it self to arranging the materials in this fashion.  I have used Pinterest, which I like.  However, I see it as the digital equivalent of dumping odds and ends into a drawer that you will sort through later, (though it offers more than one drawer and holds a heck of a lot of odds and ends!)  Learnist offers a great alternative to this.

One thing I like about Learnist, right off the bat, is that you can embed Learnboards directly into your blog.  This is much better than just providing a link.  In that spirit, I am embedding a Learnboard on how to embed a Learnboard in your blog!