Online Learning: from Blended Learning to Connected Learning with Content Curation
Information and digital literacy is still poor in undergraduate students in France and elsewhere, although emphasized by UNESCO, OCDE and European Society 2020 as major competence for workers in the near future. Blended learning combines traditional teaching and self learning using internet resources, leading to develop autonomy of trainees. Content curation is still a recent concept with applications in marketing but less in use for teaching and learning in colleges and universities. Methods Implementation of content curation tools (Scoop.it preferred because of potential) for blended learning and information literacy training during 5 years of #400 french (and chinese in the context of Nancy Wuhan medical training program) students in two knowledge domains: immunology in medical university, geography in "classes preparatoires litteraires" Results: Teachers opened and maintained one or more general topics related to the discipline as well as topics focusing on annual examinations programs. Students opened and maintained during various periods of time (from months to years) topics of their choice in related areas. They were evaluated on number of posts, regularity of posting, commentaries and tagging, pictures, sharing on social networks and impact of their topic. Discussion: Content curation allowed teachers to select relevant resources in rapidly evolving topics and share them with students. Using curation, researchers followed scientific knowledge evolution, detected new topics, build interest networks and became thought leaders. Content curation allowed students to (1) acquire and develop information, media and digital literacy learning by practicing focused information research, (2) discover usage of diverse resources (primary documents, secondary information, databases, press releases. (3) develop critical minds about sources and contents. Content curation stimulated reading, analyzing and mastering digital information, helping create scientific watching competencies. Reading, tagging, commenting information in foreign languages helps students improve reading and writing fluency. Students were able to build information portfolios, create their digital identity, useful for recruiting interviews. Content curation should be used in teaching in the context of blended learning programs to train students and trainees for multimodal literacy as well as future work capacities, research competencies and lifelong learning.