{"id":7382,"date":"2017-05-31T16:03:15","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T13:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/?p=7382"},"modified":"2025-05-14T14:20:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T11:20:15","slug":"training-content-curation-elearning-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.talentlms.com\/blog\/training-content-curation-elearning-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Got questions about training content curation? Get answers (and more) with our complete guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn 2002, as I was wrapping up my Master’s degree in Instructional Technology from Utah State University, one of my professors\u2026stated: \u2018In 10 years, instructional designers will spend most of their time curating content rather than creating content.\u2019 First off, I wondered: \u2018What is content curation?\u2019 and secondly, I wondered: \u2018Where are instructional designers going to get all of this content?\u2019”<\/em> \u2014 Travis Jordan (founder of the Instructional Design Central).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine the world described by Travis Jordan<\/a> now. Fast forward 20 years, and digital content is everywhere.<\/p>\n

1.8 million articles and research papers<\/a> are produced every year. 500 hours of video content are uploaded to YouTube every minute (with an extra 100 million hours of it consumed every day on Facebook). 500 million tweets are generated daily. And on LinkedIn<\/a>, 11 million members have activated creator mode since its launch in 2021 (85 million people now subscribe to one or more of the 36,000 newsletters published through the site).<\/p>\n

This wealth of content presents a potentially powerful resource for eLearning professionals.<\/strong> By using it to supplement unique in-house content, course creators can produce richer and more impactful training courses. And they can do this faster and more efficiently. But it takes a new, more specific set of skills to achieve this. Which is where training content curation comes in.<\/p>\n

As predicted by Jordan\u2019s professor, training content curation is now a competency that\u2019s becoming increasingly important for instructional designers and other L&D professionals.<\/p>\n

But what does training content curation look like? Why does it matter? And most importantly, how does it work?<\/p>\n

This content curation guide answers all of those questions. And asks a few more too, including what curating learning content might look like in the future.<\/p>\n

What is content curation?<\/h2>\n

In the context of eLearning, content curation is the technique used to source information from external sources and then share it with learners. Its aim is to navigate the over-abundance of material that\u2019s digitally available so learners don\u2019t have to (or aren\u2019t tempted to) do it themselves.<\/p>\n

Acting as gatekeepers of knowledge, curation experts extract only the best and most relevant material. And organize it into logical categories or groupings so it\u2019s easy for learners to search for and to find. A good content curator will also add value by providing context or including their own spin on the material sourced.<\/p>\n

The process is usually carried out by dedicated specialists or trained representatives within L&D teams. Communications expert, Robin Good, describes these as \u2018trusted guides\u2019 who provide learners with the \u2018intellectual binoculars’ they need to take training onto another level.<\/p>\n

Curated content can be any element found in different media<\/strong>. This includes: eLearning courses, infographics, articles, tweets, blog posts, news, articles, and videos\u2014basically, anything relevant to the subject matter of the course.<\/p>\n

\n

Curate online content in a few clicks with the TalentLMS editor
\n<\/strong> Combine external resources with your training material for richer courses.<\/span>
\nEasy to set up, easy to use, easy to customize.<\/span>\"Create<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

How to curate content? Seven steps to follow<\/h2>\n

There are usually seven steps involved in the corporate training<\/strong><\/a> content curation process. Your own approach may vary slightly. But once you\u2019ve formed a framework, stick to it. And make sure that everyone involved in the process knows who does what, and when.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a rundown of what to do at each stage.<\/p>\n

1. Identify<\/h3>\n

Pinpoint the topics you want to curate content on. Then sync these up with relevant and up-to-date sources.<\/p>\n

For example, if you want to influence your team to be more productive, create a list of skills that support this. These could include: How to be a good leader, effective communication, leading by example, problem-solving, time management, and collaboration.<\/p>\n

2. Aggregate<\/h3>\n

Pull all relevant information together, group it into focused sections, and then store it in a single location. The goal here is to make sure content is centralized. And can be easily accessed on demand later.<\/p>\n

An RSS feed that features a collection of learning videos<\/strong><\/a> about a topic is an example of training content curation through aggregation. So is a website that specifically compiles content from different niche blogs.<\/p>\n

3. Distil (or filter)<\/h3>\n

Sort and filter content so that only the most relevant content is presented<\/strong> to the learner. Use Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in your organization to lead this.<\/p>\n

Some examples of distillation include gathering and sorting content based on relevant keywords and hashtags on social media.<\/p>\n

4. Elevate<\/h3>\n

Provide context to each piece of content. This can be achieved through the commentary and input of SMEs. And by using automated algorithms to analyze existing, emerging, and yet-to-be-discovered trends<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Tech is by far the most effective way of running this elevation process. The perfect example is the \u2018Explore\u2019 tab on Twitter, which analyzes all tweets to determine trending topics over a certain period of time.<\/p>\n

5. Merge<\/h3>\n

Generate new perspectives on training topics by combining different content sources<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The classic example of merging is the use of wikis. Developed collaboratively by a community of contributors, wikis offer different opinions and viewpoints side-by-side in one location.<\/p>\n

6. Organize<\/h3>\n

Order content into a customized, made-to-order curriculum that makes sense to your target audience.<\/p>\n

Using a timeline or chronological structure is, arguably, the easiest and most interesting way to approach training content curation. Simply put, this involves arranging content according to publish dates so the evolution of a certain topic can easily be tracked.<\/p>\n

Take the term \u2018eLearning,\u2019 for example. Information from the late 80s to the early 90s will most probably discuss it from a \u2018computer-based learning<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 context. Go ahead a few years to the 2000s, and eLearning\u2019s definition won\u2019t be limited to just computer-based training but will also include classroom tech integration<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

7. Share<\/h3>\n

Make content accessible to learners through an online tool, platform, or portal. And promote it using other internal channels. Decide whether to present material individually or as part of a wider learning path.<\/p>\n

\"Training<\/p>\n

Why curate content? Seven key benefits<\/h2>\n

Training content curation is an in-demand skill because it benefits everyone involved in the training lifecycle. From individual learners through to L&D teams and organizations as a whole, it elevates training<\/strong> in the following ways:<\/p>\n