When
contemplating the reading, How to
Organize Digital Information: Web sites, blogs, and more https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/how-to-organize-digital-information-web-sites-blogs-and-more/ I had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that I am skilled at identifying
and organizing information. And, as
suggested in the post, I had and continue to use a filing cabinet, many binders
along with notebooks to organize ‘information’.
Hence, the transition to organizing folders and sub-folders in File
Management was natural for me – even intuitive.
However, in one
of my courses, I was challenged to organize my way of storing information, so I
‘tried’ to use a variety of tools.
Unfortunately, I have not kept up with any of those, but instead have
reverted back to my ‘old method’ of filtering and selecting data. For articles or information that I am quite
certain I will want to refer to again, I copy the URL and title of the post –
article, etc. into a Word document. If I
think they will be useful for my future reference, I add a few notes, or ‘copy
and paste and highlight’ a specific section that I ‘cite properly’. This system helps me to know what I thought
was important when I refer back to the article.
These ‘documents’ are then saved in one or more folders/subfolders
according to topic. Even though I now
have a blog where I can post such information, I still tend to use my old
system; I find it more user-friendly, and when I am in a hurry, it works well
because I do not have to first log on to the Web.
For articles that
I determine to be useful and that I may want to refer to again but that I don’t
see a need for additional information, I add these to my bookmarks in organized
folders. Still other articles that I am
able to clearly tag (or perhaps some of the same) I add to my delicious account
with appropriate tags in case others also find them useful.
So, what was the epiphany? Two lines in the post:
1. In Find the Right tool ……. “It [the tool] must be seamless in its
application, not feel cumbersome or onerous.”
2. In the section titled The Tool, the writer explains
how Peartrees works. So, naturally, I
did some additional exploration to determine whether this might be the perfect
tool for me. After all, it was described
as, “a fluid and intuitive tool that
allows me to manage digital information easily. It’s also visually appealing
and organic in how it brings all of my projects.”
After several hours of ‘play and research’ into this
‘fluid, intuitive, organic, and visually appealing tool” I was still confused,
which surprised me since I have 15 years of experience managing a jewelry store
combined with teaching literature, which is rich with pearl metaphors. Sadly, however, no light bulbs went on about
the tool…and then the ‘ephipany’.
How can one choose a tool without fully understanding HOW
to use the tool? Aha – that’s what
digital literacy is about. But HOW to
learn how to use a tool without guidance and direction. And then I realized the gap for me is not
only not knowing how the tools work, but it is also that I do not understand
much of the language which then makes it impossible for them to be intuitive.
I have struggled with writing this post for 2 weeks as I tried to
understand more about different tools.
But I am not any closer to deciding which tool may someday become
‘intuitive and fluid for me. In the
meantime, I have registered for a face-to-face technology course that may be
more amenable to my learning style so that I will learn ‘how’ to use these
tools to apply all that I am learning in my courses.
As an aside, I found an interesting article about
Mendeley and wonder if that might be better for organizing myself? Apparently it, too, is intuitive and fluid!
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