Participants in Monday’s #LearnTalk twitter chat represented a wide variety of disciplines in education and tech. The talk was moderated by Farb Nivi, co-founder of Grockit and Learnist.
Discussion began with a question about the birth of Grockit and Learnist and the vision for both. Since Grockit came first, Farb advised, Learnist had some traction from the get-go. Since its release, Learnist has seen rapid growth, in part, because of its versatility.
People discussed the ways they use Learnist, from curating materials for students to involving them in the creation and curation process. Learnist featured author Jesse Parent stated that he uses Learnist to assemble his materials and organize them before starting larger writing projects. Jesse has an extensive collection of materials on Learnist, all of which provide in-depth knowledge about geopolitics, world regions, and energy policy. Yuli Skincare, who joined in on the chat, has boards on Learnist showcasing their product line and educating the public on the importance of skincare.
The question of Learnist’s comparison to Pinterest came up, with chat participants discussing the difference between the two platforms. Learnist is specifically geared toward the learning aspect of curation. Users can add learnings to the boards of others with the Learnist “suggest a learning” tool. That, participants noted, sets Learnist apart as a learning venue in all fields.
Chat members talked about using Learnist to create digital books—for replacing textbooks and for personal writing projects. “What if you could turn your Learnist Learnboard into a book, with one-click?” tweeted Farb.
That is an excellent cliffhanger. While Farb did not give any further details at this time, the suggestion stands—Learnist’s utility as a platform for learning—both in and out of the classroom—will expand with each new feature added. This will be exciting to see.
The next LearnTalk will be held on Monday, March 11th at 8PM EST with food blogger Lauren Atkins Budde. The topic will be “Delicious Locally Sourced Food.” Lauren is a home chef extraordinaire who blogs at Have Fork WIll Eat.
