Digital information is all around us. More and more information is either born or digitally reformatted. A new generation of archivists and preservation specialists (also known as curators) is needed to manage this information throughout its life cycle. A strong curation curriculum has three components: courses, practice-based internships, and a solid technological infrastructure. This article discusses the education of archivists and curators at the University of Michigan's School of Information in the context of these three components. Keywords: archival education, preservation, curation, preservation education, teaching with technology, service learning Introduction Digital information is all around us. More and more information is either born or digitally reformatted. A new generation of professionals is needed who are comfortable working in hybrid (digital and analog) environments and capable of managing media-neutral information throughout its life cycle. A strong curation curriculum in an iSchool environment is one possible response to this need. This article discusses the development of a curation curriculum at the University of Michigan's School of Information (SI), which has developed a workable and systematic curriculum over the past three years that contains three interrelated components: courses, internships, and technology tools that provide a holistic education for our students. We entitled this piece Digital Curation for Digital Natives because we are aware of the conundrums inherent in teaching curation principles and practices to the generation born since 1985. This cohort has been variously designated the Net Gen, Google Gen, Digital residents, Millenniais, and Digital natives. The socalled digital natives differ from previous generations of students for reasons beyond their general fluency with technology. They have grown up in a world of constant connectivity. They demand more active learning and feedback and expect courses to incorporate more interaction among students in the classroom and beyond (Oblinger, 2003). On the surface, they are at ease with technology. But even though technology is intertwined in our students' lives, many do not possess the information literacy skills or strategies for learning with technology or learning how to learn new technologies (Bennett, Margaryan, & Littlejohn 2008; Sharpe, Beetham, Benfield, DeCicco, & Lessner, 2009). One might think that curation would be a subject of natural interest for our students, because pervasive technology depends upon an aura of persistence - always on, always accessible, dependable, reliable, and trustworthy. But the reality is that curation is perhaps one of the hardest topics to teach precisely because ubiquitous computing dulls the sense of urgency and reinforces a sense of complacency that only those deeply immersed in the technical challenges of curation understand to be a chimera. Background Since the late 1960s, the University of Michigan's School of Information (SI) has offered master's-level course work in the administration of archives and records. As general interest in archival issues has increased, the School has increased its commitment to retaining faculty talent and augmenting its course offerings beyond the core constructs of the archival community. Issues such as appraisal and preservation have been covered in increasing depth and breadth through specialized course offerings. In the mid-1990s, when the entire master's curriculum was reformed and the iSchool developed, the archives curriculum was expanded and revised to meet professional demands and to cover as well as analog materials. The resulting seven archival courses (Introducing Records and Archives: Principles and Practices, Access Systems for Archival Materials, Appraisal of Archives, Electronic Records Management, Preserving Information, Research Seminar on Archives and Institutions of Social Memory, and the Practical Engagement Workshop in Archives) formed the Archives and Records Management (ARM) specialization, one of the four original specializations at SI along with Human Computer Interaction, Library and Information Services, and a Tailored option. …
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