Zotero Project - Preliminaries 1

beginning the journey...

This has been a pretty crazy week with demands on my time coming from all directions. I have however, been able to begin the preliminary part of my project which involves contributing to the Zotero Project by reviewing and editing discussion and documentation and by creating an instructional module that will introduce high school teachers at my work site to the uses of Zotero as a tool for research, citation, and collaboration.

Zotero Project 1

I have been familiarizing myself with the various forms of documentation to be found on the Zotero Project site. This week, I've looked at the Wiki, Forums, and some of the FAQ sections and have been learning the process for editing existing documents and creating new ones.

One of the things that jumps out at me as a K12 public school administrator is that there seems not to be user documentation that addresses some of the specific needs of high school teachers. Teachers will use a solution if they see it to be valuable to their craft and if they can access it and use its features without having to spend a great deal of time wading through arcane and abstruse documents dealing with features that they will not have occasion to utilize.

Zotero Project 2

The section titled "Adopt Zotero at your institution" has some specific suggestions and provides some exemplars for materials used by some institutions to introduce Zotero and encourage its adoption. I am working through these and pulling out sections that I feel may be useful to me. I am also researching to see if other secondary sites have documented their introduction and adoption of this tool

Most of the information available seems to involve post-secondary use of Zotero as a tool. My feeling is that high school students need exposure to and familiarity with tools like this before undertaking college-level studies. It's beginning to seem that helping to fill this void may have the potential to have an impact beyond my particular work site.

Recall: My areas of specific interest and contribution -

Document and Support

You don't need to be a programmer to help with documentation and support.

• Edit the wiki to make the documentation more useful and concise
• Work the forums to answer questions and support new users
• Test, test, test and tell us what doesn't work for you
• Adopt Zotero at your institution

additionally, I will be exposing a broader audience to this solution...

Spread the Word

If you love Zotero, tell the world about it. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Pick up some FREE stickers and stick them wherever eyes gaze
• Add a Zotero button to your website
• Give a demo at your institution
• Review Zotero on your blog or on Zotero's Mozilla Add-ons page
• Sport some Zotero gear