Update!
"The learning process is something you can incite, literally incite, like a riot."--audre lorde
So far this quarter, Week 7 has probably been my least productive academic week given that it has been by busiest workweek. Lesson learned… I spend some time reflecting on new work strategies so that I don’t overbook myself and run out of energy by Wednesday!
After spending the last couple of weeks designating a few hours to preparing how to teach using Zotero and Zotpress software, I hosted a class Zotero Workshop on Tuesday.
I was incredibly nervous going into it. Despite being rather tech-savvy, I am not as knowledgeable about html coding as I would like to be, and given that the entirety of Zotpress is making code that will link one’s Zotero library to their WordPress blog, I was definitely in a vulnerable place of realizing I may not be able to help people as fully as someone else could have. I ended up doing a bit of research about coding, but mostly, I used the cheat-sheets that the Zotpress software supplies for users.
I was also hesitant about the amount of time that we had to present this workshop. Last year when I was learning Zotero from Amy Greene in the Terroir program, we had three hours designated for the workshop and given the technical difficulties that were experienced in that time, I was anxious about the same things happening again. Somehow, things went smoothly and I was able to present everything that I had to show to the class, excluding a few more advanced skills, that I believe people will figure out for themselves over time.
Here is the guide that I created for this presentation: quick zotero guide
I agreed to do this presentation because last year when I first learned Zotero, I was not impressed with the site. However, in Spring quarter of 2016, I started using it more and became more excited about all of the features that I discovered and how simple it made saving and accessing resources. I use Zotero all the time, for academic and non-academic work and I wanted to let more people in on the simplicity of Zotero.
As my practice using Zotero has increased, I have found that, as a student, it is incredible empowering to be able to have my own collection of resources and to be able to share libraries with other scholars.
Past bibliographies are accessible anywhere and I like that Zotero saves links to return back to the original site of the source to reread. I find that I am more likely to treasure the information that I am using and reuse it when available for new projects.
Being able to connect to others through words and find credible information is becoming much more challenging in a nation where the media is slandered for sharing truth that administrative elites find insulting. It’s only the beginning of 2017, and I am not the only person to feel that the safety of the first amendment is questionable. Having these online libraries that connect scholars and their research can be a tool of resistance to spreading truth to the public. Individual libraries could be used as collections for different resources about social justice issues or community healing. Group libraries can be used to connect like-minded people together who want to share resources of strength and persistence through the study of any given subject.
The way in which we choose to use Zotero will impact the work that we can accomplish. My biggest takeaway from presenting this workshop is that Zotero can be used for more than just academic research, but for connecting people together through research.