A quick post on a little idiosyncrasy with Zotero.
Normally, when I click the icon in the address bar, Zotero automatically downloads the cite to whichever folder I have highlighted (e.g., Instructional Design), but when using Gale this doesn’t seem to happen. Not a big deal in the grand scheme, … so I’d do a quick global library search, then find, select and drag it to the desired library.
Still curious, though, and looking for an opportunity to procrastinate, I did a little investigation. It turns out that the Gale cites are downloaded as a top-level item to the main, “My Library” folder. While it still requires a drag-and-drop, I’m spared the extra step of entering a title search.
Maybe there’s a work-around or something obvious I’m missing. If not, I hope this little tidbit is helpful.
The New York Times has a piece that renews the debate over whether or not ed tech software really makes a positive difference on learning outcomes. One of the people they talk to is a representative from the Software and Information Industry Association who argues that the problem is not the software but the lack of adequate training.
… the problem was not that companies overpromise, but that schools often do not properly deploy the products or train teachers to use them.
Finger-pointing aside, I think there would be many teachers who would actually agree that one of the factors is the lack of training (and lack of money to make that training possible). Of course, training also has its detractors who argue over ROI. But where I think training gets a bad reputation is its short-sightedness. Instead of a quick one or two-day workshop to learn the basic functionalities of the software, why not also complement it with a more sustained learning initiative designed to facilitate creative strategies for engaging students? Why not have the teachers work with the tool on a regular basis and collaborate with their colleagues on different approaches to using it in their classrooms? Instead of setting it up as a workshop, perhaps a studio concept might be more appropriate?
The O’Reilly Tools of Change site has an interview with Matt McInnis of Inkling who talks about what they see going on in the digital-textbook market. For instance, McInnis mentions students’ preference for downloading specific chapters rather than entire books. Feature-wise, he mentions they integrate Google Search and Wikipedia. On this latter point, it seems like another good addition would be Wolfram Alpha. What student wouldn’t want a quick, reliable reference for checking anything that can be quantified?
