Peer Review

The material is clear and concise. The information is chunked nicely into manageable content modules presented in a consistent structure. The use of screen capturing to demonstrate the various tools and features of the Zotero software works well. The focus is on the Zotero features that are likely to be most useful to learners. These modules can be used together or as standalone objects depending on instructor or student need.

The presenter in the video uses sample sources, which are opened in pre-loaded tabs during the video. This allows the video to proceed smoothly and without time lags, but novice researchers may wonder about how these resources were identified. Learners completing this tutorial will likely get the most out of it if they are doing a research assignment at the same time or in the near future; therefore the usefulness of the tutorial depends upon the context in which it is used. One recurring challenge may be to keep the resource up-to-date as Zotero makes upgrades. 

This resource has great potential for student learning. Learners have choices in how to engage with the resource—They can complete the full tutorial by going through the content of each sub-module sequentially; or they can choose specific sections which best meet their learning needs. In this way, the tutorial is efficient in its design. Even if the learner completes all the sub-modules, the content is chunked into small enough pieces that it is manageable. Content is presented clearly with concepts building upon each other and inclusion of references to other sub-modules when relevant. In addition, the resource includes embedded knowledge checks.

There are a few minor potential issues. First, the resource does not delineate the learning objectives as clearly as it could. Second, it doesn’t really address prior knowledge. Third, review questions are only one question per sub-module, so they are more for self-checks rather than formal assessment purposes. 

This learning object is very easy to use.  It has a clear, consistent layout. Accessibility is addressed in numerous ways by providing closed captioning for included videos, video transcripts, text instructions in the online display, and downloadable documents.

None.