We also know that there are plenty of low- to no-cost learning options available to people on a daily basis, from books on nearly every academic topic at the local library and on-the-job experience, to the television programming on the National Geographic, History and Discovery channels. If learning can and does take place everywhere, there has to be a specific reason that people would be willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars and several years of their life to get it from one particular source like a college. There is, of course, and again it’s the credential, because no matter how many years I spend diligently tuned to the History Channel, I’m simply not going to get a job as a high-school history teacher with “television watching” as the core of my resume, even if I both learned and retained far more information than I ever could have in a series of college history classes.
Michelle Kassorla on 29 Nov 12Zotero is an open-source program developed by George Mason University's Center for History and the New Media. You have to teach your students how to use it, but it is time well spent. They can create individual and group libraries, automatically create bibliographies and citations in CMS, MLA, APA, etc., and grow research skills. You can learn how to use this powerful free program by checking out the numerous free YouTube videos, or check out my step-by-step guide at: http://drkblog.wordpress.com/resources/using-zotero/
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