Week 8 of EDCI 136 was different this time around – more intimate, more useful, and more related. Having two incredible guest speakers, we learned how we engage with information, not simply read it. From Remi Kalir’s presentation on social annotation to Jessica Mussell’s session on Zotero, I caught myself questioning the way I read, research, and reflect online.

Reading as a Social Activity – Learning with Remi Kalir

Remi Kalir demonstrated to us the world of social annotation – that reading may not be that quiet, isolated activity. We can highlight, comment, question, and answer directly on digital texts using such tools as Hypothes.is. It is similar to annotating in the margins, except that you can do it in collaboration with your learning community and classmates.

What hit me was that he talked about learning by connection. Adding annotations isn’t so much about marking ideas – it’s about:

  • Starting conversations
  • Shaking up assumptions
  • Sharing interpretations

It was compelling. Like the reading came to life all of a sudden.

Doing it through our own pod space helped a lot. It wasn’t “commenting” – it was learning together. For an internal thinker like me, this experience was a good trade between individual thinking and collective understanding.

Taming the Chaos – Zotero with Jessica Mussell

The latter part of the week was spent learning Zotero from Jessica Mussell, UVic’s Distance Learning and Research Librarian. I never believed that citation tools could be interesting, but she converted me.

She was very much down-to-earth (her rescue chihuahua and EV adventure tales were great!). Beyond that, she took us through how Zotero can be your own digital research assistant:

  • Saving articles with one click
  • Organizing sources into folders
  • Creating perfectly formatted citations in seconds
  • Attaching PDFs and notes to each source

For someone like me juggling classes, projects, and blogs Zotero was a lifesaver.

I installed the Zotero desktop client and browser connector, then did the tasks. I practiced:

  • Saving sources from library databases
  • Tagging and noting
  • Exporting a bibliography into Word

It helped me feel more in control of my research, and less overwhelmed by the never-ending pile of links, tabs, and files.

Connecting the Two: Annotation + Curation = Deeper Learning

What I learned this week is that these two tools – Hypothes.is and Zotero – are connected.

  • Hypothes.is helps me engage with information and with others.
  • Zotero helps me collect, organize, and cite that information.

Together, they’re helping me grow as a thoughtful digital learner – someone who doesn’t just absorb info, but interacts with it responsibly.

What I’ll Continue Doing

Keep using Hypothes.is to annotate class articles and blog posts – it helps me retain and respond better.

Use Zotero for every future project – even outside this course.

Share these tools with friends who also struggle with citations and reading focus.

Practice citing appropriately and ethically – since giving credit counts.

Final Thoughts

This week reminded me that learning isn’t just about taking in information — it’s about curating, collaborating, and crediting. Whether I’m reading an article or writing a blog, I now see myself as part of a larger learning web.

And I think that’s pretty powerful.