Step 1 - Create a Paperpile Account
The journey begins with going to www.paperpile.com/pricing to get started. For those on the fence about using Paperpile versus other reference managers, the company provides a 30-day free trial prior to having to commit to their tool. Users who are in school or part of an academic institution can also opt for the Academic plan. When creating a Paperpile account, it is important to link it to the Google Account the user will be using. An issue that might arise when trying to use the features of Paperpile in Google Docs was receiving errors when logged into multiple Google Accounts, requiring us to sign out of the other accounts. Once the users set up their account, they can then install the Chrome Extension for PaperPile. Additional support for Android, iOS, and Microsoft has been added and requires similar extensions to use Paperpile with the respective environment.
Step 2 - Learning to use Paperpile
Once an account is set up, users should review the feature section of Paperpile at https://paperpile.com/features/ as it provides a comprehensive overview of Paperfile's functions. Initially, we experimented with Paperpile and learned where everything was but then continued the learning process to understand the more comprehensive guide to learning the many rich features Paperpile had to offer. Thus, we turned to YouTube where there was no shortage of “How To” guides on using Paperpile. Of all the ones offered, those offered by University Libraries provided easy-to-understand directions on how to use Paperpile. The best offering was by the UCLA Library’s, nine-video playlist on the subject.
While watching the videos, we took the literature from our current courses and followed along with the videos to learn how to use Paperpile. As an example, we added Dr. Haniya’s paper on Maximizing learning potential with multimodality: A case study that we used for a recent assignment. By using the "add paper" function, we were able to add to the library, the PDF provided by our professor. Subsequently, we also tried using the search tool to find the paper and were able to do so, adding the paper in a different way. Once the paper was added, we were able to annotate the PDF with notes, highlighting important sections and adding sticky notes to other sections with our own comments.
We then continued our learning journey to using the "create citations" function. Since the paper we imported had been cited by other users previously, the citation was readily available but we learned to import the citation manually through BibTex, how to make changes to the citation, and change the citation style. Once we learned to create citations, we opened a Google Doc and proceeded to use the shortcut to create an in-text citation. We added a few more papers to our reference list as well as their corresponding in-text citations. When we had a list of citations, we used the "format citation" feature in our Google Doc, which created and appended a bibliography of all the citations used to the last section of our paper.
Step 3 - Learning Community
As discussed in step 2, the learning community we engaged with was YouTube, Paperpile’s feature page and forums, and the Google search engine. To start learning the tool, Paperpile has a tutorial that walks the users through the interface and gives them a run-down of key features. For those that are technologically savvy, these tutorials may be enough to learn the basic functions of Paperpile, but we recommend engaging with a learning community such as the Paperpile user forums. No matter how proficient one is with Paperpile, these learning communities offer key insights on how to use Paperpile efficiently and effectively. Furthermore, these communities also provide a forum for users to come together to share experiences and learn from each other. The learning process can begin with a YouTube video from UCA (linked below), which provide a comprehensive walkthrough of Paperpile. Instead of simply watching the videos, the users can follow along using their own account to actually experience how Paperpile work. Within Paperpile's website, there is also a forum where users from all over the world can share their insights, ask questions and/or assist others on how to use Paperpile.
Paperpile itself is known as a reference manager but it is also an e-learning tool. There is a growing consensus that we can, in online environments, create online learning communities—groups of people, connected via technology-mediated communication, who actively engage one another in collaborative, learner-centered activities to intentionally foster the creation of knowledge, while sharing a number of values and practices (Shea,2006). Paperpile provides a platform to collaborate and share research with others, particularly when conducting assignments in group settings. It provides tremendous efficiency and knowledge-sharing capability to work cohesively in order to complete an assignment. For educators, Paperpile can be integrated with various e-learning platforms such as Google Classroom allowing teachers to share research materials, and give assignments and readings or research tasks. What began as a reference management tool, but due to its demand and popularity, a community of learning has developed fortuitously and has now become equally important. Paperpile Blog is the official blog where users share updates, the latest news, and tips on how to use the software. Paperpile also has a Community Forum where users can ask questions, get answers and discuss issues pertaining to the software led by a Paperpile team allowing further engagement of users to connect and network together. Paperpile'sTwitter account is another community of e-learners where users can connect and learn more about the latest news and software updates.
Constructivism
Constructivism was developed in the 1970s and emphasizes the creating or constructing new knowledge through the learner's experience instead of passive knowledge gaining. This type of learning encourages the learner to be actively involved in the process by discovering, experimenting, and using new concepts. As people experience the world and reflect upon those experiences, they build their own representations and incorporate new information into their existing knowledge, known as "schemas."
There are two leading thinkers in Constructivism. Piaget developed Cognitive Constructivism which emphasizes "how individuals understand the world in terms of biological states" (Harasim, 2017). Piaget believed that learning is a process of building mental structures or "schemas" that help individuals make sense of the world around them.
His theory asserts that learning is not a passive process of simply receiving and retaining information but rather an active process of constructing knowledge and understanding through the interaction between the learner's mental schemas and their environment. Paiget stressed the various stages of development of expertise where learning is created through various sensory (biological) experiences: assimilation, accommodation, equilibration, and disequilibration.
The second leading thinker in Constructivism is Vygotsky, who developed Social Constructivism. This theory asserts that learning is a social process where learners construct knowledge and meaning through interactions with others in their environment. He further states that learning is not a process that happens but instead is a process within an individual's mind that happens through a collaborative approach by using tools in a social and cultural context such as language, technology and other forms of knowledge.
He also introduced the concept of "Zone of Proximal Development" which refers to the difference between what an individual can do on their own and what an individual can do with guidance. Support from teachers who can provide scaffolding allows the learner to grow more continuously than they can independently.
Constructivism and Paperpile
As a reference management software, Paperpile can be categorized as Constructivist. Paperpile allows the user to explore and experiment with new ideas and concepts. The user is taking an active role in their learning by using this tool to collect and organize references for their research. Users can actively engage with the literature in their field of research to build and organize their reference management database. Paperpile can promote and facilitate collaboration among users to share and discuss relevant research, especially if users are conducting group projects. Paperpile allows comparison and contrasting of a different understanding of a research topic and identifies specific patterns and commonalities in their literature search to develop user’s own research analysis.
Badger, I. [@ibadger ]. (2017, September 11). Using paperpile [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjGZ0QdMeM0gEpwXp5PITQxZNe2ZF2tOy
Harasim, L. (2017). Learning theory and online technologies (2nd ed.). New York, NY. Routledge.
Paperpile [@paperpile]. (2023, February 17). Tweets [Twitter profile]. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://mobile.twitter.com/paperpile
Paperpile. (n.d.) Paperpile: modern reference and pdf management. Paperpile. https://paperpile.com/
Paperpile. (n.d.) Paperpile: features. Paperpile. https://paperpile.com/features
Shea, P. (2006). A study of students’ sense of learning community in online environments. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 10(1), 35-44.