Social Annotation

If you teach a class that requires regular readings, you may find the use of social annotation helpful. 

What is Social Annotation?

If you have ever shared checked out an old math book from the library,  you may be familiar with social annotation. The proofs and theorems may have notes near them written by hand. The comments might provide additional insights on the theorem to help the original (and future) note taker better understand the content. Social annotation works in the same way. Social annotation is reading and thinking together. It brings the age-old process of marking up texts a digital learning space while making it a collaborative exercise. Imagine a group of students opening a PDF or webpage, then highlighting, commenting on, and sharing ideas about the text, video, or images they see, all within the margins of the text. 

Why Use Social Annotation?

The Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI) at Cornell advocates for Social Annotation in classes by noting that when we read and think together, a text can become a richer learning object. We can see and learn how others make sense of a reading or how they deconstruct the text. “Social annotation today represents a paradigm shift from the traditional ways in which students and educators have interacted with texts. The older paradigm continues in the online discussion boards common in higher education courses and increasingly ubiquitous in middle and high school classrooms. But reading a passage and then answering a prompt in Canvas or Google Classroom can feel inauthentic—Kalir describes this activity as, “You do the reading, then set the reading aside, and then you go over to the discussion forum and reply to the reading”(Farber 2019). 

Gannon (2019) shares that “the results of using social annotation for learning can be powerful: studies have found social annotation practices increased reading comprehension and motivation to do reading assignments, for example. More recent research, which has been written up preliminarily, has also found social annotation tools and practices help build not only better learning, but an increased sense of belonging and community as well”.

Two social annotating apps that IU Online has recommended (though they can be used in face-to-face or hybrid courses) are Perusall and Hypothes.is.

Perusall https://perusall.com is best used in larger courses. It offers auto-grading based on number of annotations and replies, and can provide access to a number of publisher texts found in a searchable database. Some will require a student-paid licensing fee. Perusall requires a separate login for students. It can also support Groups in Canvas, which is why it is recommended for large courses. Persuall has some sophisticated auto-grading features, including ones based on student behavior (number of annotations, time spent reading, etc.), responses from other students (e.g., generating replies and upvotes), and content analysis (using Perusall’s algorithms). Dr. Chivukula (INFO-I 542) uses it in her course with a good level of engagement. For an example see: https://perusall.com/downloads/scoring-examples.pdf

Hypothes.is https://web.hypothes.is is best used in smaller courses where a single text can more easily accommodate a number of margin notes and highlights. Hypothes.is is built on an open-source platform and has a strong, stated position on student privacy. While it has fewer bells and whistles than Perusall, its emphasis on user experience, clean interface, and ease of use makes it a strong choice. For an example, see: https://web.hypothes.is/blog/back-to-school-with-annotation-10-ways-to-annotate-with-students/

Please let me know if you would like any additional information about using social annotation in your class, or strategies for integrating these tools in your course.