Contributors:Misty Hamideh, Ashlie Sarsgard
Hypothesis is a social annotation tool that transforms engaging with course materials from a solitary task into a visible, collaborative conversation. Students can annotate course materials, share observations, and respond to each other’s comments. This guide introduces Hypothesis and offers ideas to incorporate into your teaching. Visit Create a Hypothesis assignment in Canvas to review the technical steps to get started.
What is Hypothesis?
Hypothesis adds a collaborative layer to digital course materials. Students can highlight specific passages and add comments, questions, or multimedia responses in a shared annotation sidebar.
When Hypothesis is integrated with Canvas, students can access activities through their course without creating a separate account. They simply open a Hypothesis-enabled assignment and begin annotating. You can use Hypothesis with:
- PDFs stored in your Canvas Files or Google Drive
- Canvas Pages built directly in Canvas
- Public webpages that do not require a password or subscription
- YouTube videos with transcripts that students can annotate
- JSTOR articles accessed through a stable URL
Why should I use Hypothesis?
Social annotation bridges the gap between passive learning and active discussion.
- Foster critical thinking: Students can discuss specific passages, ask questions, and explore difficult aspects of a learning resource together.
- Gauge student understanding: See exactly which parts of a resource are confusing or inspiring to your students.
- Build community: Students can respond to each other using text, images, and GIFs, making learning feel less like a chore and more like a conversation. They can even tag their fellow students and instructor in their comments!
- Ensure classroom readiness: Ask students to interact with materials before class to encourage accountability and ensure they are equipped for meaningful in-class discussion.
What kinds of activities work well with Hypothesis?
Hypothesis can help students engage more deeply with your course content in several ways. Consider these ideas for leveraging social annotation in your course.
Traditional discussion boards can, at times, feel forced and disconnected from the course material. With Hypothesis, students can share their thoughts directly in the margins of a text. This helps contextualize conversations and create more authentic, meaningful discussions. Here are some prompt ideas to get you started!
Provide students with a pre-populated Hypothesis assignment with your own annotations to point out key arguments or ask probing questions to help prompt students.
When you use Hypothesis to share YouTube videos, students can comment on specific moments, flag key arguments, or ask questions about complex concepts as they appear on screen.
When assigned readings include specialized vocabulary, heavy jargon, or complex concepts, create a Hypothesis assignment where students annotate terms and ideas they find challenging. Students can review their classmates’ annotations, share explanations, and help each other build understanding.
Instead of lecturing through your syllabus in the first class, highlight key information and ask students to read the syllabus using Hypothesis. Have them flag any confusing sections, ask questions about major assignments, or share which course topics they are most excited about. This ensures students review the syllabus and gives them a low-stakes opportunity to practice using Hypothesis before completing activities that carry more weight in their grades.
For complex topics or readings with multiple perspectives, try assigning different sections of a text or book chapters to small groups. Ask each group to annotate their assigned portion, explain key concepts, and raise discussion questions. Once groups finish, have them review each other’s annotations to explore different perspectives and learn from their peers!
Note: If you assign different readings to specific groups of students, set up each reading as a separate Hypothesis assignment available to the whole class. This allows students to see each other’s work. Avoid using the Canvas Groups tool to restrict access, as this will limit students’ ability to see the other groups’ annotated readings. For help setting up a Jigsaw activity, reach out to the OAI Faculty Support Desk.
Support for students
Hypothesis may be a new learning tool for many students, so you may want to provide some support materials. Here are some useful resources you can share with your students:
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