ON DEMAND: How Social Annotation Brings Back Close Reading and Transforms Your Class Discussion

Abstract

This presentation is an overview of the social annotation tools that, in the past year, have transformed my approach to the discussion of assigned texts in my classes. I give a brief introduction to two such tools designed for use in the classroom and with Blackboard: Hypothesis and Perusall. I go over some of the merits of social annotation in general, as well as a subjective comparison of the two platforms. Finally, I give a quick sense of what it’s like to upload and set up an assignment for annotation.