Hypothesis and Education

Hypothesis is an excellent tool that students can use to collaboratively annotate a text that is available on the web.  There are some great examples of educational use of Hypothesis available on the Hypothesis website.  Be sure to check out Robin de Rosa’s students use of Hypothesis on her Pressbooks English Anthology.  The annotations that you can see on this book are available for us to see because they have been made in the public Hypothesis layer.

If you do not want have your student’s annotations available publicly, you can create private groups in Hypothesis that are only available to you and your students.

How to Set Up a Private Hypothesis Group

1. In the Annotation Pane, click on the down arrow beside Public
2. Click on the + beside New Group
3. Add a title and description for your group;
4. Send the invitation url to your students

Although you may have set up a private group, the Public annotation layer will always also exist on your text, allowing your students to cross-reference their own internal conversations with broader ones.

There are lots of tips on the Hypothesis site to help you with using Hypothesis as a pedagogical tool.  Here are some resources:

• 10 Ways to Annotate with Students

• Quick Start Guide for Teachers

• Quick Start Guide for Students

• Annotation Tips for Students

• Creating a Private Group

• Annotating with Groups