Hypothesis Canvas Learning Tool Integration

Hypothesis Learning Tool at UMD

  • The Hypothesis social annotation tool is available to UMD instructors as a Canvas learning tool integration from July 1, 2023 - July 1, 2025.
  • During this time period, licensing will be covered by UMD ITSS.

Hypothesis Social Annotation

Hypothesis is a social annotation tool that enables sentence-level note taking or critique on top of classroom reading, news, blogs, scientific articles, books, terms of service, ballot initiatives, legislation and more. These annotation tools can lead to interactive discussions, searchable text, and social tagging of reading. This can lead to a richer experience with a scholarly work, industry publication, or literary work.

Hypothesis Canvas Learning Tool Integration

The Hypothesis Canvas learning tool integration provides additional functionality for educators and students beyond the publicly available Hypothesis web browser extensions. Using the Canvas integration, students can annotate web pages and articles (PDF) as graded or ungraded activities. Instructors can find additional benefits supported by the Canvas integration, such as:

  • Student accounts are automatically generated through Canvas enrollment versus having students sign up for their own accounts or instructors having to set up private groups for classes when using the browser extension.
  • The integration limits and manages interactions to Canvas courses and is FERPA compliant, per a signed agreement with the University of Minnesota.
  • For graded assignments, the integration connects the Hypothesis Assignments to the Speedgrader and Gradebook
  • There is a more seamless integration with the Canvas groups experience and an improved import process are now available.

How to add Hypothesis to your Canvas Course

Instructors who plan to use Hypothesis in their fall, spring, and summer courses will be able to select Hypothesis as an external tool from a Canvas assignment or module without requesting additional installation.

Instructors can refer to these Hypothesis installation guides for step-by-step instructions:

If you have additional questions about using Hypothesis, contact Karen Jeannette at [email protected].

Hypothesis Workshops

Hypothesis offers a number of public events and workshops throughout the year through their Hypothesis Partner workshops and Liquid Margins series.

  • Hypothesis Partner Workshops: Find on-going workshops offered throughout the year on topics such as using Hypothesis in Canvas, using multimedia & tags in annotations, using Hypothesis with Canvas small groups, and more.
     
  • Liquid Margins Webinar Series: Webinar series hosted by Hypothesis, where instructors and other professionals gather to talk about the latest applications of collaborative annotation, social learning, and more.