Hypothesis

Hypothesis is an open source tool that lets users highlight and annotate any webpage or PDF. It can be used with a browser extension or inside your Canvas site.

How can I use Hypothesis in teaching?

• Have students look up difficult words or unknown allusions in a text and share their research as annotations.
• Pre-populate a text with questions for students to reply to in annotations or notes elucidating important points as they read.
• Have students highlight, tag and annotate words or passages that are confusing to them in their readings.
• Have students identify formal textual elements and broader social and historical contexts at work in specific passages.
• Have students share their personal opinions on a controversial topic as discussed by an article.

What is unique about Hypothesis?

• Instructors can utilize any public webpage, PDF, YouTube video, or VitalSource eText for a Hypothesis assignment.
• Hypothesis can be used within Canvas, which makes it easier for the class to annotate together.

Who can use it?

• Instructors teaching a course in Canvas can add Hypothesis assignments to any public webpage, PDF, YouTube video, or VitalSource eText..

How do I get started?

•  In Canvas, instructors can create a Hypothesis enabled activity using the Assignments tool or Module item to create a new assignment.

Additional information

• If Hypothesis is used inside of Canvas, the user should follow the Canvas technical requirements. If Hypothesis is used with a browser extention outside of Canvas, the user must have a version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge or equivalent released within the last 12 months. Hypothesis does not work with Internet Explorer.