Encourage collaborative reading with Hypothesis

I use Hypothesis to engage students with the text in advance and to have a better sense of the themes we will address during the readings’ discussion. It helps to identify passages that we wish to spend more time on, to structure the class, and prepare additional material in advance.

The annotation tool allows students who are generally reluctant to contribute orally in class to be engaged in the reading.

The simple fact of reading aloud their comments and explaining them helps to set aside any apprehension of speaking in front of the class. In that way, I find Hypothesis a great tool of inclusion.

By encouraging threaded discussions, it forces students to engage with their classmates’ reflections. As an advice for other instructors, I would recommend requiring each student to post at least one comment on Hypothesis for every reading. Like that, we are sure that no one comes to class without having read and engaged with the texts. The tool also allows you to see when the comment was posted, which can help to identify students who tend to procrastinate and help them plan their workload in a more efficient fashion.

Basile Baudez, Assistant Professor of Art and Archaeology