When Syllabi and Discussion Boards Fail, Try Group Annotations
Presented by:
Evy Wright, West Virginia University
Keywords:
Syllabus, Online Discussion Boards, Group Annotations
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Transcript:
Key Statement:
Students often overlook syllabi, and discussion boards may yield limited engagement. Group annotations with powerful prompts garner meaningful student participation.
Abstract:
Discussion boards may yield limited engagement in online courses, and students often do not find them useful. Group annotation platforms such as Perusall and Harmonize allow instructors to upload documents for collaborative review. Students highlight sections of a document, adding commentary that all group members can see and respond to. Breaking students into small groups and assigning annotations with targeted prompts improves student engagement with course concepts, reading comprehension, and knowledge construction. Using syllabus annotation as an initial low-stakes assignment introduces students to the technology while encouraging meaningful engagement with the course syllabus.
Outcomes:
1. Define group annotation and explain how platforms like Perusall support collaboration.
2. Create targeted prompts that promote meaningful engagement with course materials.
3. Evaluate student engagement in group annotations as evidence of participation and understanding.
References:
de Oliveira Neto, F. G., & Dobslaw, F. (2024). Building collaborative learning: Exploring social annotation in introductory programming. Proceedings of the 46th International Conference on Software Engineering: Software Engineering Education and Training (pp. 12-21). https://doi.org/10.1145/3639474.3640063
Morales, E., Kalir, J. H., Fleerackers, A., & Alperin, J. P. (2022). Using social annotation to construct knowledge with others: A case study across undergraduate courses. F1000Research, 11(235), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.109525.2
Tuiloma, S. H., Arnesen, K. T., Guo, Q., West, R. E., & Graham, C. R. (2025). Promoting active learning through collaborative annotation tools. The Journal of Applied Instructional Design, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.59668/2224.22361