Hypothesis

About Hypothesis

Hypothesis enables students to collaboratively comment on or annotate the following content types:

• Accessible PDFs stored in the files area of a Canvas course or in Google Drive or OneDrive
• Most web pages
• Canvas pages
• JSTOR articles
• YouTube videos

PLEASE NOTE: Hypothesis works only with accessible files in which students can highlight or select portions of the text. To convert your document or PDF into an accessible format, we recommend trying SensusAccess.

Hypothesis now supports Canvas Groups. Learn more about social annotations Links to an external site..

Learn more about Hypothesis at https://web.hypothes.is/ Links to an external site.

Adding Hypothesis to your course

Hypothesis is available in all Canvas courses. You can add a Hypothesis reading or assignment via Assignments and Modules by using the "External Tool" option.

Hypothesis can also connect to specific sections Links to an external site. and groups within a Canvas course. 

NOTE: Hypothesis does not appear in the left navigation of a course. It is used primarily in Modules and Assignments (including SpeedGrader).

Adding Hypothesis Links to Canvas

Hypothesis can be added in Modules and Assignments (including SpeedGrader)

When added, instructors choose one of the following options:

• Enter URL of web page or PDF
• Select PDF from Canvas (this will pull from the Files area of the course)
• Select PDF from Google Drive (Google sign-in required)
• Enter URL of a YouTube link
• Select a Canvas page
  
  

Adding Hypothesis Links in Modules

1. Create or navigate to an existing Module
2. Click the + button and select External Tool as the item type
3. Select Hypothesis from the list of tools
4. Add the URL or select the PDF file to use
5. Check the box to Load in a new tab
6. Click the blue Add Item button
   
   

Adding Hypothesis Assignments

1. Create an Assignment
2. For submission type, select External Tool
3. Select Hypothesis from the list of tools
4. Add the URL or select the PDF file to use
5. Check the box to Load in a new tab
6. Save and publish your assignment when all of the other details have been added
   
   

NOTE: All students in the course (or the section if that is enabled) will see annotations made by their peers. Only private notes remain hidden from other students and the instructor.

When an Assignment includes Hypothesis, comments will be filtered to only show the specific student being evaluated in Speedgrader.

Grading: Manual and Automated

Manual Grading

Instructors can manually grade Hypothesis assignments by reviewing a student's filtered posts in Speedgrader and entering a grade in either Speedgrader or the appropriate column in the gradebook.

Auto-Grading

Hypothesis also offers automated grading. This feature is based solely on participation and not on an analysis of a post's contents. This short video provides an overview of auto-grading options in Canvas:

To enable the auto-grading feature, follow these steps:

1. When adding a Hypothesis assignment, check the box that reads "Enable automatic participation grading."
2. For grading type, select Proportional, or All or nothing. Proportional rewards partial credit based on the student's activity (e.g. a student making three of four required annotations/replies will receive 75% credit). All or nothing awards full credit for meeting the minimum number of annotations/replies or a zero if the number is not met (e.g. a student making three of four required posts will receive a 0, while a student making four posts will receive full credit).
3. For Activity calculation, select Calculate cumulative, or Calculate separately. Calculate cumulative counts initial comments and replies together. Calculate separately allows instructions to set specific requirements for initial annotations and replies.  
4. Set the number of required annotations and replies. 
5. To review participation and send grades to Canvas, open the Hypothesis assignment, click on the profile icon in the upper righthand corner (to the right of the question mark), and select Open dashboard. Once the dashboard is open, click Sync Grades to send the score to the Canvas gradebook.
   • If instructors wish to change the grading settings, they should edit the assignment, change the Hypothesis grading settings, save their changes, and revisit the Hypothesis assignment dashboard to re-sync grades. 
      

Support

• Support: Get Help with Hypothesis Links to an external site.
• Using the Hypothesis LMS App With Assignments in Canvas Links to an external site.
• Using the Hypothesis LMS App With Modules in Canvas Links to an external site.
• Grading Student Annotations in Canvas Links to an external site.
  
  

Instructional Resources

• Annotation etiquette for students Links to an external site.
• An Illustrated Guide to Annotation Types Links to an external site.
• Using images, links, and videos in annotations Links to an external site.
• Annotation Basics Links to an external site.
  
  

Accessibility

Hypothesis meets accessibility standards, though there are a few instances in which people using screen readers or keyboard support may experience issues. 

It is recommended that people potentially impacted review Hypothesis Accessibility Information before using the tool.