As part of the Flexible Learning programme, last year we ran a pilot for a new tool within Blackboard called Hypothesis.
Hypothesis is a social annotation tool, allowing you to annotate a document in a virtual classroom of other students from your course, and to read and respond to their annotations. It allows you to share comments with others on your course (both other students and teaching staff), or add comments which are private to you for personal study.
The pilot was a great success, with over 60 members of University staff testing the tool across 35 courses – reaching 960 students, and an incredible total of 11,483 annotations created across the year-long pilot.
We’re now rolling this out more widely across the University, and giving all teaching staff the option to use Hypothesis on their course – so over the next year, you may notice this tool added to your Blackboard space.
What is Hypothesis?
The Hypothesis tool is embedded directly into Blackboard, meaning no additional login is required, and allows you (and teaching staff) to interact within reading materials. You can use this to make notes for your own use, or start a discussion with others.
You might find the tool useful to ask a quick question in between lectures or office hours, to share your thoughts with your peers, or to provide real-time feedback on the materials provided.
Hypothesis also allows you to store your comments for future use – should you need to refer back to your notes later, when studying for an exam or writing an essay.
What next?
Hypothesis can be accessed by all teaching staff, who feel it would benefit their course – so keep your eyes peeled for the tool on Blackboard.
If you notice it appear, and need help using the tool within your course, this video shows you how to get started.