Setting up Hypothesis in Canvas

Setting up Hypothesis in Canvas

This very long page is all about setting up Hypothesis in Canvas. Hypothesis is already in Canvas, there's no additional steps you need to do before setting up your individual assignments.
While you are encouraged to read through this entire page first, you can jump straight to the setup instructions.

Setup Preparation

What source are you using?

Here's the current available sources:

  • PDF in Canvas: upload the PDF before you set up the assignment. PDFs in Canvas require some import maintenance, meaning that when you import content to a new course, you may have to relink the PDF in each assignment.
  • PDF in Google Drive: it's helpful to know the path or folder where the PDF is stored, or you can search for the PDF title; you can also upload the PDF during the assignment setup. There is no expected import maintenance between courses.
  • If you're using a website URL, a JSTOR article, or VitalSource ebook: have the URL ready, you'll need to paste it during setup. There is no expected import maintenance between courses.
  • YouTube Video: have the URL of the video ready to paste during setup. The video should have good captions and not be age restricted. There is no expected import maintenance between courses.

For existing PDFs, does it have optical character recognition (OCR)?

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a process that converts different types of documents (such as scanned paper documents/PDFs) into a file with selectable and searchable text. This last part is key because if a PDF does not have any selectable text characters, there is nothing to anchor annotations to!

Here's a quick way to check if your document has been OCRed: open up the PDF and try selecting any of the words by clicking and highlighting any sentence. If you can highlight the words, your PDF has been OCRed. If you can't highlight any words, your PDF needs some remediation.

Having PDFs that are selectable and searchable is important even if you're not using Hypothesis. It helps students who use screen-readers and it makes your PDFs more legible useable to all of your students. 

How can I get my PDFs OCRed?

  • For particularly nasty PDFs, a good first step is to check the UCSC Library or The Internet for a better digital copy or ideally, a version that already has OCR and selectable text. This isn鈥檛 always viable, but finding an existing file with OCR is easier than remediating.
  • Email tlc@ucsc.edu with your PDF(s) and we can convert them for you.
  • For the brave: Adobe Acrobat can perform OCR, although it can be a bit of a learning curve. Here's instructions on performing OCR with Adobe Acrobat.
  • Try this self-service OCR tool from Hypothesis: DocDrop.

Here's some more information about OCR from Hypothesis.

Are you using Canvas Rubrics or Groups?

Either of these will require some setup before you create your Hypothesis Assignment.

  • Rubrics: Canvas Rubrics can be used with a Hypothesis assignment, but it needs to be attached before pointing the assignment to Hypothesis.
      • Why use rubrics? Rubrics provide clear and transparent criteria about how an assignment will be evaluated. Students know exactly where they are gaining or losing points. For graders, rubrics can increase grading efficiency and reduce subjective bias.
    • Canvas Guide: More about Canvas Rubrics
    • SETUP: How to use Canvas Rubrics with Hypothesis
  • Groups: Hypothesis supports Canvas Groups, but they need to be set up before pointing the assignment to Hypothesis.

Assignment or Module Item?

Hypothesis setup depends on whether or not you plan to award points for the annotation activity.

  • If you are awarding points, use a Canvas Assignment and follow the steps in Setting up Hypothesis below.
  • If you aren't awarding points, you can add Hypothesis as an external tool into a module or as an assignment worth 0 points.

Why award points? Points can motivate students to engage more actively with the material. It also communicates the significance of the assignment, encouraging students to take the assignment more seriously.

ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

Remember to attach Canvas rubrics or create Group sets first before doing these steps!

  1. In your course, navigate to Assignments and make a new assignment with the + Assignment button.
  2. Edit the assignment. Under Submission Type, select External Tool. Click on Find. Locate Hypothesis from the alphabetical list of external tools.
  3. Hypothesis will ask you what source text you want to use. This is where you'll point Hypothesis to an existing PDF in Canvas, point it to your Google Drive, or paste in a URL for a webpage, JSTOR article or VitalSource book.
  4. Optional: point the assignment to an existing Group set of students
  5. Click Continue to close the Hypothesis window. Click Select to close the Configure External Tool window.
  6. Enable "Load This Tool In A New Tab"
  7. Add other instructions and settings, Save. Publish when ready.

MODULE ITEM INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Click the + button in the module header.
  2. Click on the dropdown next to Add and select External Tool. Locate Hypothesis from the alphabetical list of external tools.
  3. Hypothesis will ask you what source text you want to use. After you select the source, it'll insert the URL.
  4. Set the page name and enable Load in a new tab (if not already selected).
  5. Click Add Item and publish when ready.

Check out the student experience with Student View/Test Student.

You've successfully set up your Hypothesis assignment!
Make sure you give your students some guidelines about posting.

Jump To:
About Hypothesis 路 TRY OUT HYPOTHESIS 路 Setting up Hypothesis in Canvas 路
 Guidelines and Sample Instructions 路 What's New + FAQ 路 Additional Support + Resources