Sharing Notes Is Encouraged: Annotating and Cocreating with Hypothes.is and Google Docs †
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Authors:
Carlos C. Goller1,*,
Micah Vandegrift2,
Will Cross2,
Davida S. Smyth3
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Received 12 April 2020 Accepted 28 November 2020 Published 29 January 2021
- ©2021 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology
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[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
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†Supplemental materials available at http://asmscience.org/jmbe
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: 6104 Jordan Hall, Campus Box 7512, North Carolina State University Biotechnology Program, 2800 Faucette Drive, Raleigh NC 27695. Phone: 919-513-4135. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract:
Effectively analyzing literature can be challenging for those unfamiliar with studies from rapidly evolving research fields. Previous studies have shown that incorporating primary literature promotes scientific literacy and critical thinking skills. We’ve used collaborative note-taking and annotation of peer-reviewed articles to increase student engagement with course content and primary literature. Participants annotate articles using the web-annotation tool Hypothes.is and have access to comments from their peers. Groups are then assigned to summarize the annotations and findings, posting a synthesis for the course’s Hypothes.is group. In parallel, students contribute to common notes. The instructor generates a weekly video discussing the student notes. The goal of these activities is to foster an environment of open annotation and co-creation of knowledge to aid in studying for deeper learning. Compiled notes can be used to create an open educational resource (OER). The OER provides an entry point for future students and the public. Based on the evaluation of annotations, notes, and assessments, we conclude that these activities encourage student engagement and achievement of learning outcomes while raising awareness of the importance of open and collaborative practices.
References & Citations
Supplemental Material
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Appendix 1: Guidelines for annotations, summaries, and class notes, Appendix 2: Engagement and assessment data, Appendix 3: Additional suggestions for implementation
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Abstract:
Effectively analyzing literature can be challenging for those unfamiliar with studies from rapidly evolving research fields. Previous studies have shown that incorporating primary literature promotes scientific literacy and critical thinking skills. We’ve used collaborative note-taking and annotation of peer-reviewed articles to increase student engagement with course content and primary literature. Participants annotate articles using the web-annotation tool Hypothes.is and have access to comments from their peers. Groups are then assigned to summarize the annotations and findings, posting a synthesis for the course’s Hypothes.is group. In parallel, students contribute to common notes. The instructor generates a weekly video discussing the student notes. The goal of these activities is to foster an environment of open annotation and co-creation of knowledge to aid in studying for deeper learning. Compiled notes can be used to create an open educational resource (OER). The OER provides an entry point for future students and the public. Based on the evaluation of annotations, notes, and assessments, we conclude that these activities encourage student engagement and achievement of learning outcomes while raising awareness of the importance of open and collaborative practices.

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Author and Article Information
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Received 12 April 2020 Accepted 28 November 2020 Published 29 January 2021
- ©2021 Author(s). Published by the American Society for Microbiology
-
[open-access] This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode), which grants the public the nonexclusive right to copy, distribute, or display the published work.
-
†Supplemental materials available at http://asmscience.org/jmbe
- *Corresponding author. Mailing address: 6104 Jordan Hall, Campus Box 7512, North Carolina State University Biotechnology Program, 2800 Faucette Drive, Raleigh NC 27695. Phone: 919-513-4135. E-mail: [email protected].
Figures

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FIGURE 1
“Sharing Notes is Encouraged” workflow. Students annotate and cocreate notes to produce an OER for studying and future course participants. Students use Hypothes.is to annotate primary literature as homework assignments, following set guidelines (for details see Appendix 1 ), and groups are tasked with creating shared summaries for the class to view within a Hypothes.is group. Students contribute to shared notes both during and outside of the class session. The instructor then uses the notes to produce weekly recaps to provide feedback and encouragement. Student contributions are then compiled to create a final OER, containing all notes and annotations generated over the course of the semester in a publicly viewable dynamic resource (for a sample OER, go to go.ncsu.edu/bitmetagenomics and click on “Meta Book”). PB, Pressbooks.

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FIGURE 2
Students annotated assigned papers frequently and began using descriptive “tags.” (A) Students used the Hypothes.is tool to annotate reading assignments and tag keywords or phrases. Some students responded to other comments and included links and other resources. (B) All students’ (n = 15) annotated readings.