Then design instruction to help them be better digital readers and writers. Ask students what they know, what tools are familiar, and how they best like to read and interact with digital texts. Teachers of all levels and subjects can begin as Lauren did. This instruction greatly increased their competence in and preference for digital annotation. Overwhelmingly, her students preferred print reading/annotation, but they also revealed that they had never been taught digital annotation tools.īased on their familiarity-or lack thereof-with digital annotation, Lauren designed instruction that helped students become familiar with their options and allowed them to practice several different forms of digital annotation.
#Annotation examples for students how to
She asked them questions about their preferences for reading and annotating print and digital texts, as well as their knowledge of how to annotate digitally. Lauren surveyed her students to uncover what they knew about digital annotation before diving into instruction. However, research that we have been conducting in Lauren’s high school English classrooms over the last few years has helped us to understand that students do not readily transfer their print annotation skills to digital academic texts. For example, students add filters, drawings, emojis, and writing to content they create or interact with in digital spaces such as Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube. Whether or not they realize it, students practice annotation of digital texts outside of school. What do students know about digital annotation? With a microphone or webcam, students can leave voice or video comments alongside a text.ĭuring a time where remote learning is necessary, teachers can consider the many options of digital annotation. For example, with a touchscreen-enabled device or stylus, students can draw or handwrite directly on the screen. If readers have access to particular technologies, annotations can take new forms. The use of social annotation tools allows for conversations among readers, mimicking a class discussion, and deeper engagement with born-digital texts. They can also converse with each other through threaded annotations on a text.
![annotation examples for students annotation examples for students](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nicola-Ferro-2/publication/220387596/figure/fig1/AS:394138907365377@1470981446991/The-photo-shows-subsequent-annotations-on-a-roll-of-students-Italia-Padova-Archivio_Q320.jpg)
Tools like Hypothesis or NowComment can allow students to take notes on the open web, including on news websites, PDFs, and open-source full-length books. In many ways these tools mimic traditional annotation strategies. Bolding, underlining, changing text color, adding highlighting, and making comments are all standard tools in these programs. For example, students can use any word processing platform (e.g., Google Docs, Microsoft Word) to annotate a text that has been copied and pasted into the document. At the simplest level, readers can use basic tools like highlighting and commenting to make notes on a text. What might digital annotation look like?ĭigital tools provide many options for annotating texts.
![annotation examples for students annotation examples for students](https://jenniferfindley.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/annotating-tips-close-reading-free-printable-to-teach-annotation.jpg)
When students do not have access to a print book, poem, or article-or if a teacher wants them to interact with content that is born-digital-then digital annotation can allow students to add their thoughts directly on screen-based texts. Highlighting, sticky notes, and end-of-chapter reflections are also common annotations of students who are reading print-based texts in the classroom. When teachers think about traditional annotation, they might picture marginalia, or notes in the margins of a text. Though at first it may not be obvious, annotation can transcend the spheres. How is it going to work to read a full-class text? How will teachers assess individual students’ thinking? How will students engage critically with their reading? How will redesigned instruction be equitable when synchronous access isn’t ubiquitous?Īs teachers consider new possibilities for instruction, they are learning alongside their students about what practices from the face-to-face classroom might transfer into a digital space. The rapid shift from face-to-face to emergency remote teaching has upended educational systems everywhere. “Yeah, how is that going to work?” replied her son.
![annotation examples for students annotation examples for students](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b7/c7/a2/b7c7a23d787a642d15c415faf7dd789e.jpg)
“No, there weren’t enough for the entire grade, so we are going to have to read it online,” her daughter said. On the last day of school before the COVID-19 shutdown, Kristen asked her seventh-grade twins whether their teacher had given them copies of the class novel they were going to be reading.
![annotation examples for students annotation examples for students](https://inquiryproject.terc.edu/curriculum/curriculum5/img/annotatedNB_v6.jpg)
By Kristen Hawley Turner and Lauren Zucker