Engage students in social annotation with Hypothesis

Join Loree Buchan and Steven Wiltz as they introduce the Hypothesis annotation tool and demonstrate how social annotation can transform your classroom, making reading active, visible, and social.

Hypothesis is a collaborative social annotation tool that allows students to collectively cooperate while working on class assignments. The tool can be added right on top of your existing coursework in your Learning Management System. Instructors can add their own annotations beforehand to guide students through difficult concepts, and students can annotate course readings collaboratively, sharing comments, replying to each other’s comments, and answering questions posed by the instructor and each other.

This event will be followed by another where AMICAL members will be invited to share their experiences with Hypothesis and social annotation.

Who should attend

Faculty, teaching librarians, instructional technologists, academic IT.

AMICAL is in conversation with Hypothesis to offer fully supported pilot programs to interested institutions, so those responsible for academic technology at their campus should find attending this event especially interesting.

Speaker bios

Loree Buchan (Regional Manager, Hypothesis) – Whether it be in a classroom or a corporate boardroom, Loree has always had a love for teaching and learning. As part of the Hypothesis team, she is excited to tap into all facets of her unique background to combine her entrepreneurial spirit, classroom and online teaching experience, and expertise in leading and coaching sales and technology teams to positively impact the education landscape.

Steven Wiltz (Account Executive, Hypothesis) – Prior to Hypothesis, Steven worked in a variety of roles in higher education. He has experience teaching history and using technology in the classroom; has worked as a customer success advocate in publishing to help instructors successfully implement digital solutions in the classroom; and, as a librarian, has focused on collection development and information literacy. Passionate about helping instructors achieve their goals, he is excited to join Hypothesis and continue to have an impact in education.

Joe Ferraro (Vice President, Hypothesis) – Joe joined Hypothesis in August 2022. He comes to the organization with over 15 years in the education industry, starting in enrollment management and fundraising, and then moving to the vendor side. Working with products and services that provide students around the world with equal opportunities in the education space, Joe discovered his passion for EdTech. He spent the last four and a half years at Labster, a market leader in science education courseware; in his time there, he grew the sales team from four people to over 100, and built go-to-market teams to support US higher ed, K12, and international higher ed. In addition to his work, Joe is passionate about travel, his rescue dogs and his family. A graduate of Suffolk University, Joe lives with his partner and two dogs outside of Boston, MA.

The event was organized by Najla Jarkas, Mellon Digital Liberal Arts Fellow and Chair of AMICAL’s Digital Liberal Arts Programs Committee.