This is an introduction to Hypothes.is, why I use it, and step-by-step instructions on how to set it up. If you prefer to read rather than watch (although you’ll miss the screen shots):
There are several elements of learning that I want to address this semester, in addition to presenting you with some data and interpretations from our past. Since only a very few people in most of my survey courses are going to become historians, I think it's important for me to try to make the past relevant to your present and your future. That's a goal I've mentioned elsewhere. A related goal is to try to provide you tools and techniques you can use to learn not only history, but whatever else you may be interested in, throughout your life.
You have probably heard old people say that the things they learned in school when they were young (whatever level of education they completed) didn't really prepare them for all the changes they lived through in their careers or just in day-to-day living. There's no reason to expect the pace of change to slow down and with new technologies such as Generative AI, there's really no telling what any of us might be doing in ten or twenty or fifty years. The best things we can do, I think, are learn how to learn and practice discussing ideas with other people rationally and without the type of toxic emotion we often see today.
One of the tools I use, which I'm excited to introduce to you this semester, is a free app called Hypothes.is. It allows you to read online documents (things like websites, ebooks, and pdfs), highlight them, and comment on what you have read, either for your own benefit or in conversation with others. I use it when I read; sometimes making private notes to myself that only I can see, so I can return later and build on the ideas; and sometimes to engage with other people who have also read the same material and had something to say. I've had several really rewarding interactions with people all over the world, and have found others interested in some of the same things that fascinate me. Friendships and new insights have resulted.
What we're going to do with Hypothes.is, however, will be a bit more focused. Although once you have the app, you are free to use it however you want for your own interests; for the course we're going to use it in a private setting where your interactions with texts and each other will only be visible to members of the group I create. You won't have to worry that anything you say is going to be out on the web forever. This will be a safe space where you will be able to try out ideas and hopefully be comfortable going "out on a limb" from time to time.
So now I'll show you how to get a free account and set it up. Here are the steps:
1. Hypothes.is works best with the Chrome browser. So that's step one, if you don't have Chrome.
2. From Chrome, go to the Hypothes.is website and hit the "Get Started" button. It will offer you an option to download the LMS or the Free Web App. Choose "Get Started with Web App". It will then ask you to create an account (I'm assuming you don't already have one).
3. When setting up your account, please use something close enough to your real name that I will be able to recognize you (so I can give you credit for your work). FirstnameLastname is usually a good idea (I use danallosso), but if your name is super long, maybe FirstinitialLastname. It will also ask you for your email and a password. I don't need to know those things.
4. Once you have set up your account, close and restart Chrome and go back to Hypothesis and log in. Go back to the start page and scroll to step 2. Choose "Add Extension". At the next page install the extension.
5. Go to the "Manage Extensions" page and choose "Details" on the Hypothesis tab.
6. On the Extensions Details page, turn the extension on, and turn on the three other options, "Pin to Toolbar", "Allow in incognito", and "Allow access to file urls". This will create a little extension sign in your browser.
7. Also click on the url I will send you separately, inviting you to the private group.
8. Congrats! You're ready to go. I'll demonstrate how it works.
When you open a document such as a chapter of the textbook, you'll be able to see what the number of annotations that have been made on the document. Clicking the extension sign and the Hypothes.is sidebar will become visible. Click on the arrow to open it.
Part of what we're going to do each week is begin our discussion of the week's content by highlighting and commenting on a chapter of the text. I will be lecturing on the same content and there will be an audio you can use to listen along. But whatever form of the media you use to consume the information, you will also be responsible to add your own thoughts to the discussion and comment on the thoughts of your classmates. Typically, the assignment will be to make four original comments on the reading and then respond to at least two comments others have made (this might vary, depending on the reading).
I'll drop additional videos explaining other elements of the course, but I think this should allow you to get started with Hypothes.is. If you have any problems doing this, get in touch with me and I will walk you through the process.
