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The Secret to Deeper Student Engagement: Real Faculty Talk Social Annotation

By Catalina Santilli | 1 July, 2025

How two Texas professors are using Hypothesis to help students read, think, and write more deeply—together.

Across higher education, instructors are grappling with a common challenge: students aren’t reading. When they do, it’s often surface-level—and increasingly assisted by AI. So how do faculty bring students back to the text?

For Jaclyn Miller, Associate Professor of History at South Texas College, and Ann D. David, Professor of Teacher Education at the University of the Incarnate Word, the answer is clear: social annotation.

In a recent webinar hosted by Hypothesis, these two educators shared how annotation has reshaped their classrooms, built stronger student communities, and made learning more authentic.

“A lot of students admitted they probably would not have read the text at all if I didn’t assign the reading through Hypothesis and give it a grade.” — Jaclyn Miller

Annotation as a Bridge to Original Thinking

Jaclyn’s journey with Hypothesis began in a faculty reading group, when a colleague shared an article about social annotation. She explored the tool and quickly saw its potential—not just for engagement, but for writing.

“I’ve now been using it largely as a platform for note-taking to help students engage in better and more original writing.”

Ann’s journey started even earlier. As a long-time champion of annotation, she had been using similar tools for over a decade.

“As an English major and a reader… I’m one of those people whose books are just covered with stickies and notes everywhere. Social annotation created that for online reading.”

Anchoring Students in the Text

Both professors emphasized that what sets Hypothesis apart is how it keeps students grounded in the text—especially in an era where digital distractions and AI-generated responses are common.

“None of the [tools I’ve used] anchored students in the text the way that annotation did in paper—and now social annotation does that online.” — Ann D. David

From Annotation to Better Writing

In Jaclyn’s history courses, annotation serves as the first step in a writing sequence. Students annotate primary sources, then develop those insights into essays. This layered approach supports deeper comprehension and more confident writing.

“Hypothesis has really helped with that, giving them that pre-reading step—kind of a participation grade en route to a harder and higher-stakes writing grade.”

She also sees annotation as a way to reinforce originality.

“I tell my students, the more original work and quality work you do on Hypothesis, the more I’m convinced that the outcome of your writing is original.”

Grading That Encourages Engagement

Grading can be a barrier to adoption—but both faculty have found ways to make it simple and motivating.

Ann gives students a weekly annotation grade and encourages them to respond to one another, which reinforces the social aspect of annotation.

“I do give them a weekly grade on their annotations… I thank them for moving the conversation forward. The repeated invitation for reply really helps the social component.”

Building Classroom Collaboration

The conversation doesn’t stop at the margins. Annotation has helped both instructors build stronger peer-to-peer connections, making class time more dynamic and collaborative.

“Students and I—we always talk about how we really learn together in important ways. That’s why we do it. We collaborate.” — Ann D. David

“Once students start talking to each other with annotations, that serves as a key point of motivation for them.”

Faculty Takeaways—and What’s Next

The conversation didn’t just inspire the audience—it inspired the panelists themselves.

Jaclyn left the session eager to incorporate more real-time collaboration into her annotation assignments. Ann, in turn, plans to ask students to revisit past annotations and use them as source material for their final reflections—making their learning journey visible across the semester.

Watch the webinar recording here

Ready to Bring Social Annotation to Your Classroom?

When faculty use Hypothesis, they’re not just adopting a tool—they’re transforming how students read, think, and write.

Whether you’re looking to boost engagement, foster collaboration, or reduce the impact of AI-generated work, Hypothesis offers a simple, powerful way to bring students back to the text.

Want to learn more?
Book a quick demo or join our next webinar to see how social annotation can support your students, just like it has for faculty in Texas and beyond.


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