Why Social Annotation Is an Essential Tool for AI-Era Literacy

Literacy today is no longer just about reading and writing—it’s about navigating an information landscape shaped by generative AI. Tools like ChatGPT can produce full essays, instant summaries, and seemingly “correct” answers. But when students rely on these tools without guidance, they 

risk bypassing the deep thinking and analysis that real learning requires.

Educators now face a new challenge: how to foster critical engagement in a world where content can be generated in seconds. At Hypothesis, we believe the answer lies in social annotation—a collaborative, text-centered practice that teaches students to pause, question, and reflect.

The Rise of Generative AI and the Challenge for Educators

The sudden rise of tools like ChatGPT has left many instructors scrambling. AI is already changing how students read, write, and think—but few faculty feel fully prepared to respond. Some institutions have defaulted to bans or detection tools. Others, like SUNY New Paltz, are charting a different path.

“Transparency and thoughtful integration are key,” says Rachel Rigolino, Professor of English at SUNY New Paltz. “Instructors need to rethink assignments and assessments to reflect the new AI-inhabited landscape.”

Rather than fear AI, Rigolino and others are choosing to engage with it critically—and teach students to do the same.

What AI-Era Literacy Requires

In an AI-saturated world, basic comprehension isn’t enough. Students need to:

• Identify logical gaps, inaccuracies, and missing context.
• Compare AI- and human-generated interpretations.
• Understand bias, authorship, and rhetorical intent.

These skills are core to digital literacy, and social annotation makes them visible. As students highlight, question, and respond in the margins, they develop habits of mind that can’t be replicated—or outsourced—by AI.

“Hypothesis allows me to suggest the value of slow reading,” said Nick LoLordo, Senior Lecturer at the University of Oklahoma. “It encourages close reading and resists the productivity-driven learning that big tech promotes.”

Using Annotation to Build Digital Literacy and Media Awareness

Faculty are designing annotation-based assignments that make AI critique part of the learning process. For example:

• Students annotate AI-generated summaries to identify inaccuracies or oversimplifications.
• They compare responses from ChatGPT to original texts, noting what’s lost in translation.
• They reflect on authorship, context, and what it means to read with intention.

“They’re thinking more deeply,” Rigolino shared. “We’re not banning AI—we’re helping students analyze it, evaluate it, and develop healthy skepticism.”

At Missouri Southern State University, Diana Fordham trains future educators to use AI thoughtfully, not blindly.

“I’m teaching educators how to use AI as an assistant—to engage their students better,” she explained. “We’re showing students how to question, critique, and collaborate in a digital world.”

Shifting the Focus from Policing to Empowering

Most tools designed to address AI in education—like plagiarism detectors—focus on punishment. But annotation invites participation. It shifts the narrative from “catching dishonesty” to “building integrity.”

Hypothesis helps students:

• Anchor ideas in specific parts of a text.
• Read not just for answers, but for meaning.
• Make their thinking visible—and accountable—to peers and instructors.

By empowering students to ask questions like “Where did this come from?” or “What’s missing?”, annotation turns reading into an act of inquiry rather than information retrieval.

Conclusion: Building Lifelong Readers and Thinkers

AI isn’t going away—and that’s not the problem. The problem is when we let it replace the very skills students need to thrive: curiosity, skepticism, and reflection.

Hypothesis doesn’t just help students read texts. It helps them read the world. By embedding annotation into course content, faculty can teach AI-era literacy in a way that’s visible, shareable, and lasting.

Watch the Webinar:

Liquid Margins 50: Transforming OER with AI and Social Annotation – A Guide for Educators

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Ready to equip your students with the skills they need to navigate an AI-driven world?
Explore our AI case study, watch our Learning Lab on meaningful annotation, or download assignment templates to get started.