Hypothesis is a collaborative annotation tool that can be used within modules and assignments in Canvas. Instructors can select and share documents from public websites or upload PDFs and invite students to annotate using highlights, comments, notes, as well as reply to other students. Students’ annotations and responses can also be reviewed in SpeedGrader.

Hypothesis can be used in the assignments or modules sections of all CourseWorks (Canvas) courses. See the resources below for instructions on how to get started.

Resources:

• Using Hypothesis With Assignments in Canvas
• Using Hypothesis With Modules in Canvas
• How to Grade Hypothesis Annotations with SpeedGrader in Canvas
• Create Hypothesis Reading Groups with Canvas Groups
• Annotation Tips for Students
• Hypothesis Teacher Resource Guide

For help with Hypothesis, please submit a ticket directly to the Hypothesis team or reach out to us at courseworks@barnard.edu.

Mediathread allows students and instructors to collaboratively annotate video, images and text and use those annotations in compositions and essays.

Mediathread is available in all CourseWorks (Canvas) courses, but disabled by default; it can be enabled and added to the navigation bar in the course settings. See the resources below for instructions on how to get started.

Resources:

• Mediathread - Columbia CTL Knowledge Base

For questions about Mediathread, please reach out to courseworks@barnard.edu.

Ed Discussion is a threaded discussion platform that allows students and instructors to interact through questions, answers, and comments. Aside from standard text-based posts, users can also create and run code snippets, complete math equations, and upload and annotate document images.

Ed Discussion is available in all CourseWorks (Canvas) courses. To use Ed Discussions, you will need to enable it in your course settings. Please see the resources below for further instructions.

Resources:

• Getting Started with Ed Discussion in CourseWorks (Canvas)

For help with Ed Discussions, please email courseworks@barnard.edu.

Yellowdig is a robust discussion board tool with a social-media style news feed, with the aim of creating a community where students are rewarded for engaging in organic discussion and conversation with their instructors and peers. Points can be awarded for contributing original posts and responding to posts with comments and reactions, and a dynamic score is calculated based on overall student participation throughout the course.

Yellowdig is available in all CourseWorks (Canvas) courses. To use Yellowdig, you will need to enable it in your course settings. Please see the resources below for further instructions.

Resources:

• Getting Started with Yellowdig in CourseWorks (Canvas)
• Become a Yellowdig Certified Instructor - A self-paced hour-long course that introduces the platform and explains the features and pedagogy. A series of YouTube introduction videos are available as a standalone resource.
• Introducing Yellowdig to your Students
• Passing Points from Yellowdig to Canvas
• Yellowdig Features and Functions
• Accessibility in Yellowdig

Padlet allows the creation of digital workspaces, “Padlets”, which are similar to online bulletin boards. In addition to text, you can post links, photos, videos, files, drawings, and more. Padlets are commonly used as a visual way to display multimedia information, but can serve many functions. Here are some activities we’ve seen faculty use Padlet for at Barnard:

• taking notes
• brainstorming collaboratively
• building a timeline
• having a discussion
• sharing notices and information

Padlet Backpack is our institutional version of Padlet. It lets Barnard faculty, staff and students create an unlimited amount of Padlets, and these Padlets have more storage space than you would get with a regular Padlet account. Please fill out the following form to request a Padlet Backpack account for yourself and/or for students in your course(s).

Logging In

Once you’ve received your account for Barnard’s Padlet Backpack you can log in at https://barnard.padlet.org/. Padlet Backpack can also be accessed through the Padlet mobile app.

Note that a Padlet Backpack account requires a separate login from your Columbia UNI or Barnard accounts; your login information will be sent to you when your account is created. Please reach out to courseworks@barnard.edu for assistance with your account.

Resources:

• Getting Started with Padlet Backpack at Barnard
• Padlet Backpack Privacy Settings - We recommend “Secret” for sharing a link to your Padlet directly with others, or “Org Wide” to share with anyone who has a Barnard Padlet Backpack account.
• Example Padlets
• Padlet and Accessibility

For help with Padlet, please reach out to courseworks@barnard.edu

Barnard College uses Google Drive to share files and collaborate on documents. The Google Drive Courseworks integration allows you share your GBear Google files through CourseWorks, and allows students to submit Google Drive files for assignments. Google Drive can also be used to allow multiple people to contribute to a single document, which can be useful for classroom discussions and brainstorming sessions. Please note that Columbia students will not be able to see your Google Drive files unless you have individually shared the document with them in Google.

Google Drive is available in the Courseworks (Canvas) left-hand side navigation for all courses. To start using the integration, you’ll need to connect your Google account to Canvas. See the resources below for instructions.

Resources:

• Connect Google Drive to CourseWorks (Canvas) Account
• Google Apps Features in CourseWorks (Canvas)
• Create a Google Drive Collaboration

For help with using Google Drive within Courseworks, please reach out to courseworks@barnard.edu. For more general assistance with Google Drive, reach out to BCIT.