Enhancing Active Learning through Collaborative Annotation

Author : Hranush Ginosyan

Abstract : This study integrated active collaborative annotation into students’ research projects using Perusall, a social learning platform for annotating text, video, and audio. Perusall allows students to highlight ideas, comment, ask questions, and respond to peers directly on shared sources. This structured interaction enables groups to co-construct understanding and negotiate meaning in real time. In practice, students upload or access research sources within the platform and annotate collaboratively via threaded comments that appear alongside the text in a discussion-based format. Built in analytics and AI supported scoring track engagement and estimate preparation, supporting participation assessment. Pedagogically, Perusall is grounded in social constructivist theory and computer supported collaborative learning, emphasizing knowledge construction through interaction rather than passive reading. Its design promotes sustained engagement with academic texts, deeper comprehension through peer dialogue, and improved learning outcomes. This session presents an annotation based activity integrating Perusall into an active learning framework. We examine how guided annotation supports collaborative inquiry, deeper engagement with academic texts, critical reading skills, and language learning in a research oriented context. The session will conclude with a brief Q&A.

Keywords : Perusall, Collaborative Annotation, Active Learning, Social Constructivism

Conference Name : International Conference on Creativity, Pedagogy, and Educational Change (ICCPEC-26)

Conference Place : Toronto, Canada

Conference Date : 3rd Aug 2026