5.3: The Hypothesis Annotation System
Hypothes.is is an open-source software project that aims to collect comments about statements made in any web-accessible content, and filter and rank those comments to assess each statement's credibility. It has been summarized as "a peer review layer for the entire Internet." The hypothesis system is native on all LibreTexts libraries and can be accessed via the lurking buttons on the upper right of each page (see arrow in Figure below for Klymkoswsky and Cooper's Biofundamentals text on the biology library.
To use the hypothesis system, an account has to be registered with hypothesis (free to all). That can be set up easily by clicking on the hypothesis button (see above), which expands the application on the LibreTexts (see Figure below).
After successfully logging in, users can then use the system directly on LibreTexts pages. There is even a small HowTo menu once logged in (see figure below).
Method 1: Note taking
Just general annotation/notes (for students or faculty) requires logging in and highlighting some text. An automatic option will show up asking if user wants to annotate that text (on that page). For example, if a user wants to either (hypothesis) highlight a section or provide an annotation on that section, all they need to do is drag the mouse to highlight the area and click on either option that pops up (see Figure below).
Method 2: Contextual Chat Rooms and Meta-Discussions
If you want to use hypothesis as a contextual chat room with students posting questions right next to content for faculty to engage them on those questions, then a closed group for your class needs to be set up. In the absence of a group, all annotation and highlights are publicly viewable.