Empowering active learning: A social annotation tool for improving student engagement
Authors: Cui Tristan , Wang Jeff 
Published: October 2023

This study investigates the impact of Perusall, a social annotation tool, on an online postgraduate course conducted over two semesters at an Australian university. We examine the connection between students' pre‐class engagement and learning outcomes, utilizing both secondary data from Perusall platform and primary data through a survey. The findings indicate that pre‐class social annotations have a positive impact on students' performance on post‐class assessments. Notably, English as an Additional Language students with low English proficiency achieve comparable results in Perusall as those with high English proficiency. Additionally, the study identifies key aspects of social annotation that students highly value, providing insights for future implementation. Overall, this study highlights the potential of social annotation tools like Perusall to improve pre‐class engagement and enhance learning outcomes.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

Student engagement with pre‐class activities is critical to their learning outcomes.

The integration of social annotation tools for completing pre‐class reading has become progressively prevalent among teachers.

The use of social annotation tools for reading and annotating has been found to have a positive influence on students' motivation, interactions, and academic performance.

What this paper adds

Online social annotation on lecture content has a short‐term positive impact on subsequent assessments, indicating that it is an effective way to engage students in pre‐class learning and improve their understanding and retention of course material.

English as an Additional Language (EAL) students of varying levels of English proficiency achieve comparable results in social annotation assignments, highlighting the potential of this tool to provide an equitable learning experience for all students regardless of their language abilities.

Social annotation activities promote a strong social presence with cohesive communication, positively impacting online learning's cognitive presence. This highlights the significance of collaborative learning and social interaction in online education, and the potential of social annotation tools to create an engaging and supportive learning environment.

Students prefer receiving feedback from teachers within a Community of Inquiry (CoI) rather than through traditional modes of direct instruction or conversation initiation, highlighting the importance of teaching presence in refining their cognitive and social presences, and ultimately enhancing the quality of their learning experience.

Implications for practice and/or policy

This study provides practical suggestions for designing pre‐class learning activities that build upon pre‐class lessons, helping teachers to optimize students' learning experiences and outcomes.

It sheds light on using inclusive and collaborative assessments as an effective way to enhance engagement and performance of EAL students.

To cultivate a productive CoI within online educational contexts, teachers need to prioritize personalized feedback to students.