Set Up Hypothesis Documents and Assignments in Canvas

Last updated on August 31, 2026

In your course, you may want students to review a document and annotate it to show their understanding and interpretation of the material. This can be done collaboratively in Canvas through the third-party tool, Hypothesis. This tool enables students to review a PDF or web page, leave annotations and comments on it, and view and respond to those annotations and comments left by their classmates. In this tutorial we will cover how to add a Hypothesis document to a module and how to create an assignment that uses Hypothesis.

Directions

Note: This video does not include steps on the new Hypothesis feature, Paced Social Annotation. For updated information, see the written directions below. New video coming.

Create an Assignment Using Hypothesis in Canvas(Graded)

1. Log in to your Canvas Account.
2. Select the Course you’d like to work in.
3. Click Modules on the left-hand course navigation menu.
4. Click the + icon to the right of the Module you want to add the Hypothesis Assignment to.
5. Select Assignment from the drop-down menu at the top of the pop-up window.
6. Click Create Assignment.
7. Enter a Name for the assignment.
8. Click Add Item.
9. Click the name of the assignment you just created.
10. Click Edit in the top right corner.
11. Edit Assignment Instructions and Settings you want for the assignment.
    • View our tutorial, Create an Assignment in Canvas, for more guidance on the different Assignment settings.
12. Click the drop-down menu next to Submission Type.
13. Click External Tool.
14. Click the Find button to the right of the URL field in the Submission Type box.
15. Select Hypothesis from the list of options.

Adjust Hypothesis Assignment Details

Assignment Mode

1. Select the Assignment mode you would like to use in the pop-up menu that appears.
   • Social Annotation: Students’ annotations appear in real time, allowing students to view, respond to, and build on one another’s comments and questions as they go.
   • Paced Social Annotation: Student annotations are hidden from each other until they are manually revealed by the instructor, allowing students to complete the work on their own before viewing each other’s work.
     • Select the Checkpoint option you wish to use (currently the only option is Manual reveal)
       • For steps on how to manually reveal annotations, view the section below, View and Manage Hypothesis Assignment.
     • Click Next.

Assignment Content

1. Click on the Assignment Content you would like to use under Assignment details.
   • URL: Copy and paste a URL (web address) of a PDF or web page from your web browser.
   • Canvas Page: Choose a Canvas Page that has been created in the Canvas Course you are working in.
   • JSTOR: Copy and paste the URL from a JSTOR article.
     • Note: The URL to a JSTOR article can be found beneath the article’s title on the JSTOR website.
   • YouTube: Copy and paste a YouTube video URL (web address).
     • Note: This option will allow students to annotate the transcript of the video, not the video itself. If the video does not have a transcript students will not be able to make annotations. 
   • Canvas File: Choose a PDF file that you have uploaded to your files in your Canvas course.
   • Google Drive: Choose a PDF file that has been uploaded to your Google Drive.
     • Note: You will need to log in with a Google account to select the file.
   • OneDrive: Choose a PDF file that has been uploaded to your OneDrive.
     • Note: All MSU Denver faculty and students already have OneDrive accounts that they can access by using their single sign-on credentials.
2. Click Select to attach the chosen content to the assignment.

Assignment Details

1. Check the boxes next to Auto Grading and/or Group Assignment if desired.
   • Auto Grading: Hypothesis will automatically give students a grade based on number of annotations and replies.
     • Note: Grades will not automatically sync with the Canvas Gradebook. For steps on how to sync grades, go to the section below, View and Manage Hypothesis Assignment.
     • Choose which Grading Type you want to use.
       • Proportional: Students can receive partial credit if they have some, but not all, the required annotations.
       • All or nothing: Students will either receive 100% for meeting the required annotations, or 0% if they don’t meet them.
     • Choose which Activity Calculation you want to use.
       • Calculate cumulative: Students have a goal number for annotations and replies together, and they will be tallied together.
       • Calculate Separately: Students have a separate goal for annotations and replies, and they will be tallied separately.
       • Type the Goal for number of Annotation and Replies in the box to the right.
   • Group Assignment: Students will only see annotations from members of their group.
     • Note: You will need to create a group set before selecting this feature. View our tutorial, Create Groups in Canvas, for more guidance.
2. Click Continue in the bottom right-hand corner of the pop-up window.
3. Click Select at the bottom right of the External Tool pop-up.
4. Check the box next to Load in a new tab.
   • Note: If this is not checked, the document will be embedded in the Canvas page, which may cause software and browser issues related to viewing the document.
5. Click Save or Save and Publish in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

View and Manage Hypothesis Assignment

1. Open the Hypothesis Assignment in Canvas.
2. Click Load Hypothesis [Assignment Name] in a new window.
3. View Student Annotations on the right-side panel.
   • Refer to our tutorial, Use Hypothesis for Collaborative Annotations on Documents in Canvas, for guidance on creating and responding to annotations.
4. For Paced Social Annotation assignments:
   • Click Reveal annotations in the top right corner of the page to reveal peer annotations to students.
   • Click Reveal at the bottom right of the pop-up window.
     • Note: Once this is clicked, students will be able to see each others annotations. This can only be done once, and cannot be undone.
5. To sync grades with Canvas Gradebook for Auto-Graded Assignments:
   • Click the Person Icon in the top right corner of the assignment within Hypothesis
   • Click Open Dashboard from the drop-down menu.
   • Click Sync [number of students] grades in the top right corner.
     • Note: You can also click the All students drop down menu to select specific students to sync the grades for.

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Add a Hypothesis PDF to a Module (Ungraded)

1. Log in to your Canvas Account.
2. Select the Course you’d like to work in.
3. Click Modules in the left-hand navigation menu.
4. Find the Module that you would like to add a Hypothesis PDF to. 
5. Click the + Icon to the right of the module’s name.
6. Click the Drop-Down Menu (by default this should say Assignments).
7. Click External Tool from the drop-down menu.
8. Click Hypothesis in the list of external tools that appears below the drop-down menu.
9. Select the Assignment mode you wish to use.
10. Click on the Assignment Content option you would like to use.
11. Click Accept and Continue after choosing the option you would like to use.                                           
12. Click Continue in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window.
    • Note: The Auto Grading and Group Assignment options only work for graded assignments. See the section above for more details.
13. Enter a Title for the document in the Page Name text field at the bottom of the pop-up window.
14. Check the box next to Load in a new tab.
15. Click Add Item in the bottom right-hand corner.
    • The Hypothesis document will now appear at the bottom of the module and is unpublished.
16. Click the Publish Icon (circle with a diagonal line) to publish the document.

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Have Questions?

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