Teaching and learning with Perusall: Evaluation of user experiences.

HJA (Hans) Beldhuis Ph.D.
University of Groningen, Netherlands
RSVP

The University of Groningen, The Netherlands, aims to improve the quality of learning in its degree programmes by innovative application of new technologies. One of the latest tools that is considered useful is Perusall. The assumption is that having student annotate study texts online contributes to more conscious processing of information and exchange of thoughts with peers that results in more in-depth information processing and better recall than reading from written texts. A series of deadlines for annotations helps students plan their reading time.

In an institution-wide pilot, teachers were stimulated to use Perusall in their courses. Together with the lecturer, the instructional design was discussed to align Perusall assignments with the learning objectives. Next, teaching assistants linked and synced the course in the LMS to Perusall, uploaded PDFs and defined the assignments in Perusall. In addition, library and legal support was provided. During the course, didactic (confusion report) and technical (retrospectives) support was given. Finally, the teachers’ and students’ experiences were evaluated by a different research group.

In this presentation, two related aspects of the use of Perusall in the participating course units are discussed: the perceptions of Perusall as an appropriate tool, and the value of engagement indicators registered by Perusall to predict student examination results.