Overview
Graded PDF Annotations provide instructors and students with the ability to markup and critique PDFs within Harmonize.
- Highlight text and drop pins anywhere in a PDF
- Add your own comments and reply to others’ annotations
- Easily jump to new annotations and unread replies
- Tag other users in comments and replies
Setting Up PDF Annotations for Your Students
Canvas
Within your course, navigate to Assignments and click the + Assignment button. This will open the Create New Assignment Page in Canvas.
Give the assignment a name and set the appropriate number of points.
Scroll down the page until you see Submission Type. In this section, select External Tool from the drop down menu. Under "Enter or find an External Tool URL", click Find.
In the Configure External Tool dialogue that appears, click Harmonize Assignment.
In the Link Resource from External Tool dialogue that appears, click PDF Annotation.
In the next window, click +Add File to upload a single PDF for annotation. Once completed, click Create PDF Annotation.
The dialogue window will close automatically and return you to the Configure External Tool dialogue. An automatically generated URL will appear in the URL field of this window. Please do not alter this URL in any way. Click the Select button.
This dialogue window will close automatically. Scroll down to the Assign section. Set Due, Available From, and Until dates. Scroll to the bottom of the Create New Assignment page. Click either the Save or Save & Publish button located in the bottom right corner.
Your graded PDF Annotation is now created and the Edit PDF Annotation page will open in a new browser tab. In the Instructions tab, use the Harmonize Editor to create text instructions and add images or other media. Click Publish.
Your Graded PDF Annotation is now ready for student participation.
Blackboard, Brightspace, and Moodle
Follow the steps for creating graded Harmonize content in your LMS. Come back to this guide once you've reached the Harmonize Component Selector. Select PDF Annotations from the Harmonize Component Selector. Click Create New to create a new PDF Annotation component.
Enter a title for your PDF Annotation component. Use the provided Add File dialogue to upload a single PDF for Annotation. Select the Graded option. Assign the number of possible points for your Graded PDF Annotation. Click the Create PDF Annotation button.
Your graded PDF Annotation is now created and the Edit PDF Annotation page will open in a new browser tab. In the Instructions tab, use the Harmonize Editor to create text instructions and add images or other media. Click Publish.
Creating Annotations
Once the PDF Annotation is created, instructors and student can add new annotations as well as respond to the annotations of others.
Section 1: Navigation and Filtering Options
Show / Hide Annotations | |
Previous / Next Annotation | |
Zoom In, Zoom Out, Select Magnification |
Section 2: Annotation Tools
Create a Highlight | |
Drop a Pin | |
Move / Pan |
Section 3: Annotation Menu
Open / Close Annotations Panel |
The Annotations Panel
Here is an example of how top-level student annotations and replies appear in the Annotations Panel:
Previous / Next Annotation
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Annotation Action Menu
Edit Annotation
Delete Annotation
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Reply to Annotation
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Grading PDF Annotations
Canvas SpeedGrader
To view SpeedGrader, click the action menu next to the title of your PDF Annotation and click SpeedGrader.
The Graded PDF Annotation will appear in the left window. Click the Annotations Panel button to open the annotations panel.
- This is a summary of the individual student's activity for this graded PDF Annotation. It includes the number of annotations created, the number of replies created, and the total number of annotations viewed.
- Use the arrows to navigate between annotations and replies. To only view the student's work, toggle the switch to ON.
- Only the student's annotations will be shown in this view so it's easy to see the student's work.
Here is the expected grading behavior for Graded PDF Annotations:
Student Action | Canvas SpeedGrader |
If a student creates a top-level PDF annotation | Harmonize sends student work to SpeedGrader immediately |
If a student creates a reply, but does not create a top-level PDF annotation | Harmonize sends student work to SpeedGrader when the due date elapses |
If a student does not participate in the activity | Harmonize sends nothing to SpeedGrader |
Blackboard, Brightspace, and Moodle
To grade your PDF Annotation activity, click the Grades & Activity button in the top right of the Harmonize window. Select a student from the list.
- Grades may be entered in the provided Grade field. To view another student's work, select a different name from the student drop down menu.
- This is a summary of the individual student's activity for this graded PDF Annotation. It includes the number of annotations created, the number of replies created, and the total number of annotations viewed.
- Use the arrows to navigate between annotations and replies. To only view the student's work, toggle the switch to ON. Only the currently selected student's annotations will be shown in the PDF content area to make it easy to see the student's work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can I use Milestones with Graded PDF Annotations?
- Milestones are not available for use with Graded PDF Annotations at this time.
Q. Can I use Harmonize's Group Visibility setting with Graded PDF Annotations?
- The group visibility setting is not available for use with Graded PDF Annotations at this time.