FAQs
Q: Can I add a Hypothes.is link within the Assignments or Discussion tool in my D2L course?
A: No. Hypothes.is is an external tool and is not part of the assignments or discussions tools in D2L Brightspace. Follow the guide on how to create a Hypothes.is assignment.
Q: What is the recommended web browser for Hypothes.is?
A: Google Chrome is the recommended web browser, but Hypothes.is is fully compatible with all current versions of most major web browsers on both Mac and PC, although it has been observed that new installations of Mozilla Firefox and Safari will likely need adjustments to their default security and privacy settings (out of the box, they block 3rd-party scripts from running). Likely, if D2L runs without issue in a browser, Hypothes.is should as well.
Q: Do I need to have a Hypothes.is account?
A: Yes and No. You will need to have a Brightspace account and course to use it. Do not use Hypothes.is on their website.
Q: Do students need to have a Hypothes.is account?
A: No. Their Hypothes.is accounts are set up when they access the Hypothes.is link in your D2L course.
Q: Should I or my students access Hypothes.is through their website?
A: No. You and your students can only access Hypothes.is through D2L Brightspace course. Hypothes.is doesn’t recommend this and we do not support it.
Q: Can Hypothes.is annotate images?
A: Not at this time. Annotation has to attach to a text and can’t attach to a graphic or an image.
Q: Can Hypothes.is annotate Google Docs?
A: Not at this time. Hypothes.is only recognizes PDFs in Google Drive or in a specified D2L module. Linking to a Google Doc will cause a loading error.
Q: Can Hypothes.is annotate Documents or HTML pages within D2L?
A: Yes and No. You can’t annotate HTML pages in D2L, but you can on a PDF file within your D2L course. Follow the guide on Using Hypothes.is With D2L Course Content Files.
Q: Can Hypothes.is annotate Documents or HTML pages that are behind a paywall or password-protected website (i.e., New York Times, EBSCO database, etc.)?
A: Not at this time.
Q: How do I grade a Hypothes.is assignment? Do I have to create a grade item first before I can start grading it?
A: You do not need to create a grade item for a Hypothes.is assignment in D2L. A grade item will automatically be created for you after at least one student annotates the assignment and you provide a score for it. Read the grade the assignment guide for further information on grading a Hypothes.is assignment.
Q: Why couldn’t I see the students list when I access my Hypothes.is assignment?
A: A manual grade item was most likely linked to the Hypothes.is assignment. When a manual grade item is linked to a Hypothes.is assignment it will hide the grade bar from view. You will need to remove the grade item that was manually linked to the assignment and allow Hypothes.is to automatically create one after you enter a score for at least one student. Unfortunately, any annotations that were added while the manual grade item was linked will not appear in the grade bar after you make the switch. Students will need to be asked to delete their existing annotation posts and repost them after you delete the manual grade item from the assignment.
Q: If I copy my course for next term that contains Hypothes.is assignments, do I have to re-create them again?
A: You don’t have to recreate them. Hypothes.is assignments copied over to a new course from a previous course in D2L will work. However, you still need to re-link the assignment to the correct document or website link of your previous assignment.
Q: Can I share my D2L course that contains Hypothes.is assignments with other instructors?
A: Yes, the same document can be used for Hypothes.is assignments in multiple courses, even during the same term. Annotations made in one course are entirely separate from annotations on the same document made in another.
Q: Can I create 2 assignments using the same document file (pdf in googledrive)? For example: Assignment part 1: using this document, please answer question A. Assignment part 2, using the same document as assignment part 1, please answer question B.
A: No, you must create 2 separate files, duplicate your pdf doc into part 1 and part 2 assignment. Create part 2 assignment just like you’re creating a new Hypothes.is assignment.
Q: Can I edit or delete a student’s annotation post or reply in Hypothes.is?
A: No, Hypothes.is is pretty simple but also limited. You can only edit or delete your own post/reply and grade students’ posts/replies
Q: Can I submit student post if they accidentally post it privately?
A: No. You won’t be able to see the student’s draft annotation post. You will have to ask student to correct their submission and post it to the class or group.
Q: Is there a tool in the Hypothes.is assignment that will allow the instructor or student to print the annotations that are posted?
A: This function is currently not available. You can preview the Notebook in Hypothes.is to see all the annotation posts in one place to copy and paste into a text file.
Q: Why does my Hypothes.is Assignment link show up in a small window?
A: Hypothes.is assignment link must be set up to opens in a new tab or window.
In the case that it does not open in a new tab/window, follow these steps to set the link to open in a new window:
- Find the Hypothes.is Assignment link and click on the action menu. Choose Edit Properties in Place.
- Check the box to Open as External Resource. This allows the assignment to open in a new tab/window. This is usually automatically set and should not be changed.
Q: Does Hypothes.is block ads on a webpage that is embedded using the URL option?
A: Hypothes.is does not explicitly block ads on a web page that is embedded using the URL option. Hypothes.is may load web pages without ads which can prompt a pop-up blocker warning message to appear. To avoid issues with loading ads it is recommended that you save the web page as a PDF and select it as the source in Hypothes.is.
Q: I created Hypothes.is group assignment, but I don’t see my students listed for me to be able to grade. What do I do?
A: If you create or link a grade item after students already posted their annotations, then you will need to grade those students manually in the Grades area of D2L. Alternatively, you can ask the student to delete their existing annotation posts and repost them after you create or link a grade item to the assignment.
An example of a Hypothes.is assignment submission with no grade item attached.
An example of a Hypothes.is assignment submission with a grade item attached.
Q: Can a student access a Hypothes.is group assignment if they are not assigned to a group in D2L?
A: No, the student will receive an error message with a notification that the instructor needs to add them to a group in D2L.
An example of the Hypothes.is error students receive when not in a group in D2L.
Q: If I move a student from Group 1 to Group 2 in D2L, will the annotations they posted transfer between the two groups in the Hypothes.is assignment? If not, can I copy or move the annotations on the student’s behalf?
A: No, you need to ask the student to repost their annotation from Group 1 to Group 2.
Q: Can I see a report of the annotations and replies for my course in Hypothes.is?
A: A Reporting Dashboard area is available to view the annotations and replies students create in your course. You can learn more about it on the Hypothesis LMS Reporting Dashboards page.
Q: Why is there an “Unknown user” listed in one of my Hypothes.is assignments in the Reporting Dashboard?
A: This will happen when Hypothes.is is aware of the number of students in the course but one or more of them have not opened the assignment. A student needs to open the Hypothes.is assignment for their name to appear in the data of the Reporting Dashboard.
Q: The Reporting Dashboard shows an incorrect amount of assignments in the course.
The Reporting Dashboard only shows Hypothes.is assignments that have been viewed by your account. If you have not accessed a Hypothes.is assignment created in D2L it will not appear in the report until you open it.
Q: Can I filter the students by groups in the Reporting Dashboard?
A: Hypothes.is currently does not offer the option to filter students by groups in the Reporting Dashboard. This may come as an update in the future.
Q: The Reporting Dashboard is showing Hypothes.is assignments I deleted in the course.
A: The current Hypothes.is integration is not able to update the list on the report when an assignment is deleted. An update may come in the future to hide Hypothes.is assignments with no activity to remove deleted assignments from view in the report.
Q: The Reporting Dashboard does not show all of the students registered in the course when I view an assignment report.
A: Each assignment report will only show the names of students who have opened the activity. If a student does not open the Hypothes.is assignment in D2L their name will not appear in the report.
Q: Is there a quick way to access the Reporting Dashboard for my courses?
A: You can bookmark the Reporting Dashboard URL (https://lms.hypothes.is/dashboard) after you access it through a Hypothes.is assignment in your course. You will be signed into the Reporting Dashboard for approximately 1-week. If your sign in expires you need to access the Reporting Dashboard through a Hypothes.is assignment to resume your sign-in session.