How can we transform solitary reading into a collaborative learning experience that keeps students engaged and accountable in today’s educational landscape?
That’s the question Nolan Quella, Engagement Manager at Perusall, addressed in this comprehensive CRTLE training session. This hands-on webinar walked participants through the complete setup and implementation of Perusall in Canvas courses, demonstrating how this social annotation platform can revolutionize the way students interact with course materials.
Watch the full recording here:
Quick Start: Canvas Integration Made Simple
One of the session’s key takeaways was just how straightforward it is to add Perusall to Canvas courses at UTA. Since the university has already upgraded to LTI 1.3 and Perusall is globally installed, integration takes just three clicks:
- Automatic grade sync – grades flow seamlessly back to Canvas
- Roster sync – student information transfers automatically
- Group sync – Canvas groups can be imported directly
- Single sign-on – students access Perusall through Canvas without creating separate accounts
Everything is created in Perusall first, then syncs automatically to Canvas, eliminating duplicate work and technical issues.
Building Your Perusall Course
Course Setup Options
The platform offers two pathways for course creation:
- Empty course – Build from scratch with full customization
- Copy existing course – Save time by duplicating previous courses, colleague templates, or instructional designer frameworks (copies only the shell, no student data)
Starter Assignments
Perusall provides two pre-built assignments to help students learn the platform:
- “Making the Most of Learning with Perusall” – A 30-minute scaffolded tutorial teaching students how to write quality comments and use all platform features
- Syllabus Review Assignment – Upload your syllabus and track whether students actually read it while gathering their questions and feedback
Content Selection
The platform supports multiple content types:
- Over 1.4 million textbook titles (with bookstore integration for financial aid)
- PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations
- YouTube and Vimeo videos
- Podcasts and audio files
- Google Docs and Slides
- Images and EPUBs
- Even quizzes imported from Canvas
The Power of Social Learning: Groups and Engagement
One of Perusall’s standout features is its intelligent grouping system. Rather than having 30+ students create 300+ comments on a single assignment, the platform automatically:
- Creates groups of 4-12 students (customizable based on class size)
- Shuffles groups between different content types for fresh perspectives
- Maintains consistent groups within each content piece for continuity
- Allows manual group creation or Canvas group import when needed
This structure creates more manageable conversations where students feel comfortable asking questions and engaging with peers.
Analytics That Matter: Beyond Simple Metrics
The analytics dashboard provides insights instructors typically never see:
The Confusion Report – Automatically identifies areas where students struggled most, solving the age-old problem of “Any questions about the reading?” met with silence.
Engagement Tracking includes:
- Viewing time – How long the assignment was open
- Active engagement time – Actual interaction with content (2-minute windows tracking clicks, scrolls, comments)
- Page view heat maps – Shows which pages students spend the most time on
- Comment submission patterns – Reveals when students complete work
Student Activity Reports help identify when students claim they “did all the work” but actually spent only 7 minutes on a 45-minute assignment.
This approach ensures students who struggle with one skill (like comment quality) can still succeed by excelling in others (like consistent engagement or peer interaction).
Resources
- Canvas Instructor Quick Setup: https://support.perusall.com/hc/en-us/articles/14047817114263-Canvas-Instructor-Quick-Setup
- Canvas Integration Features: https://support.perusall.com/hc/en-us/articles/22854094490775-Canvas-Integration-Features
- Dr. Katie Welch’s Setup Screencast: https://websites.uta.edu/pedagogynext/icymi-recap-of-july-23-session-reading-in-the-age-of-ai-introduction-to-perusall-with-katie-welch-and-peggy-semingson/
- Contact Nolan Quella: engagement@perusall.com
Join the Conversation
We’d love to hear from you! Are you ready to transform your course readings into collaborative learning experiences? What aspects of Perusall excite you most – the analytics, the social learning environment, or the automatic grading? Have you tried social annotation tools before? Share your thoughts, questions, and experiences in the comments below. Let’s keep the conversation going!