Using Perusall

There are several features and capabilities that you should become familiar with to use Perusall to its fullest. You may want to view the quick start video below. More detailed information is available in the tabs.

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Have a question not answered by this guide? Visit the Support page or the Perusall Knowledge Base Articles for more guidance.

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How to Open an Assignment

When you open an assignment link in Canvas, you will automatically be directed to the corresponding assignment in Perusall. You can see the due date, grading requirements, and see a summary of their recent activity.

Select Work on assignment to begin annotating.

Reminder: Always access a Perusall assignment from the modules; failure to do so will result in lost work.

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Annotation Tools

The tools below are available for both faculty and students to annotate and respond to others. Explore the interface below:

1. Annotate Text - Select specific text on the page to annotate.
2. Annotate Figure - Select a general area, image, or figure to annotate.
3. Print - Prints a specific page range.
4. Download - Download the document as a PDF.
5. Back to last read location - Return to the last page you were on if the document has more than one page.
6. Zoom - Allows you to zoom in, zoom out, zoom in to full width of the page, or fit the page on one screen.
7. Current Conversation - Shows the conversation thread for the selected annotation.
   
   
   1. Students can @ people in the class, including the instructor, and they will get a notification.
   2. Students can select the question mark icon, which will indicate to the instructor that he or she has a question.
   
8. All Conversations - Shows a list of all the current annotations/conversations in the document. Select a conversation to view the conversation thread.
9. My Starred Comments - You are able to star any comments in a conversation thread which will show here for easy accessibility.
10. Page Thumbnails - Shows full-page thumbnails for the entire document. This is useful if you need to go to a certain page.
11. Search - Allows you to search the document for certain words or phases.
12. Notifications - Notifications will appear here if anyone has @ you.
13. Bookmarks - Add a bookmark by selecting Bookmark this spot, which will add a bookmark and name it so that you may easily access specific content in the future.
14. Notes - Allows you to add private notes that will not affect your grade. These notes may also be shared with another student or instructor.
15. Read Aloud - Perusall will read the text aloud. You may alter the speed and change the language.
16. My Assignment Progress - Displays a pop-up dialog box with your assignment progress, including how many annotations have been completed and how many are required.

Adding Comments to Videos

• When viewing a video, click the Add comment button in the upper right corner of the video to pause the video and start a conversation. A blue (instructor) or yellow (student) dot will appear in the video timeline to show there is a conversation at that point in the timeline.

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Interaction Options

In addition to annotating text and commenting on annotation threads, faculty and students can also upvote, mark questions, add hashtags, and tag individuals within Perusall. Read more about each interaction option below.

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Upvote

Instructors and students can upvote a comment that is helpful or important. Select the check mark on a comment to upvote it. When an instructor upvotes, it will be noted on the comment.

Mark a Question

You can mark your own comment as a question or select a question on another comment to indicate you have the same question. Anyone can answer a question in another comment, including the instructor or other students. You may want to tag a user if you are answering their specific question.

Hashtag

Hashtags can be added to follow trending topics; utilize key words to identify topics. To add a hashtag, enter # to a comment. It will show currently used hashtags for the course; so you can select one or create your own.

Tag Users

You can tag people in the course by entering @ and selecting the person's name from the list. You may wish to do this to answer specific questions or build upon an individual's point(s).