Digital Gallatin

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Annotate Text

Medium

Medium: a sleek blog-publishing platform designed for optimizing interactions between author and readers with marginalia comments, which can be made private or public (the latter, with the approval of the author). Comments can be enabled in fully published mode or in draft mode (whose visibility is limited to individuals with the unlisted link). Great platform for collaborative authoring and/or annotating text. The blog also aggregates post by themes, rather than authors allowing users to find stories that are similar to their “favorites.” FREE.

See our post on How to Use Medium in the Classroom. 

Scalar

Scalar: open-source, media-rich scholarly publishing platform ideal for creating non-linear narratives. Requiring minimal technical expertise, this platform offers its authors a robust database system for to catalogue their work, which can be experienced by the public through different pathways, and from different access points. It supports collaborative authoring, reader comments, and offers a wide range of annotating tools. FREE.

Annotation Studio

Annotation Studio: an open-source platform being developed by MIT, designed specifically for pedagogical use, the Annotation Studio allows students to develop close-reading skills by digitally annotating texts using words, images, and/or videos, either individually or collaboratively. Students can then use their annotations to compose and revise papers. FREE

Annotate.co

Annotate.co: an online annotation tool that allows you to collaborate with invited users in designated roles. Converts your documents and images to PDFs, stores them in workspaces, and lets you share single documents or entire workspaces. Add tags to documents, hold discussions, vote on annotations, and compare revisions. FREE (for sharing with up to 3 users)/Premium (Standard/Enterprise)

Google Apps for Education

NYU has licensed a set of Google products to handle communication, calendars, file storage, and other teaching and learning apps, according to these Terms of Use. The full suite of Google Apps for Education include:

Learn More:

NowComment

NowComment: Free web app for digitally annotating online documents in a “social context,” that is, allowing other students to read and add to each other’s annotations. Inline annotations on NowComment appear on a 2-pane interface, alongside the respectively annotated parts of the text, enabling contextualized reading and analysis.

NowComment annotates html and Microsoft Word documents, but PDF upload is not yet very reliable.

With NowComment you can create class groups and subgroups, sort comments through a variety of ways, and annotate using text, image, audio, and video. Students are also able to create and share their own documents without instructor’s interference.

Scrivener

Scrivener: content and generation platform that offers several organization tools for your library. Contextualize your documents, add annotations, and seamlessly navigate through research documents without leaving the application. 30-day free trial period available. PAID.

Diigo

Diigo: a browser plugin for your desktop and mobile devices that helps you collect and manage your internet research. Highlight text and add sticky notes to websites, take screenshots and annotate them with text and shapes. Store it all in your Diigo library, and share with others. Education accounts are available. FREE/Premium