Tech Tips: Annotating Images and Readings

A guide on how to annotate images and readings in Google Drive and Perusall.

Google Drive
With Google Drive, you can view and comment on items like videos, PDFs, Microsoft Office files, audio files, and photos.

Annotating a File

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com
2. Create a folder system that suits your needs. You can do this by clicking the +New button on the left-hand side, select ‘+ Folder’.
3. Then upload your desired files.
   • Drag and drop files into the window or navigate to the left-hand side to click on the +New button. Browse your computer and select which files you’d like to upload.
4. Once your files are uploaded to the folder you can double-click a file to open it and begin to annotate it by adding comments.
5. To add a comment, navigate to the top right and click ‘Add comment’.
6. For text: Select and highlight.
   For images: Click and drag a box over the area you would like to highlight.
7. Enter your comment and click ‘Comment’.
   • Note: You can show or hide any resolved comments.
     • In the preview window, at the top right of your screen, click ‘More‘ and then ‘Show resolved comments’.
     • To hide the comments again, click ‘More‘ and then ‘Hide resolved comments’.

Choose Who To Share Drive Folders and Files With

1. Click the folder you want to share.
2. Click ‘Share’
3. Under ‘People’ type the email address or person you want to share with. You can also copy a link to the folder/file under ‘Get Link’, be sure to select ‘Williams College’ from the drop-down menu before copying the link.
4. To choose how a person can use the folder or file, click the down arrow and select either Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
5. Click ‘Send’. An email is sent to people you shared with.

Set Up Drive Notifications

1. In the top right, click ‘Settings’
2. On the left panel, click ‘Notifications’.
3. Next to the settings you want to change, check or uncheck the box.

Adding a Google Drive Link to your GLOW Course Module

1. In your Glow course module, click the + sign and select ‘Add External URL’.
2. Paste the link from your Google Drive folder or file into the URL field.
3. Select ‘Load in a new tab’ and click ‘Add Item’.

 

Perusall via GLOW

Add Perusall to the Course Navigation Menu

1. In the Course Navigation Menu, click on ‘Settings’.
2. Click the ‘Navigation’ tab.
3.  Click to drag and drop Perusall to the desired location.
4. Click ‘Save’.

Adding Documents to Your Perusall Library

1. To add documents, go to the ‘Library’ tab on the course dashboard in Perusall.
2. Then click ‘Add Content’ and select which type of document you’d like to upload. You can create folders in your Perusall Library to hold files. Just drag and drop your uploaded files into the folder.
   • Note: To add images to your Perusall Library you will need to upload your images as a
     PDF.
     •  If you have a Mac open your image in Preview and export it as a PDF.
     • If you have Windows, you’ll need to open your image in Adobe Acrobat and save it as a PDF.

Annotating Images and Readings in Perusall

1. Open a file from your Perusall Library.
   • For Text: Click on the ‘Annotate Text’ icon and select which text you’d like to highlight.
     You will see a new conversation panel appear on the right side of the page. Add a
     comment or question, and press Enter to save it.
   • For Images or Figures: Click the ‘Annotate Figure’ icon, click and drag a box to highlight
     part of the image. You will see a new conversation panel appear on the right side of the
     page. Add a comment or question, and press Enter to save it.
   • For Videos: Navigate to where you’d like to leave a comment on the video timeline. Add your comment and press Enter to save it. These conversations are displayed as circular highlights on the video timeline below the video. Yellow highlights correspond to threads started by students and blue highlights correspond to threads started by an instructor.
   • Note: When someone responds to a question or comment, the original author receives a notification by email and can post their own response by replying to the email. Students that ask a question can also indicate that one or more of the responses answers their original question.
   • Control the highlights that you see by clicking the ‘All comments’ filter dropdown at the top of the page and selecting a filter.
   • To see all comments made on the file, select the ‘All Conversations’ icon on the right-hand side of your screen.

Please feel free to contact Kendra if you have any questions.
Kendra Werst, Assistant Visual Resources Curator, [email protected]