How to Access Perusall through Canvas

1) Open Lecture Canvas Page. To make it so your class shows up on your dashboard when
you sign in first Click on the icon that says Dashboard.

2) A window will pop up which will list your courses, click the link that says “All Courses”

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3) This will take you to a new page, which will list all of the courses you are enrolled in
(including some from previous semesters. Find the course by name (ANTHRCUL
348/INSTLD 385) and click on the little star next to it, so that it goes from hollow to
filled in.

4) Your course is now favourited, so it will show up in your homepage when you first log
into canvas. Click the course tile, which will take you to the course Canvas Page.

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5) Once on the Course Canvas Page: Scroll down to find the Modules Tab on the lefthand
side of the screen. Click the Modules tab.
a) It is REALLY important that you access Perusall through the modules or
assignments tab, otherwise, your annotations won’t be graded. It is easiest to
go through modules, as they are created to streamline the work you are
required to complete each week (and ensure you don't miss anything)
b) If you are having trouble signing into Perusall, try doing this: Click on
Perusall in the navigation bar, it should open up Perusall for you. Next, go
back to the Canvas page and open the Reading Assignment link, this should
take you directly to the reading. Try doing this only if you are getting a sign
in message while trying to access the assignments through the modules.
c) The Perusall annotations are due by 10 am of the day of class - Monday or
Wednesday.

6) Once you are on the Modules page, scroll to find the weekly assignments you want to
work on. They will be labelled consecutively. Click on the week you want to work on.

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 7) When you select a reading, you will be taken to a new page that has the instructions for
the annotations and a link that will take you to the Perusall Site.

8) Once in Perusall, you will see a screen with three main components. It will look like
other PDF readers you may have used in the past. On the left-hand side (A) you will see a
panel that is broken up into multiple smaller panes that include links to your scores,
notifications, your weekly readings, and at the very bottom, chats and course hashtags.
The center pane (B), which takes up most of the screen will consist of the pdf / reading
which you will annotate. The Pane furthest to your right (C) includes the various
annotation tools available to you in Perusall.

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9) Perusall is like any other pdf reader you may have used in the past. But with a few main
differences. The reader uses enhanced pdfs, where you can select text. This reader is also
“live” and collaborative. This means that you can see who else is currently working on
the assignment. You can respond to or add to other student’s annotations. You can tag
people (via @) to draw attention to a particular point (if for example, you found yourself
telling a friend that you read a really key paragraph in the reading that you thought was
integral). Alternatively, you can add # while you annotate, which works sort of like
bookmarks. You can then search the text via the #’s.
a) Examples of useful #’s include: #keypoint #keyfigure #definition #theory
#method #summary
i) These are just suggestions of course, use what works for you.
10) To annotate the text in the pdf, highlight the text you want to annotate. Make sure you
click on the text symbol on the top right (symbol A). This allows you to annotate text.
You can also annotate images by clicking on the picture icon next to the text icon (A).
The panel to your right will expand when you do this and you will have the option to type
in your annotation. Remember that the goal of using perusall is to create meaningful,
thoughtful and useful annotations. Writing something short like “cool!” will not get you
full points. Always read the instructions at the beginning of each assignment to ensure
that you are doing everything you need to do.
11) Tips for annotations:
● You can use Perusall to comment or to write down what you thought about a
particular section of the text - some examples could be a theory, an example, a
study conducted and/or described in the reading, a conclusion that the authors are
trying to make, differences in opinion that you may have with the authors, or how
a particular study could be improved, what kind of evidence would support a
particular theory, what knowledge is lacking in the field etc.
● You can use Perusall to raise a question or highlight text that you don’t
understand. One of your classmates might know something about this or it might
be something that initiates a conversation between you and more students. Your
instructor can also use this to gauge which concepts students are not
understanding and which are the ideas that students seem to like a lot.
● You can also comment on your classmates’ annotations. Again, don’t just
write “I agree” or “Cool!” or “I disagree”. Make sure you justify your stance
when you comment on your classmates’ annotations.
● You can also use Perusall to answer a question that your classmates may have
asked and you know the answer to.

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Your grades on Perusall
If you haven’t launched Perusall using the Modules or Assignments link, then your grades on
Perusall won’t automatically sync with Canvas. You will not lose any of your work if you
relaunch Perusall using the Assignments tab. But you will HAVE TO launch Perusall through
the Assignments or Modules tab, to make sure that you are graded on Canvas for it.

For more information on Perusall, check out these helpful videos

How Perusall Works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
time_continue=428&v=ODE6v4YOo0E&feature=emb_title

How to annotate in Perusall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENxpne8zbIg
(Start watching at 1:00 min; skip the first minute as it explains how to access the PDF via a
university platform that is different from UMich’s)

How to read and discuss in Perusall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5LA5eJL1Zs

Perusal support page for students: https://support.perusall.com/hc/en-

us/categories/360002173133-Students

Sample annotation: sample annotation