Creating Canvas Annotation Assignment
Overview
This tutorial is for faculty to create an assignment that enables student annotation.
Why Use Annotation Assignments? Research-based Evidence |
Annotation enhances comprehension and engagement.
Students who annotated showed greater engagement, deeper reading comprehension.
Annotation helped students visualize key ideas, slow down, and analyze content more critically.
Supports a learning strategy that develops critical thinking and focus.
(Lloyd et al., 2022)
Why Use Annotation Assignments? Pedagogical Rationale from Practitioners
Supports Transparency in Learning
Annotation captures the process of reading, not just the product.
Address AI concern mitigation & encourage original work
Students can learn how to read like a scholar by practicing annotation.
Scaffolds Deeper Learning
annotation as part of the learning sequence (e.g., annotate → discuss → write.)
For a student tutorial on how to complete annotation assignments in Canvas, please refer to the following guide: How do I annotate a file as an assignment submission in Canvas?
How to create a student annotation assignment
As instructors, you can create an assignment that requires students to add annotations to a document. This document could be a piece of group work needing feedback or a graphic with blanks used to assess students’ understanding.
Note: Group assignments do not support the student annotation submission type.
Navigate to the Canvas course.
Go to Assignments [1] from the course navigation bar.
Click +Assignment [2].
Enter the assignment details.
Select Student Annotation under the Submission type.
Choose the file you want your students to annotate from the Course Files or My Files, or click Upload File to select one from your computer.
Complete the remaining settings for the assignment.
Click Save & Publish.
Limitations of Student Annotation Assignments
Not for Group Work: This assignment type does not support group submissions. Each student must open, annotate, and submit individually.
File Type & Format Restrictions: You can only assign files that you upload (students cannot annotate their own uploads).
The student annotation assignment in Canvas supports a range of document types (such as PDF and Word) for students to annotate. While other formats (e.g., images) may work, compatibility is best with PDF or Word files. For full functionality, PDF or Word files are recommended.
Only one file per assignment can be annotated.
Additional Resources
Lloyd, Z. T., Kim, D., Cox, J. T., Doepker, G. M., & Downey, S. E. (2022). Using the annotating strategy to improve students’ academic achievement in social studies. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIT-09-2021-0065
The Open University. (n.d.). Active reading: Critical reading techniques. Retrieved October 30, 2025, from https://help.open.ac.uk/critical-reading-techniques/active-reading