This blog post was written by 起点传媒member Remi Kalir.
鈥淚 want my students to move beyond passive reading and begin engaging in critical conversation with a text.鈥�
鈥擯articipant in the 起点传媒2021 Summer Sandbox
Our students are well-versed in the everyday literacy practice of annotation. Readers鈥攁s writers鈥攁dd sticky notes to novels, write marginalia in textbooks (whether we want them to or not), and compose commentary with digital media when reading online. Learners鈥� handwritten and digital mark-making is a means by which they elicit observations and questions, identify confusion, and spark collaborative dialogue. Whether with poetry or primary sources, annotation is an interactive approach to reader response that helps learners to make meaning of their texts, contexts, and curiosities. Annotation makes thinking visible.
This past summer, 起点传媒supported educators in making their thoughts about annotation, literacy, and learning both visible and actionable. The four-part 2021 Summer Sandbox Series 鈥淎nnotation Makes Thinking Visible鈥� invited educators to explore the historic, creative, civic, and disciplinary qualities of annotation. Nearly 600 educators registered to join us for at least one Sandbox session.
The Sandbox Series extended a partnership between 起点传媒and the Library of Congress by guiding educators鈥� engagement with the Library of Congress Labs鈥� and technology. Created by Library of Congress Innovator-in-Residence Courtney McClellan, Speculative Annotation places students in 鈥渄irect conversation鈥� with primary sources through annotation, shares curators鈥� annotated items and other educational resources, and provides a free, hands-on opportunity for learners of all ages to experience the playful and powerful qualities of annotation.
During the Summer Sandbox, a participating educator asked: 鈥淲hy is it called 鈥榮peculative鈥� annotation?鈥� In response, sandbox cofacilitator Jaime Mears, Senior Innovation Specialist at the Library of Congress Labs, noted: 鈥淗istory is an enduring mystery. Speculation is a form of investigation. [Speculative Annotation] allows students to question and examine the point of view of the creators of primary sources. In response, students鈥� annotations are an interpretation. We are asking students to make their insights visible and in doing so, to join history鈥檚 record.鈥�
Each Sandbox session demonstrated how Speculative Annotation鈥攁s both a tool and a creative approach to mark-making鈥攃an support students鈥� meaningful interaction with historical artifacts and narratives. The first session featured Stephanie Stillo, curator of the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, who shared her annotation of (the 鈥淎rt of Memory鈥�), a 15th-century book that helped readers to remember Biblical scripture. In her presentation, Stephanie remarked that annotation is about 鈥渕aking a book what it should be鈥濃�攕he also discussed exorcism and censorship, and observed that 鈥渆arly-modern folks were excellent annotators.鈥�
Library of Congress Curator Stephanie Stillo鈥檚 annotation of 鈥淎rs Memorandi鈥� using speculative annotation
The sandbox鈥檚 second session featured Courtney鈥檚 commentary about creative expression. She focused on monuments, as well as themes of remembrance, protest, and counternarrative, so as to examine . Our third session鈥檚 focus on civic annotation was guided by Jen Reidel, a social studies teacher and a former Civics Teacher in Residence for the Library of Congress. Jen discussed , concluding that 鈥渢he act of civic engagement itself is a form of annotating one鈥檚 own story into that of the American narrative, of which there are many.鈥� Our sandbox session concluded with guests Karen Linn Femia, a senior archives specialist in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, and Josh Levy, the historian of science and technology at the Manuscript Division. Karen and Josh encouraged participants to appreciate 鈥渉istorical weirdness鈥� and 鈥渕oments of strangeness鈥濃�攁s with an artifact from the 鈥攖hat can reveal complex narratives about scientific exploration, literature, gender, and place.
Recordings of the four Summer Sandbox presentations are available to view online. Project updates, as well as annotated items, are being shared via social media using . Use of the website is free, and you and your students can begin annotating items anytime. This that addresses how Speculative Annotation can be used in your classroom. Moreover, if you are interested in ongoing professional learning about Speculative Annotation and classroom annotation practices, please complete the form at the bottom of the sandbox website. These professional learning opportunities will be organized in coordination with sandbox cofacilitator Antero Garcia of Stanford University.
During the final session of our sandbox we asked educators: 鈥淲hy is annotation important for your students鈥� literacy education?鈥� We heard that annotation slows down the process of reading so learners can 鈥渘otice what might escape us鈥� and that annotation contributes to deep understanding. With annotation, one participant noted, students 鈥渁re able to discuss online and have conversations with [the] text, themselves, and each other.鈥� Another educator mentioned how annotation enables students to have a 鈥減ersonal conversation鈥� with texts, emphasizing: 鈥淲hat do they have to add to the dialogue?鈥�
Educators鈥� wisdom about the value of annotation echoes research indicating that annotation aids students鈥� reading comprehension, meaning-making, and collaborative learning. Whether with Speculative Annotation or other approaches to this everyday literacy practice, this school year is an opportune time to amplify annotation as students read and write their learning journeys.
Remi Kalir is an associate professor of Learning, Design, and Technology at the University of Colorado Denver. He is the coauthor, with Antero Garcia, of . Remi is also cofounder of the Marginal Syllabus, a professional learning initiative that uses social annotation to spark and sustain conversation about educational equity. His scholarship about annotation has appeared in the Journal of Literacy Research, English Journal, and Information and Learning Sciences, among other publications. or connect with him via .