Optimizing Teaching and Learning through Social Annotation at OsloMet

Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), the third-largest university in Oslo, is a vibrant hub for education, research, and innovation. With 22,000 students and 2,200 employees, OsloMet offers 48 bachelor’s programs, 33 master’s programs, six international master’s programs, and seven PhD programs across fields such as health sciences, technology, social sciences, and art and design. This multidisciplinary approach ensures students are prepared for the complex demands of a global workforce.

In today’s job market, 21st-century skills—such as analytical thinking, critical analysis, and problem-solving—are crucial. However, OsloMet has identified challenges in fostering these competencies. Students are reading less, struggling with academic texts, and facing language barriers as the student population becomes more diverse. Research further indicates that students from families with lower education levels are at higher risk of not completing their studies, necessitating new, inclusive teaching practices.

To address these challenges, OsloMet implemented social annotation using FeedbackFruits to promote collaboration through shared comments, tags, and questions within texts. Social annotation allows students to engage deeply with content while fostering meaningful discussions.

Irene Lona, Project manager in DIGIN (Digital Innovation in Education), reflected on the adoption of FeedbackFruits:

“OsloMet uses interactive tools in FeedbackFruits for social annotation. Instructors upload articles or texts and add questions or discussions. These can focus on concept clarification, language, or comprehension, or students can be asked to discuss specific themes in the text. Students are allowed to ask questions or initiate discussions. One great feature is that students can remain anonymous, which significantly lowers the participation threshold.”

Supporting Social Annotation in an Online Course on Sexual Health

In an online sexual health course, the DIGIN team (Digital Innovation in Teaching and Learning), OsloMet’s Teaching and Learning support unit, leveraged FeedbackFruits to implement seven social annotation activities that maintained student engagement between asynchronous sessions. 

Here’s how FeedbackFruits facilitated the process:

• Upload the Text: Instructors upload relevant course materials, such as articles or book chapters, directly into FeedbackFruits.
• Add Questions and Prompts: Teachers can insert questions within the text, focusing on areas like concept clarification and language comprehension. Students can also contribute by asking their own questions or starting discussions.
• Anonymous Participation: The anonymous participation option within FeedbackFruits lowers the barrier to engagement, encouraging honest dialogue. This feature proved especially valuable in the sexual health course, where it created a safe space for sensitive discussions.

The course attracted participants from various professions—nursing, physiotherapy, and roles in prisons and nursing homes—bringing a wealth of diverse perspectives to the discussions.

High Engagement through Voluntary Participation

In the first activity, 42 of 49 students participated, each contributing an average of four comments. This demonstrated how an inclusive environment motivates students to engage meaningfully with course content. Instructors used prompts to connect theoretical concepts with students' professional experiences. Some of the prompts included:

• Have you heard about the PLISSIT model before? Do you have any good articles on the model to share in the common room?
• How should healthcare professionals act if a patient’s values conflict with their own?

These activities activated prior knowledge and facilitated peer learning through shared insights.

Collaborative Model Analysis with Social Annotation

In another activity, students analyzed a key healthcare model through embedded questions in an article. Although not every question was answered, the responses generated deep engagement. Additionally, student-generated discussions led to thoughtful exchanges, with anonymity encouraging honest participation and exploration of sensitive topics.

Key Takeaways from the Implementation

Motivating Engagement through Clear Expectations and Positive Reinforcement:
Encouraging student participation was essential to the success of the social annotation activities. As Irene Lona explained:

“The instructors showed the students how to add comments in FeedbackFruits in the first online session and what was expected of them. They were also very clear about why it was beneficial to participate and what they could achieve by doing so.”

By establishing clear expectations and demonstrating the platform's benefits, instructors motivated students to engage actively. To sustain this engagement, instructors monitored contributions and provided brief, positive feedback, fostering a supportive environment that encouraged continued participation throughout the course.

Balancing Workload and Communicating Purpose:

One of the key lessons learned was the importance of managing student workload. Initially, students were asked to comment on all seven articles, which became overwhelming and led to a decline in participation. To address this, instructors divided students into seven groups, assigning each group one article to focus on, while still allowing students to participate in other discussions if they wished.

In addition, instructors recognized the need to emphasize the purpose of these activities. While they communicated what students would learn, they found that students also needed a stronger link between the tasks and their personal and professional goals. Moving forward, instructors emphasized how these activities contributed to students' long-term development, helping students see the value in their participation for both their current learning and future careers.

Mutual Benefits of Technology-enhanced Social Annotation for Students and Instructors

Social annotation offers benefits for both students and instructors, enhancing learning outcomes and teaching practices.

Benefits for Students

• Encourages Active Preparation and Engagement: Students connect meaningfully with course materials, fostering deeper understanding.
• Develops 21st-Century Skills: Activities enhance critical thinking, active reading, and knowledge sharing.
• Promotes Collaboration in Online Learning: Social annotation builds community and interaction, essential in online courses.
• Improves Reading Skills: Engaging with annotated texts strengthens comprehension and analytical abilities.
• Supports Knowledge Construction: Research (Morales et al., 2022) shows that collaborative annotation helps students synthesize new knowledge.
• Provides Learning Opportunities Without Active Participation: Even students who do not contribute directly benefit from reading peer discussions.

Benefits for Instructors

FeedbackFruits equips instructors with tools to enhance their teaching through insights into student engagement. As Irene Lona noted:

“FeedbackFruits provides extensive statistics and insight into student learning. You can download all the data in Excel, and from there, it’s a short step to research. It’s a really nice way to study your own teaching and student learning.”

• Informs Instructional Planning: Participation data allows instructors to tailor lessons to students’ needs.
• Identifies Knowledge Gaps: Student questions highlight areas for further clarification.
• Focuses on Unclear Concepts: Instructors can concentrate on topics students find challenging.
• Streamlines Teaching: Knowing what students already understand helps avoid redundant instruction.

Promoting Change in Teaching and Learning Across the Institution

The DIGIN team at OsloMet views social annotation as part of a broader strategy to foster institutional change. Guided by Å lede læring by Rennemo (2019), the team follows four action-based activities to promote innovation:

1. Action-Based Exploration: Faculty and support teams collaborate on course design, combining pedagogical and technical support to integrate social annotation effectively.
2. Action-Based Knowledge: Insights gained from social annotation activities are documented and shared to promote adoption across other programs.
3. Action-Based Dissemination: Data collected from activities is analyzed and shared with stakeholders. Irene Lona emphasized the importance of these efforts: “We are going to write a scientific article on social annotation, and one of the instructors—she’s a real FeedbackFruits enthusiast—has shared her experience at seminars on improving student learning skills. It means a lot to have teachers who’ve done it talk about it.”

4. Action-Based Production: The DIGIN has developed extensive resources, including courses hosted on Canvas, and distributes a newsletter to 11,000 recipients. This newsletter, which highlights exemplary teaching practices, consistently achieves the highest click-through rate at the university.

Collaborative Change through Continuous Dialogue

Irene Lona emphasizes continuous dialogue with all levels of the institution. DIGIN works closely with middle managers to increase the adoption of social annotation, recognizing their pivotal role in driving change. These leaders integrate teaching and learning initiatives into program meetings, fostering collaboration on course development.

The initiative also builds networks across departments, including partnerships with IT, administration, and research centers, enabling strategic alignment. Staying connected with day-to-day teaching is another priority. As Irene Lona shared:

“I help teachers with the smallest of things. This gives me insight into the daily teaching and what is going on in the organization. This information is very important for our strategic-level work.”

Through this multi-faceted approach, OsloMet ensures that social annotation becomes a sustainable part of its teaching practices, contributing to both individual student success and a culture of continuous learning and innovation across the institution.