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Reading Between the Lines: A Real Look at Perusall and the Future of Social Learning

Introduction: Clicking Into the Conversation

Imagine turning solitary reading assignments into collaborative conversations. Picture students leaving behind the passive scroll through PDF articles and instead engaging in live, thoughtful discussions—without stepping into the classroom. That’s the vision behind Perusall, a social annotation tool increasingly used in higher education. But as with any educational technology, hype and hesitation often go hand-in-hand. Is Perusall truly a catalyst for deeper learning, or just another digital layer with mixed results?


This article offers a grounded, research-backed exploration of Perusall—not as a promotional pitch, but as an honest review. Drawing on recent studies and practical classroom insights, we evaluate its strengths, limitations, and real-world impact on teaching and learning.

What Is Perusall? A Quick Overview

Perusall is a social annotation platform, designed to enhance reading assignments by turning them into interactive learning experiences. Developed at Harvard University, it allows students to annotate texts collaboratively, ask and answer questions, and engage in asynchronous discussions embedded within readings. The platform then uses AI-powered scoring and analytics to assess participation and offer educators data on student engagement (Walker, 2019).


This tool is compatible with major Learning Management Systems like Canvas, Blackboard, and Moodle, allowing seamless integration into existing online or blended courses. But the heart of Perusall lies not in the tech itself—but in the conversations it enables.

Strengths: Where Perusall Delivers

1. Boosting Student Engagement—Even Before Class Begins

One of Perusall’s strongest assets is its ability to encourage active, pre-class engagement. In flipped classrooms, where students are expected to come prepared, Perusall helps ensure that reading assignments are actually read—and understood. A study involving eight university courses showed that students who actively engaged in Perusall performed significantly better in final exams than those who did not (Suhre et al., 2019). The more annotations and time spent reading, the better their scores.

What’s more, students reported that the peer-based annotations helped them understand complex texts and provided diverse perspectives that deepened their comprehension (Suhre et al., 2019).

2. Encouraging Deep Learning and Critical Thinking

Perusall doesn’t just encourage surface-level interaction. When used intentionally, it fosters what educational researchers call "deep-level processing"—the ability to connect, critique, and question academic texts. This aligns with a “cognitive apprenticeship” model, where students learn through participation, reflection, and feedback (Walker, 2019; Kim & Baylor, 2006).

Students in Perusall environments were found to co-construct knowledge by building on each other’s questions and insights, leading to richer learning experiences (Craig & Kay, 2024).

3. Facilitating Inclusive and Comfortable Participation

Many students—especially introverts or those for whom English is a second language—felt more comfortable engaging in written, asynchronous discussions than in live class settings (Craig & Kay, 2024). The platform levels the playing field, allowing more voices to join the conversation without the pressures of in-person dynamics.


Shortcomings and Real Challenges

While Perusall brings innovation to the table, it’s not without its issues.

1. Time Demands for Educators and Students

The idea that EdTech saves time is often misleading. In practice, educators using Perusall must carefully curate reading materials, design prompts, monitor discussion threads, and interpret analytics. This adds a significant workload, especially at the start of a course (Craig & Kay, 2024).

Students, too, face time pressures. Perusall’s annotation expectations—often 5–7 per reading—can feel like a burden, especially when deadlines approach. Some students found the annotation quota forced them to comment without genuine reflection, just to meet requirements (Suhre et al., 2019).

2. Algorithmic Scoring Issues

Perusall uses an algorithm to assess annotation quality, considering factors like length, relevance, and distribution across the text. But students often find this scoring opaque. Some felt the system didn’t always recognize insightful comments, while others gamed it by posting superficial notes to maximize scores (Walker, 2019; Craig & Kay, 2024).

Instructors can override scores, but that too adds to their administrative load.

3. Technology Glitches and Accessibility Concerns

Although generally reliable, users have reported occasional glitches, like disappearing annotations or browser compatibility issues. International students sometimes found the interface less intuitive, especially when English wasn’t their first language (Craig & Kay, 2024).


Humanizing the Digital Experience

One of Perusall’s most promising dimensions is how it reimagines reading as a shared, social process. By combining cognitive science, educational analytics, and peer-based learning, it shifts the focus from isolated study to collaborative inquiry. Instructors, too, can model expert thinking by joining discussions, prompting with questions, or highlighting insightful student comments.

It echoes the pedagogical concept of the “apprentice scholar” (Sommers, 2006), where students learn not just through reading but through conversation, community, and critique.


Final Thoughts: Annotating the Future of Learning

So, is Perusall worth it?

The answer is nuanced. For instructors who are willing to invest time upfront, thoughtfully structure their courses, and actively engage with student annotations, Perusall can be a powerful tool to deepen learning and build community. But it’s not a magic fix. Without clarity in expectations or sufficient support, it can frustrate more than it empowers.

As higher education continues to blend the digital with the human, tools like Perusall challenge us to rethink what “class participation” looks like. Perhaps the future of education isn’t just about teaching students to read—but about teaching them to read each other.


References

Craig, C. D., & Kay, R. (2024). A Systematic Review of the Perusall Application: Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Social Annotation Technology in Higher Education. INTED2024 Conference Proceedings.

Suhre, C. J. M., Winnips, J. C., de Boer, V., Valdivia, P., & Beldhuis, H. J. A. (2019). Students’ experiences with the use of a social annotation tool to improve learning in flipped classrooms. 5th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’19), Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd19.2019.9131

Walker, A. S. (2019). Perusall: Harnessing AI Robo-Tools and Writing Analytics to Improve Student Learning and Increase Instructor Efficiency. The Journal of Writing Analytics, 3, 227–241. https://doi.org/10.37514/JWA-J.2019.3.1.11

Kim, Y., & Baylor, A. L. (2006). A Social-Cognitive Framework for Pedagogical Agents as Learning Companions. Educational Technology Research and Development, 54(6), 569–596.

Sommers, N. (2006). Across the Drafts. College Composition and Communication, 58(2), 248–257.

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