Teaching Philosophy

ONLINE FIRST

published on March 7, 2021

Sasha L. Biro

Reading in a Time of Crisis
Using Perusall to Facilitate Close Reading and Active Discussion in the Remote Philosophy Classroom

An important part of the work of an introductory philosophy class is learning how to read philosophy. The digital annotation platform Perusall can be useful in both F2F learning environments as well as in virtual learning environments, as it helps students learn how to read philosophy. While the traditional online learning environment relies heavily on the discussion forum to replicate the F2F learning experience, digital annotation is a valuable alternative for promoting student engagement with course material. This paper will describe the platform as well as how to use Perusall to facilitate student participation and close reading of texts.