This article will walk through on how to set up initial course in Perusall. Let's get started!
What do you want to work on?
Initial Course Setup should already be completed and is not done on a semester basis. Instructors will use Semester Integration to set up their semesters Perusall Course.
What component of the course do you need to work on for Perusall?
To start setting up your course, when in your course, find the syllabus.
The following steps will show you how to add the Perusall information under the required resources to the syllabus.
Click the "Edit" button top right corner of the page.
Click the HTML Editor.
and place the following code in the appropriate place in the syllabus.
This is the code to add to the syllabus in the appropriate section.
This code tells the students about the 3rd party integration Perusall, that they will use.
<h4>Perusall Account</h4>
<p>This course uses Perusall textbook/activities. If you have not previously created one for a BYU-Idaho course, you are required to create a Perusall account. Instructions, found on the About Your Textbook page (in the Textbook Information module), guide you to complete the necessary steps for setup.</p>
Click to copy
The code above is HTML. Make sure to change from the RCE to the HTML editor in Canvas when making this edit.
A suggested location to place the code is below, "Required Resources."
Add the code below the code for "Required Resources"(1).
Click the HTML editor again to check if the information and the spacing are correct.
This is what it should look like:
Click "Update Syllabus".
Congratulations! You are done.
Now, we will set up the General teaching notes.
Within the course, go to "Pages" in the left side Navigator
Navigating to Pages
Click "View All Pages"
Find the "General Teaching Notes"
Edit the page to insert the Perusall information.
Click "Edit" button.
Click the HTML Editor.
This is the code you will add in the General Teaching Notes
Copy this code and paste it to it's right place.
<div class="ost ###">
<h4 class="byui oct">Important Notes about Perusall:</h4>
<ol>
<li>Before the semester begins, you should login to Perusall and make sure it is set up and working. If you find any issues, submit a Fix ticket using the form in <a title="Instructor Resources (Do NOT Publish)" href="https://byui.instructure.com/courses/203140/modules/2547785" data-api-endpoint="https://byui.instructure.com/api/v1/courses/203140/modules/2547785" data-api-returntype="Module">Instructor Resources</a>.</li>
<li>If you need help with Perusall, use the "Get help" link/section found in the upper right of the main page on Perusall when you access the textbook.
<ul>
<li>Perusall provides <a class="inline_disabled external fOyUs_bGBk fbyHH_bGBk fbyHH_vIby" href="https://support.perusall.com/hc/en-us/categories/360002157414-Instructors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instructor Resources <span class="screenreader-only">Links to an external site.</span></a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Be sure to read the "Get Started" information found on Perusall.</li>
</ol>
<h2>External Resources/Required Registrations</h2>
<p>This course uses auto-access readings, activities, and accompanying software through Perusall. It is integrated into I-Learn. It requires a separate account/registration. If you are a new instructor, read the information in the <a title="Setup for Course Instructor" href="https://byui.instructure.com/courses/202880/pages/setup-for-course-instructor" data-api-endpoint="https://byui.instructure.com/api/v1/courses/202880/pages/setup-for-course-instructor" data-api-returntype="Page">Setup For Course Instructor</a> page. If you are a returning instructor, your Perusall account is recognized when you log into I-Learn and click Perusall in the left navigation.</p>
<h4>Setup</h4>
<p>As indicated in the Setup for Instructor page, verify that Perusall has been connected successfully to your course. Do this three days before the semester begins. If the setup has not occurred, be sure to send a ticket through the "Suggest a Change for the Course" link in the Instructor Resources module, and notify your OCR. The course designer also needs to be notified immediately so the issue can be addressed.</p>
<p>As indicated in the Setup for Instructor page, set up your Perusall course by completing the following steps:</p>
<p>1. Open Perusall from navigation. In another tab, open Perusall in your previously taught course.</p>
<p>2. Fill in settings to match the previous course settings.</p>
<p>3. Import the assignments from the previous course.</p>
<p>4. In canvas, go to "Assignments" and move the newly imported Perusall Assignments to the correct categories.</p>
<p>5. Copy the text from the placeholder assignment and paste it in the newly imported assignment. Match the assignment settings with the placeholder. Do this for each assignment.</p>
<p>6. In "Modules", add the newly imported assignments to the correct weeks and add module requirements.</p>
<p>7. Delete the placeholders.</p>
<p><strong>NOTE: </strong><span style="color: #e03e2d;">If you're a new instructor for this course, please contact your OCR.</span></p>
<h4>Help</h4>
<p>If you need information or help regarding the product, make a post to the Online Instructor Community. Many instructors have a course with an auto-access Perusall resource and you are likely to be able to find help there. Be aware that web searches for Perusall help may not be fruitful because the information available on the web generally does not apply to an auto-access course.</p>
<p>If you need to request a fix, send a ticket through the "Suggest a Change for the Course" link in the Instructor Resources module. For an emergency fix, such as improper setup of Perusall, be sure to notify your OCR who should immediately contact the course designer.</p>
<p>If students report technical difficulties with Perusall, take the following action:</p>
<p>If the problem is related to the auto-access setup in your course (like they cannot see the Perusall link in the navigation bar of each page of this I-Learn course), send a ticket through the "Suggest a Change for the Course" link and notify your OCR who will contact the course designer. <br />For other technical problems, students should follow instructions in the <a class="inline_disabled" href="https://support.perusall.com/hc/en-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Perusall Student Support </a>page (found in the Student Resources module). Notice that students are directed to report the problem to the Perusall Digital Technical Support Team, then inform you of the problem and the status. If you receive a report of a problem, message the class and check if others are having the same difficulty. You will not be able to solve the technical problems, but at times, you may need to extend a due date to allow students to finish an assignment. (See the Change Perusall Due Dates section below.)</p>
<h4>Access</h4>
<p>You may access the Perusall activities by using the Perusall link in the navigation menu on the left of any I-Learn page. This will automatically direct you to Perusall Course home page. To see data about students' participation in the Perusall activities, select the "Assignments" tab in the Perusall section. Information is available there regarding the class annotations.</p>
<p>Students access the textbook readings through the link in the modules or through the Perusall link in the navigation menu on the left of any I-Learn page. Students access Perusall assignments using the I-Learn pages where the Perusall activities have been "deep linked" (embedded within the I-Learn page).</p>
<p><strong>Warning:</strong> <span style="color: #e03e2d;">Do not click the Perusall link located at the navigation menu on the left of the I-Learn page. Your scores will not be recorded.</span></p>
<h4>Gradebook Integration</h4>
<p>The integration with Perusall passes the scores from Perusall to the Gradebook as long as students use the Perusall link in the assignment. All of the Perusall activities selected for this course are entirely auto-graded and the scores are transferred to the Gradebook immediately.</p>
<h4>Change Perusall Due Dates</h4>
<p>Changes to due dates must be made in Perusall. You <strong>cannot</strong> change the due dates directly in your I-Learn section.</p>
<p>To change a Perusall assignment due date for the entire class:</p>
<ol>
<li>Go to Perusall and select the assignments you want to change the date on.</li>
<li>Select "Edit".</li>
<li>Select "Options".</li>
<li>Change the date under "Submission deadline".</li>
<li>Select "Save changes".</li>
</ol>
<p>To change a Perusall assignment due date for a specific student:</p>
<ol>
<li>Go to Perusall.</li>
<li>Select "Extended deadline".</li>
<li>Select "+Add deadline override".</li>
<li>Select the student you want to give an extension.</li>
<li>Choose a new due date.</li>
<li>Select "OK".</li>
</ol>
<h4>Past Due Assignments</h4>
<p>Check the Gradebook once a week for Perusall assignments that are past due and were never started by the student. These Perusall scores will be blank in the Gradebook and will need to be manually entered as a zero score by you. Do <strong>not</strong> wait until the end of the semester to change all of these scores to zero, as it is important for students to have an accurate idea of their grade progress throughout the semester.</p>
</div>
Click to copy
Place the code below Pre-semester Registration.
Click the HTML Editor again and check if the whole page looks good.
It should look like this:
If there are some corrections needed to be done, you can always click "Cancel and restart the editing process or fix it by clicking the HTML editor and make the necessary corrections.
Save your work.
Click "Save" if you just want to save it but NOT publish, and click "Save & Publish" If you want to do both.
Congratulations! You have successfully inserted the code for General Teaching Notes.
Now, we will set up the Textbook Access.
Click "Modules" located at the left-side navigation.
Click the link under "Textbook Information"
Add the code provided later in this article.
Click "Edit".
Click the HTML Editor.
Here is what you will need for the Textbook Access resource:
Copy and Paste this code to the Textbook Access resource.
<div class="byui oct">
<h2>Instructions</h2>
<p>This course uses a low-cost, auto-access eBook through Perusall. (Auto-access means the textbook and Perusall activities are integrated into the I-Learn course). It is accessible the first day of the semester. Your student financial account <strong>will be charged automatically</strong> on the first day of class. To gain access to your textbook and the associated required Perusall activities, follow the appropriate steps below. Once you have completed these steps, your Perusall account will be paired with your I-Learn account, and you will automatically be passed through to Perusall materials thereafter. (Thus, you only need to complete these steps once, not every time you access the textbook or Perusall activities.)</p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: 14pt;">Do not <strong>OPT OUT</strong> of materials for this course. It is necessary for the integration to properly work in the course.</span></p>
<h3>Create or Log into Perusall account</h3>
<p>Follow the instructions below to create a Perusall account:</p>
<ol>
<li>Select the Perusall link in the navigation list on the left.</li>
<li>A new window will open, and you should automatically be logged in to Perusall with your student account from Canvas.
<ol type="a">
<li>Access all your assignments for Perusall from the Modules tool. This will ensure you don't miss anything assigned to you.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>If you are unable to gain access to the Perusall materials in the course, contact the <a class="inline_disabled" href="https://support.perusall.com/hc/en-us/categories/360002173133-Students" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Perusall Technical Support team</a>. If you are still unable to access the materials, contact your instructor.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Accessing Perusall</h3>
<ol>
<li>You will need to select the Perusall assignment from the Module tool to access the specific material you are assigned.</li>
<li>You can also access general reading assignments through the Perusall link in the left navigation menu, when instructed to do so in your assignments.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Perusall Support</h3>
<p>If you have difficulty accessing Perusall, be sure you have followed all of the instructions in the above sections.</p>
<p>If you have technical difficulties after you have successfully accessed Perusall, contact <a class="inline_disabled" href="https://support.perusall.com/hc/en-us/requests/new" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Perusall Support</a> for additional help.</p>
</div>
Click to copy
Once you paste the code, click the HTML Editor again and check if the information and spacing are correct.
Save your work...
Click the "Save" button.
Congratulations! You have successfully set up the Textbook Access.
Go to Modules located under the navigation.
Scroll down to Student Resources.
Do you have a Perusall Resources in your Student Resources?
The following steps will help you create your Perusall Resource.
Click the "+" button.
Click the drop-down menu "Add" and select "Text Header" (1). Next, name your module "Perusall Resources" (2). Then, click the drop-down menu for indentation and select "Don't indent" (3). Finally, click "Add Item" (4).
You should see the new section on the Module at the bottom part of the Student Resources.
You can drag it at the top if you desire using the 8 dots on the left hand side of the module.
Now, we will deep link the videos related to Perusall into the new module.
Click the "+".
Click the drop-down menu and select "External URL" (1). Copy the link provided below and paste it in URL (2). Then, name the page "Perusall Demo for Student's Video" (3). Click the drop-down for indentation and select "Indent 1 Level" (4). Finally, click "Add Item" (5).
Here's the link for "Perusall Demo for Student's Video":
Move the item under "Perusall Resources".
Repeat these steps for "Perusall: Every Student Prepared for Every Class Video"
Now that we uploaded the videos, we will upload the Pages next.
Create a new page and copy the code given later in this article. Name your page "How to Do Well in Perusall".
Go to "Pages"
Click "View All Pages".
Click the "+Page".
Name your page "How to Do Well in Perusall".
Click the HTML Editor.
Copy this code and paste it on the new page you just created.
<div class="byui OST">
<h2>What is Perusall?</h2>
<p>Perusall is an e-reader platform (outside of Canvas) that allows students, TAs, and instructors to read the course textbook together. You can annotate, ask questions, support classmates' comments, and get clarification on what you are reading. Work together with your classmates to help everyone understand the assigned reading and work on your Study Guide.</p>
<p>Perusall works much like social media posting. You can do the following things:</p>
<ul>
<li>Highlight the text you want to talk about.</li>
<li>Make comments. </li>
<li>"Like" comments.</li>
<li>Use hashtags to include others in the conversation.</li>
<li>Link appropriate URLs to comments.</li>
<li>Use emoticons.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Using Perusall to Increase Your Learning</h2>
<ul>
<li>Perusall allows you to <strong>ask questions</strong> and <strong>share learning</strong> as you do your reading. <strong>Engaging with others</strong> (including your instructor and TA) will help you learn better. Your Perusall score is a <strong>composite of several behaviors</strong>, including interacting with others' questions and comments, posting your own, reading the whole chapter, etc. </li>
<li>Perusall is trying to <strong>help you learn</strong>. Focusing on "gaming the system" will only lessen your experience and make it harder to learn the course content.</li>
<li>Perusall will look for the following things:
<ul>
<li><strong>Engagement with others</strong>. (Really important!)
<ul>
<li>The more engaged you are, the more fun you will have and the deeper your learning will be.</li>
<li>Asking quality questions/comments will allow your instructor, TA, and/or classmates to help you understand the content better.
<ul>
<li>Ask questions that promote conversation and make others want to respond.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Answer others' questions (instructor, TA, and classmates) with clarification, insight, and personal experience when appropriate.
<ul>
<li>Responding to others is often as helpful (and important) as posting your own.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Quality of comments. </strong>(Really important!)
<ul>
<li>Writing more does not make a better answer.</li>
<li>Repeating a lot of the textbook does not make your answer better.
<ul>
<li>However, appropriately connecting textbook content to your answers shows you are understanding your reading.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Classmates can "upvote" comments they find helpful and engaging.
<ul>
<li>Writing comments that get "upvoted" will help your overall reading score.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Number of comments.</strong><br />
<ul>
<li>Post at least eight meaningful questions/comments.
<ul>
<li>The entries may be a combination of posts, questions, or responses.</li>
<li>Entries that display critical thinking and engagement with others that promote deeper learning will score best.</li>
<li>The more you talk to each other in Perusall, the easier it will be to complete your Study Guide.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Spacing of comments throughout the chapter</strong>.<br />
<ul>
<li>Don't just respond to the first few pages of the chapter. </li>
<li>Show you are reading the whole chapter.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>For <strong>more information</strong> about this learning tool, you can visit the <a class="inline_disabled" title="Perusall" href="https://byui.instructure.com/courses/202910/pages/perusall" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-api-endpoint="https://byui.instructure.com/api/v1/courses/202910/pages/perusall" data-api-returntype="Page">about Perusall</a> page. </li>
<li>If you feel your Perusall scores do not accurately reflect your learning and effort, contact your TA for help in analyzing how you can use Perusall better.</li>
<li>Using Perusall can also help you complete your <strong>Study Guides</strong> and <strong>prepare for your exams</strong>. </li>
</ul>
<h2>Tips For Success</h2>
<ol>
<li>As you participate in the discussion, please remember that it’s much easier to misinterpret written communication than face-to-face conversations.
<ul>
<li>Written language lacks the cues we enjoy in person-to-person communication such as body language, tone of voice, volume, and so forth. Because of that, please remember to be respectful and considerate to one another as you communicate in an online environment.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Another key to successful discussion posts is good writing.
<ul>
<li>Always read, review, and proofread your writing before posting. Your instructor and classmates will read your writing and they will learn from what you write, especially as you personalize the posts.</li>
<li>Please make sure you use clear language, with full sentences, no typos, and good grammar.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Your post should also fully answer the question(s) asked and demonstrate a strong understanding of the material.</li</li>
</ol>
</div>
Click to copy
Click the HTML Editor again and check if the outline, spacing, and information are correct.
The page should look like this:
Once you confirmed that everything looks good, click "Save and Publish".
Now, create a module in Student Resources and add the newly created page.
Go back to the Student Resources page and click the + sign.
Click the drop-down for "Add " and select "Page" (1). Select "How to Do Well in Perusall" (2). Click the drop-down for Indentation and select "Indent 1 Level" (3). Click "Add Item" (4).
Congratulations! you are done!
Does your Student Resources look like this?
If your Student Resources look like this, then congratulations! you are done.
If your Student Resources does NOT look like the picture above, go back and click "No, I don't," and follow those steps.
Congratulations! you are done!
Starting Perusall Set Up
First find the course on your dash board and click into the course.
Make sure that the “Perusall” tab is turned on and seen in the left Navigation.
Is Perusall turned on in your course?
Click on the Perusall tab in the left navigation bar.
Once the Perusall tab is open, it should take you to the home page that looks like this.
First check the time zone of the instructor within the Perusall course, and make sure it is in MST, before starting anything!
If you need more help on how to change your time zone, please check out this article: Perusall Time Zone.
Once the time zone has been checked, then go ahead and look to the right on the homepage and pick the correct “Department” for the class.
Check that the start and end date are correct with the semester will be taught this semester.
Scroll down and click “Save Changes”
Add Materials
Click the blue arrow to the right to add the course materials.
Would you like to copy materials from a pre-semester, or a colleague?
Then choose “Materials from another Course.”
Choose the “Course to copy” from in the drop down menu, choose the last semesters text book to copy from.
Make sure to adjust the first assignments due date (check canvas for this date if needed) and make the sure the following boxes are checked and ready.
Then click “Save Changes”
Please check with your ACL for a textbook code.
Check Settings and add Policies
Click the settings button in the top left corner.
Click through all four of the tabs at the top. GENERAL, ACCESS, GROUPING, SCORING, ADVANCED. Add and change the settings and policies as needed for you course.
Make sure to “Save Changes.”
Canvas Assignment Set Up
Once the Perusall course is set up, go back to the canvas course and choose the “Assignment” tab in the left navigation.
Go to settings
Click "Navigation" at the top of the page
Scroll down until you find "Perusall" (1) in the bottom list, then click and drag it to the top list (2)
Click "Save" at the bottom of the page
Click on the Perusall tab in the left navigation bar.
Once the Perusall tab is open, it should take you to the home page that looks like this.
First check the time zone of the instructor within the Perusall course, and make sure it is in MST, before starting anything!
If you need more help on how to change your time zone, please check out this article: Perusall Time Zone.
Once the time zone has been checked, then go ahead and look to the right on the homepage and pick the correct “Department” for the class.
Check that the start and end date are correct with the semester will be taught this semester.
Scroll down and click “Save Changes”
Add Materials
Click the blue arrow to the right to add the course materials.
Then choose “Materials from another Course.”
Canvas Assignment Set Up
Once the Perusall course is set up, go back to the canvas course and choose the “Assignment” tab in the left navigation.
Did Assignments sync over from Perusall?
Find the assignments that have synced into Canvas.
It could look similar to this picture, the bottom W02 assignments came from Perusall, and the place holders are from the SIT set up team.
Open the Place holder assignment in one Window.
Click "Edit Assignment Settings"
Open Perusall assignment in a different window and click "Edit Assignment."
Copy and paste the instructions from the place holder assignment into the new assignment.
Click "Save and Publish"
Repeat the last step for all of the assignments.
(If needed) Put the new Perusall assignments in the right assignment spot.
The right spot could be in a specific Perusall Discussion section, it could go into specific week sections in assignments, take a look through all the assignment folders and place them where they need to go.
Once the assignment process is finished, then go to Modules.
Add each of the assignments created to the appropriate module
Click the "+" button in the top right corner of the module
Find the assignment in the drop down, and "add item" and move the assignment to the correct spot within the module
If needed add an indent to match the assignments around it.
Add the requirements to the new assignment by clicking the three dots to the top right of the module.
Click the "edit" option from the drop down
Then add the requirement to the new assignment as needed.
Don't forget! Update Module
Your done!
Now click one of the Perusall assignments and click “Edit Assignment Settings”
Remove the {Placeholder- Remove after setup} name. Leave it as “W01 Perusall: Sections 1.1-1.2 (Optional) (or whatever the name in the course is for the assignment)
Scroll down and change the settings:
Display Grade as: Points (1)
Submission Type: External Tool (2)
Click “Find” (1) in the external tool tab and select “Perusall” (2), and then click "Select" (3).
Select the appropriate assignment from the list and link it into the assignment. Save and Publish it after.
(If needed) Put the new perusall assignments in the right assignment spot.
The right spot could be in a specific Perusall Discussion section, it could go into specific week sections in assignments, take a look through all the assignment folders and place them where they need to go.
Continue and repeat the same process for other Perusall assignments.
Once that process is finished, go to Modules.
Check each week if the Perusall homework assignments have been synced and are in the appropriate place.
If not: Move assignment to the appropriate place and make sure its published
Congratulations, the process is complete!
