Annotate.net

Overview

Annotate.net is an annotation and interactive teaching service for instructors and students working with course materials. Instructors can build assignments from web pages, PDFs, and Google Slides, while students annotate those materials and notebooks. Instructors can review student work in real time and respond with audio or webcam video feedback.

Interactive questions can be embedded in Google Slides, PDFs, web pages, and Annotate notebooks. The service lists 10 question types, as well as interactive presentations, live polls, quiz activities, audience questions, assessment reports, and LMS integration. For a broader look at this category, see Interactive Classroom Software.

Key features

• Annotations and feedback: Students can annotate Google Slides, PDFs, and notebooks. Instructors can review that work in real time and leave audio or webcam video feedback.
• Interactive course content: Instructors can add 10 types of interactive questions to supported materials, including web pages and Google Slides.
• Classroom assignments: Annotate supports assignments built from web pages, PDFs, and Google Slides for use with Google Classroom.
• File imports: The product tour lists PowerPoint, PDF, and SMART Notebook imports, along with files from Dropbox and Box.
• Browser annotation: The Chrome extension can annotate web pages, highlight text, and capture screen images while a screen is being shared.
• Mirroring and remote access: The Mirror Client supports screen sharing and remote desktop control. AirPlay and Google Cast are listed as supported options.
• Privacy and security: The privacy policy says data in transit uses TLS 1.2, stored content is encrypted, and passwords are salted and hashed. The company says it does not sell or rent personal information, or share it with third parties for advertising or marketing. Its policy says the service seeks to comply with COPPA, FERPA, SOPIPA, and CIPA, and is designed to operate in compliance with SOPIPA.

Support details differ by account: pricing lists email support for Starter and Pro student accounts. The site also links to tutorials and a bug-report form.

Pricing

Annotate.net is freemium. Free accounts are available, and listed paid plans range from $12.79 a year to $27.99 a year. These prices are billed yearly and are shown below as listed.

The listed pricing note says paid plans start at $15.99/user/yr, while the plan details also show a Student Pro Account at $12.79 a year. Educational instructor licenses require an active instructor at a K-12 or higher education institution and registration with an institutional email. Where applicable, instructors must arrange parental consent for students under 13.

Platforms

Annotate.net lists Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and an extension among its platforms. Its maker says the iPad app includes the web app and Chrome extension capabilities and works with Adobe PDFs, Google Slides, and Google Classroom. Instructor access by cell phone is not recommended for daily use; the system requirements page warns that some features may be disabled or may not work as designed.

Who it's for

Annotate.net is intended for instructors such as K-12 teachers, professors, corporate trainers, and other presenters, along with their students or participants. The educational instructor account is specifically tied to an active role at a K-12 or higher education institution. Non-educational instructor accounts are also listed, but the free plan makes notebooks public.

It may suit classes that need students to mark up shared course materials and instructors to respond while work is in progress. The listed storage, course, and daily screen-sharing or mirroring limits matter when choosing among accounts.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Students can annotate common course formats, and instructors can review work in real time with audio or webcam feedback.
• Pros: Interactive questions, polls, quizzes, audience questions, and assessment reports support several kinds of classroom activity.
• Pros: The listed free accounts provide different options for students, educational instructors, and non-educational instructors.
• Cons: Free plans have storage limits, and screen sharing or mirroring is subject to daily limits on the listed accounts.
• Cons: Daily instructor use by cell phone is not recommended, and some features may not work as designed on that device.
• Cons: Educational instructor access has eligibility and institutional email requirements, with parental consent arrangements needed where applicable for students under 13.

Alternatives

For audience interaction and classroom activities, alternatives include Poll Everywhere, Wayground (formerly Quizizz), AhaSlides, Kahoot!, Socrative, Vevox, ClassPoint, and Mentimeter.

Verdict

Annotate.net combines document and web-page annotation with live instructor feedback and interactive questions. Its plan structure separates student access, educational instructors, and non-educational instructors, with differences in storage, notebook privacy, course capacity, and screen-sharing or mirroring time. Before choosing a plan, check the listed limits against the formats and devices a class uses, and note the cell-phone caveat for instructors.