Learning Center

reading

Annotate Multimodal Texts

November 23, 2015

Videos are referred to as multimodal texts–meaning students have to use both visual and audio modes of communication to analyze the information presented. Unlike other types of visuals (e.g., photographs, illustrations, infographics, editorial cartoons, etc.), videos reveal a lot of information quickly. Students need to sustain or “hold onto” their thinking across several minutes.

Just like print text, fast-moving videos require students to annotate their thinking. However, the usual highlighters or sticky notes won’t work with this atypical text. Instead, try one of these three resources:

Zaption: Students can annotate any existing online video using Zaption. (In addition, Zaption’s Analytics provides the teacher immediate feedback on how students interacted with the content.)
EdPuzzle: Annotate video clips from a variety of sources with EdPuzzle. Watch this video for more information about how to get started.

For more technology tools and resources follow Nadine Gilkison (Smekens Education Digital Resource Designer) on www.fttechtips.com or @nadinegilkison on Twitter.