The Wizard of OT

Video Annotation using VideoAnt

Heather Kuhaneck 7-31-24

What is it?

VideoAnt is a tool developed by the University of Minnesota that allows users to annotate videos with comments. This online platform transforms passive video watching into an engaging, interactive experience.The platform is free and easy to use, with a straightforward interface that doesn’t require technical skills. VideoAnt can be used across disciplines and educational levels, but is particularly useful in occupational therapy education where visual demonstration is a key part of the process and observation skills are critical skills for students to learn.

Why Use It?

• Practice and Document Student Observation Skills:  Annotating videos allows students to practice their observation skills and also document their growing abilities with careful observation.
• Improve Understanding: Annotating videos can help students break down complex concepts and enhance comprehension, making it an excellent tool for analysis.
• Increase Active Engagement: Instead of passively watching videos, students actively engage with the content by adding their thoughts, questions, and insights directly on the video timeline.
• Enhance Collaboration: It can support collaborative learning by enabling multiple users to comment on the same video, facilitating group discussions and/or peer feedback.

There are starting to be studies documenting the usefulness of video annotation for a variety of educational purposes. The majority of studies reviewed noted positive learning outcomes from video annotation. Using annotation with specific questions can influence students attention to specific portions of videos. It is important though for the instructor to make students aware that the use of video annotation is beneficial for their learning. It may influence them to be more engaged with it if they understand the gains to be made from its use.

For example see:

Chiu, P. S., Chen, H. C., Huang, Y. M., Liu, C. J., Liu, M. C., & Shen, M. H. (2018). A video annotation learning approach to improve the effects of video learning. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 55(4), 459-469.

Evi-Colombo, A., Cattaneo, A., & Bétrancourt, M. (2020). Technical and pedagogical affordances of video annotation: A literature review. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 29(3), 193-226.

Lam, N. C. C., & Habil, H. (2021). The use of video annotation in education: A review. Asian Journal of University Education, 17(4), 84-94.

Mirriahi, N., Liaqat, D., Dawson, S., & Gašević, D. (2016). Uncovering student learning profiles with a video annotation tool: reflective learning with and without instructional norms. Educational Technology Research and Development, 64, 1083-1106.

How to Use It?

Getting started with VideoAnt is simple:

• Create an Account: Go to VideoAnt and sign up for a free account. You can also log in with your Google credentials for added convenience.
• Upload or Link a Video: You can either upload your own video or paste a link to a video hosted on platforms like YouTube.
• Annotate the Video: Start watching your video and click on the timeline to add annotations. You can type your comments, pose questions, highlight important points, or even add links to additional resources.
• Share and Collaborate: Once you’ve annotated your video, share the link with your students or colleagues. They can view your annotations and add their own, creating a rich, interactive learning experience.
• Review and Respond: Monitor the annotations and respond to comments, fostering a dynamic, ongoing discussion about the video content.

Tips for OT Educators

• Flipped Classroom: Use VideoAnt to create engaging pre-class activities. Students can watch and annotate videos before class, coming prepared with insights and questions.
• Peer Review: Assign videos for peer review. Students can provide feedback on each other’s work, learning to critique and analyze constructively
• Assignment Completion: Have students annotate videos to document their observation skills (see sample assignment below).

For more information:

The webpage https://ant.umn.edu/

Getting started video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SOE2aQky2I

Youtube “How to” Videos to help if needed:

A Sample Assignment for Students Using VideoAnt

(make sure to use a transparent assignment template such as the one linked here).

Assignment Name:

PURPOSE

Assignment Purpose:

The ability to make careful and pertinent observations is a critical skill for an occupational therapist.  In this assignment, we will be practicing observations of ___________ using videos of _____________.  ADD HERE Based on your needs/purpose.

Assignment Learning Objectives: 

(something measurable here about observation skills)

TASK

1. You will make ____# observations using ____ # of videos.
2. You will use the program VideoAnt to document your observations.
3. How to use VideoAnt:
   • Click to access the program  https://ant.umn.edu/
   • Sign in (using whichever means you choose on that first screen).
   • Please use the method called “authenticate” so that you can share your video annotation with the course instructor.
4. Once you are in the program, you will click the button for “new ant”
5. You will enter this link for a video ______(insert link)_________________. The video is of ______(describe)________________________.
6. Then click load video.
7. Read the instructions on the VideoAnt website to the right of the window where the video becomes visible once you enter the link.
8. Enter the title for YOUR video annotation which should be named as follows (YOURLASTNAME_videoantassignment) – using your own last name
9. The click the “start annotating” button.
10. A new screen will pop up and you will see the video and a play button.  When you click play, the video will start and there is a button that says “Add an annotation.”
11. When you click that button, the video pauses at a specific moment in time and a window opens for you to type in a subject and content about what you are seeing.  When you click save for your annotation the video will start again.  You can also pause the video with the pause button.
12. You can go through the video as many times as you need to and keep adding annotations as indicated by the questions you have been provided below.

FACULTY:  You will need to view the video, make your own annotations so you have an idea of what to ask the students about.  Then you will create a list of questions for them to help them know what to annotate and where.  For example, you might ask  “what grasps do you see the child using?”  Then the student would annotate all possible grasp examples and you would be able to check that they saw them all – for example. Or you could use a video of an evaluation and ask how they would rate XYZ level of assist or cognitive status. Having annotated the video yourself, you can provide students with an “answer sheet” after their work has been submitted.

1. Submit your assignment.

FACULTY:  You will need to decide how you want to view and grade these assignments.  There are two ways to do so.  You can view the video over and over for each student and view their annotations on the video.  If that is how you wish to view their work then use the submission instructions below.

1. Once you are done, look for the “share” button.  (At the bottom of the window). Click share and you will be brought to another window where you get a link to share your video annotation with others. If you don’t see the share button but instead see a little gear symbol, click that (it is the settings button) and then you should see an option to share.
   1. Copy that link and paste it into a word doc to save it.
   1. You will submit that word doc on ___your LMS____ for the instructor to view your annotations.

FACULTY:  The other way to view their work is by reading their exported  text.  You will be able to see the timestamp of the video, and their annotation in text form.  If this is how you wish to grade their work, then use these instructions.

1. You will export the text of your annotations and upload to ___your LMS______.
2. To do so, click the gear symbol (settings) and then embed and export, and then text.  Copy that text into a word doc and submit that word doc.

CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS

FACULTY: List your specific grading criteria here.  It will depend on your video type, and the way you ask your questions.  You may want to use specifications grading for this (there will be a blog post about that soon).

I also typically give an example of what I am looking for, using a different video than the students will use.  I annotate one myself and let them view my annotations.

You can also add to this assignment, some form of peer to peer feedback on each other’s annotations.

______________________________

Here are a few pediatric videos on youtube that I have used in the past for student observations:

https://youtu.be/EX0xhdz_zTo

But there are many videos available online that you can use.!!!!!