Video Ant: A Replacement for VideoNot.es

VideoAnt: The Replacement for VideoNot.es

A few months ago, the edtech world lost a really powerful app called VideoNot.es. If you’re unsure of what it was -- or are in mourning for its departure-- VideoNot.es was a free video annotation app that allowed students to create time-stamped, shareable notes. We loved it so much that we even included in Don’t Ditch That Tech! 

Enter VideoAnt. 

VideoAnt is really unknown -- it’s an app put together by the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development. Their website does a pretty concise break down how it works:
(picture credited to VideoAnt)

What I like about this platform is that it’s not explicitly tied into Google Drive near to the degree that VideoNot.es was. (Microsoft people, celebrate!) That being said, just like VideoNot.es, there’s always a worry that this app, being tied to a university, might lose funding, lack IT support, etc. That all being said, it seems to be well-designed and I haven’t yet experienced any glitches. 

Why / How You Can Use It:

Ultimately, students’ learning needs to be supported and extended on video platforms, just like any other medium of learning (worksheets, readings, mini-lessons, etc). As I’ve figured out in the short time using it, soon the student discussions, comments, and collaborative ideas that emerge become more valuable than the videos themselves. Give it a try here!

Here’s a few other ideas on how it might be used: 

  • VideoAnt is perfect for flipped classrooms. Don’t know what a flipped classroom is? Check out this blog post here.
  • Pre-add in scaffolded notations for students before they watch a video, similar to EdPuzzle. Then, students can respond to questions such as summaries, predictions, connections, etc.
  • Have students annotate and describe a video as part of an informal assessment. 
--Nate


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Comments

  1. This does sound really exciting, but I'm wondering if it would work with elementary students. Any thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm... I think it would, if it were scaffolded heavily. Maybe for students in grades 2-4?

      Delete
  2. Hi Nate, I too was an avid user of videonot.es, and couldn't find something similar for quite some time. Therefore, I created a similar tool: https://learnleap.co

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for posting this. VideoNot.es was one of the most useful programs ever. This is a solid replacement. I hope it doesn't die.

      Delete
    2. I just checked out learnleap.co So far, it seems like a good tool. Thank you for sharing that. I miss videonot.es

      Delete

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