Viewer Comments as Educational Annotation in Video Content Sharing Sites

• In Event: Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: Considering the Role of Audio and Video Tools to Enhance Learning

Abstract

Online video sites are often viewed as contributors to a decline in student reading, but may also have the potential to enhance learning. Viewer comments, when on-topic, may provide helpful annotation to the video. To explore this potential, four discussion forums from the TED website were analyzed at two levels. The first level used a CSCL coding scheme, which indicated that clarifications, interpretations, and questions were the most prevalent types of on-topic posts. The second level used Cognitive Flexibility Theory as a framework and found the presence of expansive comments that could potentially counteract common categories of oversimplification. Comments on sites such as TED have the potential to enhance the video content and support advanced learning about complex topics.

Author

• Penny Marie Thompson, Oklahoma State University