• Nurtures self-directed learners who can engage critically and deeply with key learning concepts through collaborative knowledge construction
• Enhances effective design of video-based learning by enabling teachers to:
  • Choose and upload video learning resources
  • Scaffold students’ learning with questions at critical timepoints
  • Observe classroom pattern of engagement through real-time digital formative feedback via teacher and learning dashboards (see Image 1: Timepoint-Based Video Annotation and Interactive Chat Board)

  • Evaluate students’ understanding of key concepts through their timepoint-based video annotations

Why CoVAA?

Collaborative Video-Based Annotation and Analytics (CoVAA) provides both students and teachers a platform for student-centered collaborative learning. CoVAA’s video annotation and peer-to-peer comment features allow students and teachers to work on learning tasks together. Through the platform, students build upon their own and each other’s ideas and understanding (see infographic 1: Benefits of CoVAA) to co-construct knowledge.

Infographic 1: Benefits of CoVAA (view larger image)

Successfully trialled in 2 secondary schools across 3 subjects, students who used CoVAA:

• Demonstrated deeper conceptual knowledge of the topics learnt
• Reported higher levels of creativity and confidence in the subjects
• Reported that the web-based platform provided a more engaging and individualized learning experience compared to the traditional classroom curriculum

Evidence From CoVAA Research

How did Students Respond?

• Students who used CoVAA had significantly better conceptual understanding than those who did not. Across all three subjects, CoVAA deepened students’ conceptual knowledge.
• By engaging in critical discussion and forming knowledge collaboratively, students became active learners. In this way, the online platform enhanced creative thinking and self-confidence in students.
• Shy students could share their views more easily in CoVAA. Thus, it fosters a more engaged community of collaborative learners.

In addition, teachers who participated in the research noted:

• CoVAA provides a consolidated “one-stop” space for efficient viewing of all students’ annotations and discussion comments in real-time (and post-hoc), so that timely prompting, clarification, comparison and explanation can be provided to the whole class.
• The platform also gives teachers timely information on where students are at, allowing for personalised and timely feedback to correct misconceptions.
• Quieter students became more active participants, allowing teachers to engage with them more.

How Can Teachers Get Started?

If you are interested to use CoVAA with your students, contact Co-Principal Investigator Dr Elizabeth Koh at elizabeth.koh@nie.edu.sg.

Without the CoVAA web-based tool

If accessing CoVAA is not viable for you, you could still apply the CoVAA design framework in your teaching and learning. We have created a Teacher Sample Lesson Design to give a guided example on how you can scaffold video learning materials in your lesson design. This sample was created for a Secondary 3 Social Studies class.

Related Links

• CoVAA website
• Tan, J. P.-L., Koh, E., Noriff Elyn Mohamed Ariffin, Teo, E. Z., Tay, S. H., & Shyam Singh. (2018). A collaborative video annotation and analytics environment (CoVAA) intervention: User experiences and reflections of teacher-practitioners. In J. C. Yang, M. Chang, L.-H. Wong & M. M. T. Rodrigo (Eds.), Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE) 2018 (pp. 706-714). Manila, Philippines: Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE). http://icce2018.ateneo.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/C7-02.pdf
• Knowledge Resource Bank article in 2022 on “Collaborative Video Annotation and Analytics Environment to Enhance Blended Teacher Professional Development (CoVAA^PD) in Physical Education ” (updated as of 9 May 2022)

Further Readings

• Risko, E. F., Foulsham, T., Dawson, S., & Kingstone, A. (2013). The Collaborative Lecture Annotation System (CLAS): A New TOOL for Distributed Learning. IEEE Transactions On Learning Technologies, 6(1), 4-13.
• Pena-Shaff, J. B., & Nicholls, C. (2004). Analyzing Student Interactions and Meaning Construction in Computer Bulletin Board Discussions. Computers And Education, 42(3), 243-265.

Research Projects

• Development and Use of a Web-Based Collaborative Video Annotation and Analytics Environment to Enhance Blended Teacher Professional Development (CoVAAPD) in Physical Education (newly completed project – updated on 13 September 2021)

• Using a Collaborative Video Annotation and Analytics Environment(CoVAA) to Enchance Flipped Classroom Pedagogical Practice and Foster Students’ Conceptual Understanding, Social Knowledge Construction and Self-Regulated Learning

Research Team

To learn more about CoVAA, please contact the Knowledge Mobilisation Unit (KMb@OER) at oerkmob@nie.edu.sg.

Principal Investigator

• Dr Jennifer Tan Pei-Ling (formerly of NIE)

Co-Principal Investigators

• Dr Elizabeth KOH, Office of Education Research (OER), NIE

• Dr Imelda CALEON, OER, NIE

Collaborators

• Ms TAY Siu Hua, MOE
• Ms CHAN Hwee Leng, HOD Humanities, AHS, MOE

• Ms Agnes LIM, HOD Science, CSS, MOE

Research Assistants

• Ms Christin JONATHAN, NIE

• Ms Nadia SUZUKI, NIE

Software Engineers

• Ms Shi Hui KOK, NIE
• Mr Simon YANG, NIE