Synote: enhancing multimedia e-learning with synchronised annotation

Description/Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a collaborative hypertext application named Synote. Multimedia has become technically easier to create, but while the WHOLE of a media resource can be easily bookmarked, searched, linked to and tagged, it is still difficult to find or associate notes or other resources with a certain PART of a resource. Synote addresses the important and pervasive user need of making multimedia Web resources easier to access, search, manage and exploit for learners teachers and other users through developing an application that supports the creation of synchronised notes, bookmarks, tags, links, images and text captions. Synote has been developed based on requirements for such a Web based e-learning environment, identified by various studies. The performance, efficiency and effectiveness of Synote was evaluated by using it with students and teachers for a number of undergraduate courses and this has shown that they like using Synote and want more recordings and lectures in this format to be made available to them.