Layering with Timely

I haven’t mentioned layering services in quite a while. Layering is the term I have been using to describe online services that allow teachers and students to add their own comments, highlights, questions, links, and other components that can encourage effective thinking on top of and within existing web pages and online videos. I focus on those services that do this in a way that is respectful of copyright and allows the original author to benefit from intended downloads from his/her designated server. This is important if we want to maintain any compensation mechanisms (ads and page views) that the original author intended.

Timely is a tool that allows layering to be applied to existing online videos (e.g., YouTube content). Timely is similar to other online video annotation services I have identified and explained in my focus on layering. Additions are linked to designation points in the timeline of the video(see screen capture). To say this service is similar is not intended as a slight and there may be small differences in the features provided. Timely is easy enough to use and offers educators a way to supplement video comment with additions making information more useful as an instructional resource.