Introducing VC3: The Next Evolution in Video Coaching
Like our partners in education, we’re focused on continuous improvement. As educators know, sometimes improvement comes in small steps and sometimes it comes in big jumps. This is a big jump!
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of VC3, the latest version of our video coaching platform. This release brings a host of powerful new features and improvements designed to improve collaboration and enhance the ways educators engage in professional learning through video coaching.
VC3 represents a significant leap forward in video coaching technology. With a refined coaching experience and purpose-built tools, we’re empowering educators to:
- Collaborate more efficiently and effectively
- Engage in meaningful professional learning – anytime, anywhere
- Gain deeper insights into instructional practice
- Improve student learning
What is video coaching?
One of the most effective ways to improve classroom instruction is to allow teachers to collaborate with other teachers and coaches.
For more than a decade, Edthena has been providing tools and resources to help educators collaborate by leveraging the power of classroom video. Using the platform, teachers record a lesson in their classroom and then share the video and related learning materials with colleagues and coaches.
Colleagues can view the video and provide time-stamped comments that are tied to specific skills. Teachers then review and reply to comments as they collaborate with their PLC to improve their classroom instruction.
What is VC3 video coaching by Edthena?
Edthena has helped educators add 2.2 million comments to their nearly seven million minutes of classroom videos within our platform. That’s equivalent to 115 years of classroom instruction. Yes, years! So we feel confident saying we know a thing or two about using videos for teachers’ learning.
So, what is VC3? Simply put, VC3 is the next evolution of the Edthena Video Coaching platform. Built upon and leveraging Edthena’s vast video coaching experience, VC3 streamlines coaching workflows and adds a wealth of new features designed to help educators collaborate more effectively than ever before.
We’re excited to share this new platform with you.
Check it out below.
Streamlining collaboration with video coaching
Simplicity meets sophistication
Engineered to maximize the limited time of both teachers and coaches, at the core of VC3 lies a completely redesigned video conversations page. Layouts adapt dynamically to your role and stage in the process, ensuring that the most relevant information and tools are always at your fingertips.
We’ve also refined collaborative feedback with our new commenting system. The new system streamlines the process of summarizing and analyzing comments, making collaboration more efficient than ever.
In addition, whether you’re working under bright classroom lights or in a dimly lit office after hours, the updated design elements help provide clarity across the platform.
Welcome to VC3, where sophisticated functionality meets elegant simplicity, empowering you to enhance coaching and elevate instruction with unprecedented ease.
Instructional coaching anytime, anywhere
Instructional coaches are constantly on the go and they need a platform that can keep up. Teachers are often pulled in different directions throughout their day as well. So we didn’t design something that was just compatible with mobile devices, we built a platform that’s optimized for them.
We made it even easier to record and upload videos on any device. With VC3, teachers can simply click Record in the platform on their preferred device. No installations or apps are required.
In addition, each interaction in the platform has been re-imagined to prioritize the experience of coaching and collaborating on the go.
Whether you’re a coach reviewing lessons on the morning train or a teacher squeezing in feedback sessions between classes, VC3’s streamlined, mobile-optimized design helps teachers and coaches get more done anytime, anywhere.
Powerful new coaching tools to accelerate and amplify collaboration
The new Insights tab: Jumpstarting teacher reflection and coaching analysis
Instructional coaches often face the challenge of quickly absorbing the context of a lesson to provide relevant, impactful feedback. Traditionally, this meant simultaneously trying to understand the lesson’s goal, analyze the teacher’s performance, and observe the classroom environment – a juggling act that could sometimes compromise the depth of their analysis.
VC3 accelerates this process by providing coaches with crucial context before they even begin their observation. When coaches log into VC3, they’re greeted by the new Insights tab – a package of thoughtfully crafted AI-generated resources to jumpstart their analysis.
And insights aren’t just for coaches and colleagues. Teachers can also leverage this information to guide a self-reflection on their lesson before, or between collaborating with their team.
VC3 provides teachers, coaches, and colleagues, with ways to:
- Deliver actionable feedback. VC3 offers thought-provoking, open-ended questions based on the video transcript. These questions guide educators in identifying key aspects to focus on during the lesson observation.
- Balance student-to-teacher talk time. VC3 presents an easy-to-read chart that highlights the ratio of student-to-teacher talk time. Coaches can use this information to enhance student engagement, foster language development, and boost student confidence.
- Identify the use of academic language. VC3 provides educators with a visual representation of frequently used words within the lesson. This tool helps coaches and teachers quickly grasp the level of academic language being employed.
Provided with rich context before they start watching, coaches can now focus their attention on providing meaningful, time-stamped feedback throughout their video review. This innovative approach not only streamlines the coaching process but also deepens the quality of feedback, ultimately leading to more effective professional development and improved teaching practices.
Automatic video summaries: Saving time and enhancing observations
In the world of instructional coaching, context is king. Traditionally, coaches relied on teacher-written lesson descriptions to understand the goals and structure of a lesson before observation. However, this approach often fell short. Teachers, pressed for time, frequently provided basic descriptions that offered little additional value. Coaches, in turn, began their observations without proper context, sometimes leading to misaligned feedback and missed opportunities for meaningful improvement.
VC3 transforms this process with the introduction of automatic video summaries. Now, when teachers upload a video, VC3’s advanced AI generates a comprehensive summary of the lesson. Teachers then refine this summary to ensure it accurately reflects their intentions and goals before sharing the video to their coach.
This innovative feature not only saves teachers valuable time but also provides coaches with rich, detailed context before they begin their observation.
Armed with this additional context, coaches can focus their attention on providing feedback that is precisely aligned with the teacher’s objectives. The result is a more efficient, effective coaching process that maximizes every opportunity for teacher growth and development. By bridging the gap between lesson delivery and observation, VC3’s automatic video summaries pave the way for more impactful professional development and, ultimately, enhanced student learning outcomes.
Elevating video coaching and professional development to new heights
In total, this re-imagined video coaching platform helps teachers, coaches, and colleagues dive deeper into instructional practice by leveraging collaborative evidence-based instructional feedback.
Each feature or design change in VC3 has been carefully considered to ensure that it adds value for teachers and coaches. The result is a curated selection of carefully crafted tools that help educators improve student learning.
Video coaching is being transformed with VC3. To learn more about how you can transform your school’s professional development efforts, contact our team today.
Guess what? There’s more!
There are even more updates included in VC3. Check out part two of our introduction to VC3 here!
Looking for a self-reflection tool for teachers?
VC3 is geared towards collaborative, video-based coaching. Edthena also offers a platform for self-guided, on-demand coaching cycles. The AI Coach platform helps districts amplify their existing coaching capacity. It’s the perfect way to deliver coaching between in-person sessions.
