A new version of Mediathread, an open-source multimedia annotation and composition tool created by the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, was released for the Fall Semester. This release is part of continuing development of the tool, which was first released in 2010. New features for the fall include:

• A new privacy setting that allows instructors to select whether or not students in a course can see each other’s annotations.
• A remodeled “Collections” interface, including a full-collection view for easier browsing and collection management.
• An improved annotations interface that dynamically links item editing and collections and makes both available on one screen.
• In-place item and selection editing available in the composition space.
• More contextual help, indicated by blue “i” icons, with tips on using different parts of Mediathread.

The open-source code for Mediathread is now in use at higher education institutions beyond Columbia, including MIT, The New School, Wellesley, and The American University in Cairo.

More information, including a demo video, is available at mediathread.ccnmtl.columbia.edu. Columbia University instructors can get started with Mediathread by sending an email to ccnmtl-mediathread@columbia.edu.