A new version of Mediathread, the open-source multimedia annotation tool developed by the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, is now live and in use at Columbia University.

Highlights of the Spring 2014 Mediathread release include:

• Bookmarklet: The Mediathread bookmarklet experience has been redesigned to make collecting media more intuitive. Bookmarklet users can now import multiple items at once from compatible websites (such as YouTube, Flickr, ARTStor, and many others) into their Mediathread collection. Users can also now "send and stay"—that is, send items to a Mediathread collection without leaving an external website.
• Items: Users can edit the title of items they have brought items into Mediathread, via bookmarklet import or direct upload.
• Projects: Compositions now auto-save as a user edits them, ensuring no lost work.
• New code supports ARTStor's new dynamic URL creation.
• Login page redesigned to support multiple resolutions.

In Fall 2013, 65 classes at Columbia undertook learning activities in Mediathread, in subject domains including Art History, Education, Social Work, East Asian Studies, Music, Public Speaking, and Reading and Composition. Mediathread is now also in use at several other higher education institutions.

The updated code is publicly available at GitHub. For more information about Mediathread and uses of it at Columbia University, visit CCNMTL's website.