The Interactive Video Tool
The Interactive Video tool lets you collect a performance video from a student or family and then leave time stamped feedback on it — by text, voice note, or short video clip. The student uploads their recording via a se
How It Works
The tool has two phases: video collection and feedback.
Video collection — When you first add the tool to a note, it shows a placeholder indicating that no video has been uploaded yet. You invite the student or family to upload their recording by clicking Invite student to upload video and sending an email through the invite modal. The family receives an email with a secure upload link — they can record or upload a video on that page without logging into any account. Once uploaded, the video appears in the tool.
Feedback — With the video loaded, you can watch it and add comments at any point in the timeline. Comments are time-stamped: they anchor to the exact moment in the video where you clicked to add them. As you watch, the timeline shows colour-coded markers for each comment. Clicking a marker in the timeline jumps the video to that moment; clicking a comment card in the list jumps the video there too.
Sending the Upload Invitation
Click Invite student to upload video to open the invite modal. From there:
Audience — Choose whether to send the invitation to parents, students, or both. The system resolves the linked recipients and shows you the full list before sending.
Review recipients — The modal shows each person's name and email, with checkboxes so you can include or exclude individuals. If any linked people are missing email addresses, they're flagged separately.
Notifications — Two opt-in checkboxes let you choose whether you receive an email notification when the video is uploaded, and whether you'd like a copy of the invite email for your own records.
Click Send emails to dispatch the invitations. Each recipient gets a link that opens an upload page showing the student name, piece, performance, and any instructions. They can record a new video or upload a file from their device.
Adding Comments
Once a video is present, use the video player controls to navigate the recording. When you reach a moment you want to comment on, click Add Comment. A new comment draft appears in the comments panel, anchored to the current playback position.
Comment types — Each comment can be one of three types, selectable before you save it:
- Text — Type your feedback. Press Enter to save, or Shift+Enter for a new line within the comment.
- Voice note — Click Record to capture an audio note using the microphone. Stop when finished; preview the recording before saving. Voice notes stop automatically after 30 minutes or at 32 MB.
- Video note — Selecting this option immediately shows a muted preview from your camera. Your microphone starts only when you click Record. Stop when done; preview before saving. Video notes stop automatically after one minute or at 12 MB.
Click Save to attach the comment to the timeline. The marker appears immediately on the progress bar.
Choosing Your Microphone and Camera
Click the small source-settings button in the top-right of the Comments panel. A Recording sources window opens with separate selectors for your microphone and camera.
Your choices apply to all voice-note and video-note comments and are remembered in this browser. They are also shared with the main Recording tool in lesson notes. If a previously selected device is disconnected, Octavia returns to the system default.
Changing the camera while its preview is visible updates the preview. If you change a source during an active recording, the current recording continues uninterrupted and the new choice is used for the next take.
Working with Comments
Existing text comments can be edited by hovering the comment card and clicking the pencil icon. Click Save after making changes.
To delete a comment, hover the card and click the trash icon. A confirmation prompt appears before deletion. Deleting a voice or video note also permanently removes the media file.
What Families See
The Interactive Video tool is visible to families in the Hub via the lesson note. They can watch the student's video, see the timeline markers, and listen to or watch any voice or video notes you've left. They can't add their own comments.
A Note on Deletion
Deleting the tool itself (via the trash icon in the tool header) removes the video, all comments, and all associated media files permanently. The confirmation prompt reminds you of this before you proceed.
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