Close Reading Tutorial with Kami

Challenge / Context

During COVID-era asynchronous learning, I needed to teach a close reading strategy to students working independently from home, without the benefit of being able to model annotation live in front of the class. I used Kami, a PDF annotation tool, both as the platform for the lesson and as a skill students needed to learn in its own right.

Approach

I recorded this screencast modeling a close reading annotation strategy directly inside Kami, thinking aloud through the process the way I would have during in-person instruction.

Design Rationale

Recording the think-aloud process preserved the modeling that’s central to close reading instruction, even though students couldn’t see it happen live. Teaching the strategy directly inside Kami also let one video accomplish two things at once — introducing the annotation tool itself and modeling the reading strategy — which mattered when asynchronous time was limited and every screencast needed to work efficiently.

Outcome / Reflection

This is one of many similar screencasts I built regularly during COVID-era remote and hybrid instruction to bridge the gap left by asynchronous learning. They weren’t polished productions, but they were a consistent, functional part of how I kept instruction moving for students learning independently — a habit of building quick, purposeful video support that has carried into how I approach instructional design now.