Transitioning from GoReact to Harmonize

What Instructors Typically Do in GoReact

In GoReact, creating an assignment usually involves:

1. Choosing an assignment type (Standard, Stimulus, Comment-Only, Live, etc.)
2. Configuring recording requirements
3. Setting feedback and privacy rules
4. Adding rubrics and grading settings

Each assignment type determines who records videos, who can comment, whether a stimulus video is required, and what feedback formats are allowed.

💡 Insight: In GoReact, the workflow is built into the assignment type. The tool makes many decisions for you.

How Harmonize Handles These Workflows Differently

Harmonize does not use assignment types to enforce workflow rules. Instead, students and instructors can always:

• Upload videos
• Record videos
• Screen-record
• Leave timestamped comments
• Annotate frames with drawing tools and pins
• Post holistic audio or video reflections

• This means the instructor, not the tool, defines the workflow.

In Harmonize, the workflow is shaped by:

• Your instructions
• Activity type (Discussion, Peer Review, Individual Assignment)
• Visibility settings (options include Everyone, Same Groups, and Private)
• Milestones (multiple due dates with specific requirements at each)
• Duration limits for video, audio, and screen recording (i.e., you can set a max time length)
• Grading choices (rubrics, manual grading, or completion-based auto-grading)

💡 Insight: Harmonize gives instructors greater flexibility but requires clearer assignment directions.

Creating a Harmonize Video Review Activity

1. Choose a Harmonize activity type

Instead of picking a GoReact assignment type, you choose the Harmonize space where work will happen.

Individual Assignment

Use when students submit private work that only the instructor should see.

⚠️ Warning: There is no way to change visibility in an Individual Assignment, so only choose this assignment type if you're certain you don't want students viewing each other's work.

Discussion

Use when students should interact, see each other’s videos, or respond to an instructor-posted video and see each other's responses.

Peer Review

Use when students should evaluate each other’s work formally. Peer Review features options unavailable in Discussions or Individual Assignments, such as rubric rating and automatic assigning of reviewers.

💡 Insight: A GoReact Standard, Stimulus, or Comment-Only assignment can all be done in any Harmonize space. Instructions—not templates—define the workflow.

2. Add or upload any desired materials

In Harmonize, anyone can upload, record, or screen-record video at any time. This means:

• To post a “stimulus video,” simply upload it in the instructions for a Discussion, Peer Review, or Individual Assignment.
• To require a response video, tell students to record or upload one.
• To restrict students to commenting only, simply state that no video upload is required.

💡 Insight: Instructions, Milestones, and Visibility settings replace GoReact’s assignment templates.

3. Tell students exactly what to do with the media

This is the biggest conceptual difference.

In GoReact

The assignment type dictates the workflow automatically (e.g., Stimulus requires a video response).

In Harmonize

The workflow must be clearly described in your directions.

Examples:

If responding to an instructor video:

• “Watch the video and leave 3 timestamped comments.”
• “Drop pins on frames showing key techniques.”
• “Record a 1-minute video response.”

If students must record a video:

• “Record a 2–3 minute demonstration using the built-in recorder and upload it as your post.”

If responding to peers:

• “Reply to two peers and give each peer timestamped comments and a short video reflection.”

💡 Insight: Clear instructions take the place of GoReact’s rigid assignment types.

4. Set visibility to match the workflow

Harmonize offers flexible visibility options:

• Private: Only instructor + student can see
• Students in Same Group: Students only see group members’ posts
• Everyone: Everyone can see all posts
• Staged: Instructor manually adjusts visibility mid-assignment (private → group → class)

Examples:

• Self-reflection on a video → Individual Assignment (always private) or Discussion with private visibility
• Small-group critique of videos → Discussion with group visibility
• Whole-class demo analysis → Discussion with full visibility
• Formal peer evaluation of videos → Peer Review
• Audiovisual Think, Pair, Share → Discussion with staged visibility (private → group → class)

💡 Insight: Harmonize supports changing visibility at any time, something GoReact does not allow.

5. Add milestones

Milestones replace GoReact’s sequencing and structure.

Examples

• Instructions say: “Submit your video by Monday.”
  • Instructor sets: A Milestone for 1 post by Monday
• Instructions say: “Leave comments for 2 peers by Wednesday.”
  • Instructor sets: A milestone for 2 comments by Wednesday
• Instructions say: “Post a reflection by Friday.”
  • Instructor sets: A milestone for 1 post (or have students comment on their initial post)

Milestones are ideal for...

• Stimulus → response workflows
• Peer review stages
• Draft → feedback → revise cycles
• Group critique sessions

💡 Insight: Milestones guide pacing without locking you into a specific workflow. You can have as many or as few milestones as you want with any number of posts or comments required at each stage.

6. Set duration limits and decide how you will grade

Harmonize supports:

• Time limits for video, audio, and screen recording
• Rubric scoring in Discussions, Peer Review, and Individual Assignments.
• Grading in Harmonize (for non-Canvas LMSes) or in Canvas SpeedGrader
• Grade sync to the LMS
• Additional options: manual grading or auto-grading.
  • Note: Harmonize's auto-grading is completion based and will only look at whether students have posted or commented. 

💡 Insight: If you're a Canvas user, Harmonize rubrics pass back to Canvas and can be used inside SpeedGrader.

Translating GoReact Workflows in Harmonize

Workflow 1: Students Commenting on Their Own Videos

Use: Individual Assignment

1. Students upload a video,  record a video, or record screen
2. In the same post (or in a second post or comment), students analyze their video with:
   • Timestamped comments
   • Frame-level annotations
   • Text or video reflections
   • Uploaded media (e.g., a self evaluation checklist)

Workflow 2: Instructors Commenting on Student Videos

Use: Individual Assignment or Discussion with visibility configured as desired

1. Students upload a video,  record a video, or record screen
2. Instructor gives feedback using Harmonize tools:
   1. Timestamped written comments
   2. Pins and drawing on frames
   3. Holistic video or audio reflections
   4. Rubric scoring or auto-grading (both optional)

Optional additions:

• Add a milestone where students respond to instructor feedback and/or use it to revise

Workflow 3: Students Commenting on Each Other’s Videos

Use: Discussion or Peer Review

Discussion

• Visibility can be Everyone or Same Groups.
• Students upload a video,  record a video, or record screen
• Classmates respond with timestamped comments and multimodal feedback

Peer Review

1. Students upload a video,  record a video, or record screen
2. Assigned reviewers provide structured feedback using the same tools instructors have available to them:
   • Timestamped written comments
   • Pins and drawing on frames
   • Holistic video or audio reflections
   • Rubric rating

Workflow 4: Students Commenting on Instructor Videos

Use: Discussion

1. Students uploads a video,  records a video, or records screen
2. Students can:
   1. Annotate video with timestamped comments
   2. Draw or pin on frozen frames
   3. Post video reflections
   4. Discuss interpretations with peers

Creating Video-to-Video Commentary in Harmonize

Harmonize does not support leaving timestamped audio or video comments on another video. To recreate GoReact-like multimodal time-coded feedback, you can use pin-anchored video reflections.

Steps:

• Watch a segment
• Click Respond and drop a pin
• Start a video reflection and click Pause when done
• Repeat throughout the video

This anchors the video response to specific moments without requiring true timeline-based video comments. See the video in Engaging Students with Video Recording and Critique for a great example.

💡 Insight: Pin-anchored video reflections combine clarity with expressive multimodal feedback.

Conclusion

GoReact provides structured, timeline-based video assessment. Harmonize supports the same pedagogical goals (self-reflection, peer feedback, skill demonstration, and collaborative analysis) through flexible activity types, multimodal feedback tools, customizable rubrics, milestones, and visibility controls.

By shifting from predefined assignment types to instructor-designed workflows, Harmonize offers more adaptability while maintaining clear, guided engagement for students.

FAQ

Does Harmonize support timestamped comments on video?

• Yes. Harmonize supports timestamped written comments.

Does Harmonize support audio or video comments that are timestamped to another audio or video file?

• No. Use pin-anchored video reflections instead. For more details, watch the short video in Engaging Students with Video Recording and Critique.

Does Harmonize support drawing on video?

• Yes. Students can draw and drop pins (associated with text) on still frames from the video.

Does Harmonize support live review?

• No. All engagement is asynchronous.

Can I limit the number of video attempts?

• No. Students may re-record freely. However, you will always be able to see the full version history of what they have published.

Does Harmonize have marker sets like GoReact?

• No. Use timestamped comments, pins, and frame drawing instead.

Does Harmonize support rubrics?

• Yes. We offer AI assisted rubric generation, or you can manually enter your own rubric. If you use Canvas, our rubrics will pass back to Canvas automatically for use in the Speedgrader.

Can visibility change during the assignment?

• Yes. Visibility options include private, same groups, and everyone and can be adjusted anytime.