A reaction is a video reply to someone else's post. While you record, the original plays beside your camera, and you can pause or rewind it to respond to a specific moment. The finished reaction includes both videos and links back to the original.
Students can use reactions to respond to a classmate's argument. Instructors can use them to give spoken feedback on a student's video, publicly or privately.
Turn on reactions for a Topic
Reactions are off by default. As a Space owner or admin, open the Topic's ⋯ menu, choose Edit, and turn on Allow video reactions in this topic. You can also turn it on when you add a Topic.
Owners and admins can react to any post, even in Topics where reactions are off. That lets you give feedback without opening reactions to the whole class.
Open a post and choose React
Open a published post and choose React beside the title.
Record beside the original
The recorder opens with Reacting to @username at the top. The original video sits beside your camera with its own play, restart, and seek controls. Recording and playback are separate: start recording, then play the original when you're ready, and pause it whenever you want to respond.
The original's sound is recorded along with yours. Wear headphones so your microphone doesn't pick it up a second time.
Choose a layout
In the toolbar's camera group, select the highlighted layout button to open the Camera placement menu:
- Picture-in-picture: the original fills the frame and your camera sits in a corner. Move the corner square with its position button.
- Split 1:1: the original and your camera side by side, at the same size.
- Split 2:1: the original larger than your camera.
- Split 1:2: your camera larger than the original.
You can also hide the original's picture while keeping its audio in the recording. The drawing tools, filters, and pause button work as they do in any recording; see Recorder tools.
Review and upload
Choose Next to review the reaction, add a description, and choose Upload. Reactions follow the Topic's settings: in a moderated Topic, a reaction waits in Pending until an owner or admin publishes it, like any other post.
Where reactions appear
When a reaction is published, its author is notified, and the reaction shows up in three places.
Under the original video. A Reactions row lists every reaction to the post, so viewers can follow the conversation from the original.
In the Topic. Each reaction is also a post in the Topic, marked Reaction.
On its own page. A reaction post shows reacting to @username under its title, linking back to the original.
Send a reaction privately
Owners and admins can send a reaction to the original's author only. This is useful for spoken feedback on a student's video. On the review screen, turn on Send privately to @username before you upload.
A private reaction is never published. It doesn't appear in the Topic or the Pending queue, and other members never see it. The student gets a notification and sees a note that the reaction is for them.
You can't send a private reaction to your own video, and no one can react to a private reaction.
Ways to use reactions in class
- Respond to a classmate. Ask each student to react to one peer's post, pausing on the claim they agree or disagree with.
- Model a response. React to a strong student post to show the class what a good follow-up sounds like.
- Give spoken feedback. Send a private reaction that pauses on the moments you want the student to revise.
- Debate in turns. One student posts an opening argument; the next reacts with a rebuttal.
Checklist
- Topic ⋯ → Edit → turn on Allow video reactions in this topic
- Open a post and choose React
- Play, pause, or rewind the original while you record
- Choose a layout from Camera placement
- Next → Upload (owners and admins: turn on Send privately for feedback)
Next steps
- Comments, Mentions, and Feedback for written replies with timestamps
- Asynchronous peer feedback for prompts and protocols
- Invite, Approve, and Manage Members to make a TA an admin who can react and moderate