We investigated the efficacy of an asynchronous computer-based educational learning platform called VideoNote. Key features of the technology include: video streamed content, searchable, detailed, time-linked text notes of learning topics that are hierarchically ordered, detailed analytics that timestamp and track which topics within the video students are viewing, and a mechanism for students to rate and mark the difficulty of certain topics to ease subsequent review. Students used the tool as a supplement to course lecture and for distance learning. Using a randomly assigned, between subject sample (N=77), students who used Video Note improved their exam grades by 9.5%. Instructional design, learner control and self-regulatory strategies are discussed as factors that increase the effectiveness of the tool.