Video-based assignments provide an effective medium for students to demonstrate their understanding of learned concepts. This form of assignment assists promoting student creativity and can work well for group assignments as the students can draw upon each other’s strengths. It also allows them to broaden their skillset by developing digital capabilities that will be of value in the graduate employment market.
It can support working with students as partners where aspects of the assignment can be negotiated, helping them to choose a media type or digital tool which meets their needs and those of the assignment. A video-based assignment can be created in a number of ways from a self-recorded presentation to video creation. The presentations allow students to present their theories and ideas alongside a presentation of slides. Panopto allows the students to download the software onto their personal computers and create the record presentation away from main classroom, whereas video creation pushes the students creatively with technology, expressing their ideas using video capture on their mobile devices.
One of the key things to consider is how the work will be assessed. Students will have varying levels of skills and experience in using digital technologies to design, create and disseminate a video creation. For this reason, it is recommended the assignment criteria considers how well the video meets its purpose, i.e. to convey a message or information, or tell a story rather than how digitally advanced it looks. In order to help with consistency of marking we also recommend having a rubric/marking grid which clearly articulates the assignment criteria, with a smaller percentage awarded to the quality of the production.
Overall, video-based assignments enable students to be creative while improving their digital capabilities. It can provide students with the opportunity to engage with digital tools which they may not be familiar with and also allows them to express their ideas in a format which they enjoy, using tools that meet their needs and those of the assignment.
If any academic staff would like more advice and guidance on how embed a video-based assignment, please contact tel@derby.ac.uk.