Create Video Assignment guide

Many of our students carry around devices which let them film, edit and upload video and audio easily. Yet, they have few opportunities to do so in their formal or informal learning at university. This is changing however, with more and more staff exploring ways to allow students to create and share video and audio as part of formative or summative assessment. With the Moodle Video Assignment, staff can create assignments which allow students to record and upload video or audio submissions. Mediaspace allows students, as well as staff, to create, publish and share video and audio with others.

Video-based assessments have been shown to develop not only students' digital literacies and confidence in using multimedia technologies, but also to encourage deeper learning through more active engagement with the subject matter, than more traditional assessment methods. Of course, video is not going to replace written assessments, but it offers a different approach which can add variety to students' assessments. It can also develop soft skills such as teamwork, communication and oral presentation, and creativity.

• Presentations can be submitted as screencasts or videos instead of as face-to-face presentations - group presentations can also be conducted as video assignments.
• In quantitative disciplines, students can demonstrate how they have worked through a mathematical problem on video, rather than providing just a final answer.
• If using video or audio for formative or summative assessment, consider how you will assess students' technical skill in producing the recording. In most disciplines (excluding, for example, Music, Creative Industries or Journalism), the production values of the video are less important than understanding of the subject matter, creativity and presentation skills.
• Offering different presentation formats, such as a screencast, slidecast or interview as well as a standard 'talking head' video, allows students who do not want to appear on video for personal or cultural reasons to still complete the assignment.
• Similarly, you can encourage students to think about genre to get creative in their video assignments: students could create a newsroom report, instructional video, or drama scene, for example.
• Video diaries can be an innovative way for students to keep in touch with each other, as well as reflect on their practice, while on placements or working on projects.