Caught on Video

By Bob Sprankle (techLEARNING - Web Link)

Great article which lists the possible uses of video in the classroom. This comes from the school angle but can easily be applied to higher education context.

Some of the suggestions which stand out for me are:

Film students on the first day of school, asking them what their goals are for the school year.
“This is a piece of footage that will be treasured years later, but also can be pulled out throughout the year so the students can self-assess—both struggles and successes.”

In a HE context this could be used to initially populate a students PDP / e-portfolio area with goals, skill aims and expectations. It’s also something to which they could return to and review and reflect on how far they’ve come.

Film the progression of fluency on a weekly and monthly basis
“Several successful ways to assess a student’s fluency is to conduct a running record or a developmental reading assessment using video. These assessments, recorded on video, are an effective permanent record of student growth.”

This is great for language courses but also could be extended to include filming practical skills development (I’m thinking clinical skills here), project key stages and simply a record of the student’s development in presentation skills.

Ask a student to demonstrate how to solve a math problem and capture his exact process (rather than just the answer).
“The student’s thought process is as important (if not more important) as supplying a correct answer is. Not only does capturing the explanation solidify the evidence for understanding, but the skill is also reinforced as the student “teaches” his process to others.”

This could also be used as a resource or created by the student with the intention of teaching their peers. A great learning process but safeguards would have to be built in to ensure the academic quality of the output.

Film questions from the class at the beginning of a unit, then film them answering the same questions at the end of the unit.
“Students will be more interested in watching themselves on video than they would be in revisiting the traditional KWL chart at the end of the unit.”

I think this is great and could be done say at the beginning of a module in which students ask the questions and then by the end of the module provide the answers themselves and are able to view and critique themselves (the film would also be useful as PDP evidence). You could also film students at the beginning of their university course and then ask them to provide answers at the end of their period of study.

Film your own reflections on what happened during the day and e-mail it to parents.
“You can now give up your weekly newsletter (which you were never really sure anyone was reading, anyway). Include students in your reflections and you’ll guarantee that parents will watch it.”

I thinking here this would be useful in terms of placement or WBL in which students film tasks or reflections to share with their tutor and/or peers

Have students create tutorials for next year’s class.
“This will especially save a lot of time at the beginning of the year as students need to learn the routines and the rules of the classroom. Hearing what helped make the previous year’s students successful from the actual students themselves (rather than from the teacher) will have a more convincing impact.”

The article lists some further uses here. Well worth a read.