| Method | Video assessment |
| Introduction | |
| Using video as part of the assessment process is a relatively new phenomenon in higher education. No single definition exists and it can cover in fact a number of different approaches. These include:
· Asking students to produce their own individual or group video clips as part of project work · Recording trainee teachers and others carrying out on-the-job activities and using these recordings for assessment purposes · Media skill and competence assessment carried out with media and related studies including journalism · Use of video clips in roleplay based assessment whereby students are expected to respond in a particular way to the video material – often used in online learning. Two of the most important factors to remember in this type of assessment is that firstly, unlike traditional fact-based assessment, there are rarely right or wrong outcomes, which means that an academic taking on this type of assessment needs to be prepared beforehand to put significant effort into defining criteria and measurement benchmarks in order for this method to be useful. Secondly, it can be difficult to separate out the specific topic-related skills and competences from those related to video production. |
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| Aim | To assess the students skills, competence and knowledge in a specific area. |
| Target group | Variations of video assessment can be applied in practically any subject area and with any level of student. |
| Intended learning outcome | |
| Successful evaluation of the topic under assessment that has meaning and value for both the academic and the individual or group of students. | |
| Description | |
| Start well beforehand by defining the assessment procedure and practice, the assessment criteria and the way in which the results will be used in the overall assessment of a student’s progress.
When doing this you may need to create a matrix or rubric which covers all the different possible outcomes and to assign certain values to each using scales and commentaries to facilitate ease of use and to help make the system as consistent as possible. When creating your assessment criteria, be careful to separate out assessment of video production skills from the core subject of the assessment.. Once you have created your draft assessment procedure, it is recommended to test it out in a non-critical context to ensure that it is not only fit for purpose but also that all necessary explanations are sufficiently transparent for everyone involved. Check also for timing and making sure that students have enough time and resources to carry out the required assessment tasks. If asking students to work in groups to submit a video that is to be assessed, think carefully about how these groups will be put together, are they to be self-selecting or do you wish to set them up beforehand taking into account the particularities of individual students. Once established, the student just needs to carry out the instructions given by the academic to prepare his/her video based assessment assignment. |
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| Preparation | Define procedure and timetable, Make available evaluation criteria and benchmarks to be used |
| Required resources and equipment | The academic needs to consider the resources students will need for their assignment. If students are expected to have their own recording, editing and publishing resources or if these are provided by the college. Terms and conditions related to each set of circumstances need to be put in place well before the assignment begins. |
| Success factors | One of the key success factors related to this type if assessment is the degree of sophistication of the assessment criteria applied. It is really important to have developed and validated a meaningful set of benchmarks, rubrics and/or guidelines beforehand to determine what constitutes evidence of acceptable performance. |
| Advantages | This type of assessment can be very rewarding for students as it provides them with useful portfolio material as well as an opportunity to advance their skills in audio-visual production. |
| Disadvantages | This can be quite a complex form of assessment and it may be difficult to separate out the quality of the video production from the rest of the assignment. |
| Additional information | Here are several reasons why video creation as an assessment tool can be valuable taken from the WEVIDEO Blog
· Video creation opens the door to organically embracing the revision process without students feeling the drudgery of taking a test. · Students are motivated to revise their work within a video creation project because the results are instantly viewable and encourage further refinement. · There is an element of gratification that makes the video creation process more welcoming, especially when juxtaposed with a paper/pencil quiz or test. · Video creation gives students an outlet for creativity, the output of which the student can feel both proud and invested. Here is a simple explanation as to the value and organisation of assessing students video recorded presentations. Check out this site from Yale in the US which describes how you can set about creating an assessment rubric: Summary of different types of video assignments from equipment supplier Kaltura. |
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