Digital Commons at Penn State

Pedagogical basis for the student produced video projects

Research shows that projects involving student video production have the potential to motivate student learning in deep and meaningful ways, providing opportunities for them to reflect on their experiences and construct their own learning. Video production requires integration of aural, oral, textual, gestural, spatial, and multimodal communications, and language required to communicate about images, music, motion, and film.

Participation in video production projects provides opportunities for students to develop a variety of skills, including critical viewing skills, language and communication skills, observation and investigation skills, collaborative learning skills, thinking, reasoning, and problem solving skills, project management and organizational skills, and visioning and analytical skills.

Video production is interactive, immersive, and student centered. It helps students build skills across the curriculum while developing greater understanding in the given content area.

Students enjoy producing and publishing their work for an audience. Publication in turn provides more opportunities for interaction and feedback.

Is video the right medium to choose for your project?

Video may not be a good choice for every student. Producing a video project requires skills some students don't have. Before requiring your students to produce a video for a class assignment, consider whether they have the following skills:

• Project planning
• Script writing
• Storyboarding
• Video logging
• Shooting video
• Editing video
• Effective communication skills
• Ability to work well with others in groups
• Experience using and access to equipment

If your students lack any of these skills, they will have difficulty completing a quality video project in a timely manner and will require additional help, resources, and training, which, in turn, will require additional time and planning on your part. It's usually a good idea to give students the choice of an alternative assignment if they don't have the necessary skills to complete a video project.

Objectives and goals

When creating a video assignment, it is essential to have well defined goals and objectives. It is also very important to include milestones with deadlines in order to keep students on track.

Having clear objectives will also help with assessment of video projects. Telling the students what you want them to do and how you want them to do it will make grading easier and eliminate unpleasant surprises when projects are submitted.

For more help with writing objectives visit the Teaching and Learning with Technology Web site:

(http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/research/Write_Objectives.shtml)

The role of the instructor in student produced video projects

The role of the instructor in student produced video projects is that of facilitator and mentor. You will need to carefully assess the amount of structure needed by the students and craft assignments with clear, measurable objectives and milestones with specific deadlines that will meet their needs.

You will also need to carefully monitor facilities and equipment to be sure everyone has adequate access to resources and functional equipment. You will need to be aware of other courses with similar video project requirements that might cause bottlenecks for students trying to schedule equipment and resources and make adjustments to requirements and deadlines as necessary.

You will want to have effective tracking mechanisms in place to be sure students are making satisfactory progress, identifying students who are struggling or not meeting expectations and helping them find the resources they need to complete the project successfully. Having students keep journals that they submit weekly and milestones with deadlines are a couple of ways of tracking progress.

You will need to determine whether students have the necessary skills to complete the assignment successfully and provide resources for acquiring the skills if they are lacking. Carefully balancing student skills when assigning students to groups will give the students additional resources to work with.

Video production is usually a group activity

Student produced video projects require careful planning and a variety of skills on the part of the students. In order for students to successfully complete the assignment in a timely manner, they will need to work in groups and have clearly defined roles.

When assigning students to groups, consider the number of tasks required to complete the project as well as how much equipment is available. Groups of two, three, or four usually work best, depending on the size of the project.

For more information about having students work in groups, visit the Teaching and Learning with Technology Web site (http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/research/Teamwork.shtml).

If students need additional help with learning to work in groups, consider using the iStudy for Success! module on Cooperative Learning (http://iStudy.psu.edu/modules.html) and, at the University Park campus, the University Learning Centers Teamwork Center (http://www.ulc.psu.edu/services.htm#group).

Grading/assessing video projects

Student produced video projects are categorized as "authentic" learning activities because they take place in the "real world" as opposed to within the classroom where simulations and models are typically used. This can make grading a challenge because the control an instructor usually has over the assignment is lacking. At the same time, the learning that takes place is usually richer because it involves real situations and real problems to analyze and solve.

Assessing student video projects will be easier if the goals and objectives for the assignment are clear, specific, and measurable (see section on Objectives).

Assessment should include evaluation of the process, not just the product. For example, did the students submit materials on time? Did they work well as a group? Did they make good use of the equipment?

A rubric for assessing projects based on the goals and objectives would be a useful tool to develop for both your use and student use. For more information about creating a rubric, see the Teaching and Learning with Technology Web site (http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/research/Measure_dev.shtml).

Distributing Video

Student ownership and control of the project contribute to student motivation and satisfaction. Having an audience for their projects also contributes to motivation and satisfaction. For some students, the most gratifying task in the entire project is actually showing the final video to their classmates as well as to the world.

Video content can be distributed by way of the Web (download and streaming), DVD, CD or videotape. Digital Commons has a number of tutorials on the topic of sharing your finished videos in its Resources section.

http://digitalcommons.psu.edu/tutorials?filter3%5B%5D=33

Project Ideas

A general search on the Web will result in a number of sites listing ideas for student produced video projects. Here are a few:

http://www.wiu.edu/users/mifidl/jobaids/typesvideoprojects.html
http://www.wiu.edu/users/mifidl/jobaids/videoinschool.html
http://district.sbschools.net/ite/video/project_ideas.htm

References

The main reference for the information on creating and assessing student produced video projects came from a research paper, Students in the Director's Seat: Teaching and Learning across the School Curriculum with Student-generated Video by Sandy Schuck and Matthew Kearney. (http://www.ed-dev.uts.edu.au/teachered/research/dvproject/pdfs/ReportWeb...)

This paper contains a literature review, an extensive bibliography, and an appendix of student projects.

Also useful were:

Kearney, Matathew, and Schuck, Sandy (2001). Focus on pedagogy: The use of digital video and iMovie in K-12 schools. http://www.ed-dev.uts.edu.au/teachered/research/dvproject/pdfs/AUCpaper.pdf

Ludewig, Alexandra (2001). iMovie. A student project with many side-effects. http://www.ed-dev.uts.edu.au/teachered/research/dvproject/pdfs/AUCpaper.pdf