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• Education , Inspiration

15 creative video project ideas for students (and their teachers)

Fall is here. The leaves are starting to change color and teachers everywhere are asking the same question: How do I come up with video project ideas for my students?

Video has been a staple learning tool for decades. But having students create, design, and edit video projects themselves is becoming a much more common classroom activity. Video projects are a great way to help students of all ages  actively engage with subject matter  and learn from one another.

Online apps like  Biteable  make it easy for students to turn video ideas for school into a reality. Templates and easy-to-use editing tools keep the process simple and offer plenty of inspiration for student video projects.

To help teachers and students alike leverage video as an  educational tool , we’ve gathered our favorite creative video project ideas for students. Each idea comes with a ready-to-edit video template so you and your students can get started right away.

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Activate your audience with impactful, on-brand videos. Create them simply and collaboratively with Biteable.

Elementary student video project ideas

It can be tricky to keep young students interested and engaged all day long. Creating videos gives elementary students a fun, creative way to learn about anything. And student-created videos are an amazing classroom learning supplement. If a video is produced by their peers, interest will skyrocket.

1. Create a book trailer

Instead of a traditional book report, have students design a movie-style trailer that drums up excitement about a novel or a non-fiction book. Creating a book trailer gives students the opportunity to think creatively, share a story with their classmates, and reinforce their learning in a new way.

2. Give a video tour

To supplement social studies curriculum, students can create a video showing off a significant location or their favorite part of the school. If you have a field trip planned, ask students to share their experience by recording videos throughout the day and adding voice over narration.

A video tour of the school is also a great way to share the campus with new students and visitors. As a way to pass the torch before they leave for middle school, how about asking your fifth graders to collaborate on an orientation video for incoming kindergarteners?

3. Celebrate the holidays

There’s always something to celebrate, no matter what time of year it is. Have students film letters to Santa, make video Valentines for parents or grandparents, or make short educational videos about lesser known holidays. Students can even create simple, digital thank-you notes for classroom visitors or parent volunteers.

4. Recreate a moment in history

Learning about historical people and events? Have your students research and recreate major moments in history, like the story of Rosa Parks or the Oregon Trail.

Videos help students visualize and remember these important moments. It also gives students the opportunity to experiment with digital storytelling. And students will be challenged to bring each scene to life accurately.

5. Try stop-motion video

Video learning isn’t limited to literary or historical topics. Encourage students to use stop-motion or create their own slides to explain science experiments or other STEM projects. With the right footage, like Biteable’s extensive collection of clay animation footage, students won’t even need to build stop motion models. They can just focus on the presentation and storytelling in their video.

Video project ideas for middle and high school students

Video projects for high schoolers can be a little more advanced, as students should be practicing editing and narrative skills in addition to learning about new topics.

6. Create a news channel

To supplement learning in a current events class, have your students film a news broadcast covering both local and international events.

Ask students to take on certain roles in the newsroom: anchor, sports reporter, weather reporter, or entertainment correspondent. Doing a news segment helps everyone get involved and promotes teamwork.

7. Start a portfolio

Many high school students are thinking about college applications. Give them the chance to  jumpstart their applications with a portfolio video project  and showcase what makes them unique.

Art students can show off their best work and design skills. Students applying to traditional schools can answer an application question or create a video showcasing their community service and extracurriculars.

8. Promote a good cause

Rather than writing a traditional essay or report, have students create a video advocating for a cause that’s important to them. This helps students build their identity and develop persuasive skills. And students can share their  promotional video  with everyone, not just their teacher and classmates.

9. Questions for your future self

Think ahead with a video full of inspiring questions. This project is great for incoming freshmen. At the beginning of the year, have students create videos with questions for their future self or with goals for their life and career. At graduation, send the videos back to them. It’s a fun, positive way to celebrate their success throughout high school.

Higher ed video project ideas

Higher education might not seem like the place for student-made videos. But in the real world, businesses use video for all sorts of things. Video projects build plenty of resume-worthy skills that college students can take with them to the workforce.

10. Create a university promotion video

It’s easy to forget that colleges and universities are businesses, too. And they need help with promotion. A solid college or university promotion video could open opportunities for internships or college employment. Promoting something that they’re already familiar with is a great way for students to build video persuasion skills.

11. Record and edit interviews

Being able to conduct a good interview and edit it in a way that’s appropriate for the purpose of the interview is a valuable skill in multiple industries. And interviewing experts in the field is appropriate for just about any class.

12. Make a video self-assessment

Grades are important. But being able to self-assess is also an incredibly valuable way for students to incrementally improve at any skill.

Making video self-assessments gives students a more active role in the grading process and offers them a creative way to highlight the work they’ve put into a course. It also gives them a chance to make an argument for the grade they feel they deserve — a skill that easily correlates to performance reviews in their future workplace.

13. Film a job interview guide

For most people, the interview is the most nerve-wracking part of getting a job. Practicing interview questions is a great way to prepare. But most students don’t know how to prepare for a job interview.

Creating a job interview  how-to guide  is a perfect way for students to learn how to prepare for a job interview and help other students prepare at the same time.

14. Create a video presentation based on a written assignment

Written assignments are the backbone of a university education (in most disciplines, at least). However, the audience for most written assignments is limited to the professor and assistants. Creating presentation videos for their assignments gives students the opportunity to share their hard work with their fellow students, while also learning valuable video editing skills.

15. Build a video resume

For most students, the job search starts even before graduation. A video resume helps students highlight the skills they acquired and the experience they gained during college. And, given the global workforce, a  video resume is a great supplement to a paper resume, especially when applying for remote or distant positions where an in-person interview may not be an option.

Take your video project from idea to reality with Biteable

Ready to get started  making an education video project ?

Biteable has a huge  library of video templates that help students get going fast rather than struggling to start from a blank screen. Drag-and-drop editing and easy to use tools let students focus on what’s important: the project assignment and delivering a thoughtful message.

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51 Creative Video Project Ideas for Students (With Templates)

• video project ideas

It’s always a challenge to keep students engaged during classes, especially virtual classes. One of the ways to do this are video projects. Video projects not only make for fun viewing, they also supplement learning. While creating videos with fellow students is a fun activity, it’s not always easy to come up with video project ideas.

So here we bring you some of our favorite creative video project ideas for students. We also share ready-to-use free video templates that you can plug into and start using. Stay tuned till the end and find a bonus section for students on how to make a good video project! Let’s dive in!

A. Video project ideas for elementary students B. Video project ideas for high school students C. Video project ideas for higher education students D. How to make a good video project

Bring your video project ideas to life in minutes

With 3000+ ready-to-use project video templates

A. Video project ideas for elementary students

Video projects for elementary students are mostly a way for the teachers to ensure comprehension and interest in the classroom. These can also be a good tool to make students think about different topics. Let’s check out some video project ideas for this age group:

1. Summarise a lesson

Get your students to summarise history or literature lessons on video. Have students research major figures and events in history and make videos around these concepts. This gives students the chance to learn digital storytelling as well as thoroughly research important historical figures! For example, check out this video sharing the history of television!

Use This Template

2. Share a talent video

Have students share a video performing a talent! They can share singing, dancing, painting, art, baking, playing an instrument or various such videos. This can be a fun activity where students learn more about their peers. For example, check out this music artist launch promotion video that can be used by students to promote their own music videos .

3. Create a book report video

Instead of traditional book reports, get students to create book reports or trailers for various literature projects. These can be a good way to get students curious about concepts you will be teaching them too! Check out this video book report.

4. Celebrate a holiday

Get students to create videos on their traditional or religious holidays. This is a great way to cultivate curiosity, awareness and tolerance for different ethnicities and cultures. Check out this Christmas facts video as an example.

Use This template

5. Create science experiment videos

Encourage students to create their own slides to explain science experiments and their findings. This way, students start thinking of STEM disciplines in a more analytical, hands on manner. Check out the lesson plan presentation below that can be used to document the objectives and findings of such an experiment.

B. Video project ideas for high school students

Video projects for high school students can be a little more advanced as they are in the process of growing their skills and learning more about different subjects.

1. Create a video portfolio

High school is when students start thinking about college applications. This is a great time to start making a portfolio. Teachers can give students the chance to create a portfolio video and share their unique skills and interests. For example, students interested in engineering and STEM can share their coding or science related know-how. Check out this copywriter portfolio as an example.

2. Create a news show

Students need to know current events, both for their school community and for the world around them. Having a school news show is a way to communicate with the school community of students, teachers, staff, and parents. This can be a group effort that helps students learn the value of teamwork and allocation. Check out this newsreel video you can customise to create your own weekly news show.

Use This Template 

3. Make a video tour of an important location

If students visit a place -- on a field trip, on vacation or any time -- they can share their learning experience with others by recording video of it and narrating as they go. (If they're at a museum or other such places, asking permission first is probably a good idea!) If they can't visit it, creating a video slideshow with InVideo is also an option. Get your students to share video projects on important locations as an assignment. These projects can be themed around festivals , cultural concepts and activities too. For example, check out their Halloween cross country tour slideshow.

4. Share practice records

Learning a language, cooking , music or sports require constant practise. To gauge the progress of each student, you can ask them to record themselves learning to play an instrument or speaking a new language. Students can make video projects of themselves learning or mastering a particular song, key phrases and more. For example, check out this violinist’s progress video.

5. Create an ad or a promotional video for school events 

Get students to make an advertisement or a pitch for a school event. This could include a political ad for class president election, a video resume , or an ad for the latest games or tournaments in the school. Students will need to think about the audience they are trying to reach and the length of the advertisement. For example, check out this match poster video.

6. Promote a good cause

Get students to create a video project promoting a cause they believe in. This helps them build their opinions and develop persuasive skills. Students can share this video with everyone, not just the classroom! For example, here’s a video you can customise to debunk myths around a way of life (going vegan in this case).

C. Video project ideas for higher education students

Post high school, it may seem that video projects aren’t that important. But this is the time when students are most focused on improving skills related to their career. Video projects can thus help students showcase their understanding and interest areas, especially to future employers. So let’s check out some video project ideas for these students.

1. Interview interesting people

The people around us and around the world are living history. Their experiences, information, and advice is a treasure trove waiting to be mined. Get your students to interview individuals from their interest areas or in interesting professions. They could be in-person interviews where both parties sit next to each other or they could be virtual interviews, where someone far away records responses to questions. These interviews can act as learning aids, as well as help students connect with people in their future careers. Check out this video interview on how to approach people for their life stories.

Make your own video highlighting interesting interviews by sharing quotes , testimonials, and more. Check out this testimonial video as an example you can use and customise.

2. Teach a concept via videos

Truly understanding something is the ability to teach it to others. Students can make a video where they are recording themselves completing a task on their computer screen or they can make a demonstration video like a coding class. Teachers and professors could then use these videos to help reinforce skills in your class or even flip some of your lessons. For example, check out this video tutorial on note taking apps.

3. Create a self-assessment video

Being able to assess oneself is an extremely important skill that students need to improve themselves. Self assessment empowers students to become better learners. It also allows them to take an active role in their assessment and push for a grade they feel is unfair - a direct correlation to performance reviews at the workplace! Personalise this testimonial video to create your own self assessment video.

4. Create a video presentation for a written assignment

Written assignments are a staple when it comes to college. But only professors and classmates can view these. Instead, creating a short, promotional video on a written assignment is a great way for students to share their work with more people and learn editing skills at the same time. Check out this digital marketing trends video you can use to create your own video presentations .

5. Create a video resume

For most students, the job hunt begins in college itself. A video resume helps highlight key skills as well as share the student’s personality and attitude with employers. Especially when applying to remote or distant positions, a video resume along with a normal resume provides brownie points. Check out this video resume you can use as a blueprint to create your own.

Leverage the power of video to land your dream job!

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6. Create a University promotion video

Universities and colleges need as much promotion as they can get. And who better than students to share their experiences and highlights. Get students to create unique videos with their best anecdotes or areas in the university. This is also a good way to get them to research interesting aspects of college life. Check out the University promotional video and make it your own.

D. BONUS: How To Make A Good Video Project

Your school video project can earn you good grades. It is also an opportunity to showcase your creativity. But how to create the perfect video without any error? Video creation may not be your forte, but you still wish to excel in school video projects, right? No worries!

If you have a school video assignment in hand but don’t know where to begin, read below to learn how to create a video project super easy and quick, without any error and fuss. Now, let’s divide your video project into 5 easy steps.

Step 1: Video topic or idea

If you are working on a school assignment, you probably have a video topic given by your teacher or professor. If you are looking for video topic ideas though, find them here .

Step 2: Plan your video assignment

Planning is super important for your videos. This is when you decide how you want to create your video. Consider whether you want to live record your video or create it online using an app or a tool. An online tool like InVideo offers you pre-created templates that might meet your requirements. This is also a super quick and easy way to make your video from scratch. The first thing you need to do is go to InVideo and login or sign up if you wish to use this tool. Next click on the “Pre Made Templates” Option and select the video dimension you want. Finally, type phrases related to your video in the search bar.

You will now see templates related to your search as you scroll below. Simply select the template you want to use and click on the “Use This Template” button to start editing!

If your video idea is to record an event , but you don’t have a DSLR, camcorder or GoPro, use your own smartphone camera for the school project.

Step 3: Prepare a video script

Now that you know how you will record your video, the next step is creating a script for your video. Here’s a step-by-step guide on script writing you can refer to. 

3 questions to ask yourself before you create your script:

- What is the objective of your video? - How long does your video need to be? - Who is the audience that will watch your video?

Step 4: Shoot your video + audio

Once your script is finalized, it’s time to shoot your video. You also need to make sure that you are recording audio to go with your video. Check out this list of equipment and how you can use it to record video and audio. 

Step 5: Edit your video

As mentioned earlier, one of the most effortless ways you can edit your video is using the free, online InVideo editor . This is simple, easy to use, and does not need you to make any downloads. Here’s how you can edit your video on InVideo.

Step 1: Log in to InVideo . Now click on the “Blank Canvas” option and select the dimension of your video. Next, click the “Make A Video” button.

Step 2: Now click on the “Upload Media” button at the left-hand corner of your screen and upload the video you shot.

Step 3: Double click your uploaded video to add it to the timeline. You will now see a pop-up that asks if you wish to trim your video. You can Trim your video or use the full version. Simply click on the “Done” button once you are finished with your trim.

Step 4: You can now use the controls on the right side of the screen to edit your video further.

Step 5: You can apply filters, create transitions between shots for a seamless flow, add subtitles, or insert a logo to give a personal touch to your school video. Just head to the left side of your screen and select the controls you wish to use.

Step 6: Once you are done with your edits, it’s time to download your video. For this click on the “Download & Share” button on the top right. Now click the “Export” video button.

Step 7: Your video will now start to render. You can download it once it’s complete. You can also directly share the video link or share it on social media using the button provided.

Wrapping up

So these were some video project ideas for students and how you can create your own videos on InVideo. If you’ve found value in this article, and are looking for more video ideas, you also want to check out this guide where we’ve put together 200+ video ideas for businesses and brands that you can take further inspiration from. 

For more quick tips and hacks on editing and creating videos, subscribe to our YouTube Channel . 

This post was written by Upasna and edited by Abhilash from Team InVideo

Let’s create superb videos

Video class assignment tips for instructors and students

• January 31, 2021
• Alex Martinez
• Digital Media / Kaltura (Video Management) / WeVideo

This article covers:

• For instructors
• For students
• Getting Started

Team Roles and Responsibility

Stock photos and graphics, video software, video tutorials, affordable and royalty-free audio clips.

Video assignments can be a research-intensive, collaborative, and highly engaging student activity. The video can demonstrate skills, knowledge, and communication strategies. View some student video projects to give you ideas for your next class assignment.

For Instructors

• Final videos should be between 2-5 minutes. A high quality 5-minute video can take about 5-10 hours to produce.
• Ensure that the project grade has the appropriate weight.
• Ensure that students keep you updated with their progress, require them to send you frequent project updates to avoid the project being done at the last minute.
• Create a “Group Planning” document for your student groups to help them plan, communicate, and organize. Spanish Skits ( http://goo.gl/hvaq4I ) Chemistry ( http://goo.gl/RpsPO2 ) B2B Marketing ( https://goo.gl/DsQef7 )  Why Make B2B Videos?
• For help with video assignments, contact [email protected] to get answers to your questions and support. We can give your students a workshop and a tour of the Digital Media Center.
• Give your students a few weeks to complete this project. Each week students should submit a progress report to ensure they are on track.
• Inform students that they can upload their videos into your Canvas course using My Media
• Create a video assignment in your Canvas course to make.
• Instruct students to submit their video assignments to make grading fast and easy using the Canvas speed grader tool.
• Science Communication Rubric
• Pecha Kucha Rubric (PDF)
• Infographic Instructor Grading Rubric
• Multimedia Science Activity Rubric
• Digital Storytelling Rubric
• Digital Video Project Rubric
• B2B Marketing Video Rubric

For Students

• Tips for students completing video class assignments (PDF)
• Spanish Skits
• Chemistry Educational
• B2B Marketing
• Take advantage of the DU Digital Media Center ; they have friendly staff and cool video software.
• Computer Screen Capture:  Jing (Free) and Skitch (Free)
• Prioritize recording high-quality audio. The further the microphone is from your presenter, the worse your audio quality will be. Recording indoor in quiet spaces or adding a voice-over track are the best options for capturing high-quality audio.
• Define a clear purpose and outcomes for the video .
• Establish teams and assign project roles and responsibilities.
• Research videos online that match your goals and expectations.
• Produce a video that is visually engaging to your audience. Scenes should be changing every 5-10 seconds.
• Create a storyboard shoot list and script .
• Create a project timeline and video team document to keep you organized.
• Tips for producing class assignment videos, “Before, During and After” .
• Have weekly team meetings.
• How to produce a video documentary by Adobe
• How to share final video securely to only class participants via Canvas Media Gallery
• Producer: Initiates and coordinates meetings and time management; has a high-level view of the project and timelines
• Script Writers: Responsible for creating the storyboard and script
• Researchers: Responsible for researching the topic, fact collecting and citations
• Videographer/Photographers/Audio Technicians: Responsible for video recording and still photos; ensures good lighting and audio quality
• Narrators: Provides audio or video commentary
• Illustrators / graphic artist : Responsible for drawing custom art work
• Video & Audio Editors: Responsible for video and audio editing software; will edit and share revisions with team members
• OpenVerse – 6 millions reusable objects
• Flickr Creative Commons
• DU Flickr Collection
• Science Images
• Archives.org
• Videvo.net – video b-roll clips
• ZOOM: Free video conference for all DU staff and students. Allows you to record your computer screen, webcam, interviews, and microphone. No editing features.
• Kaltura (Canvas My Media and DU MediaSpace): Free video conference for all DU staff and students. Allows you to record your computer screen, webcam, and microphone. Limited editing features. Kaltura is available within Canvas under My Media and DU MediaSpace .
• Kaltura Capture allows you to record your computer screen, webcam, and microphone.
• WeVideo – A web-based video editor designed for non-video professionals that’s easy to use. DU has a few student licenses.
• Adobe Creative Cloud software : DU Students, staff and faculty members now have access to this suite of Adobe software.
• iMovie – Mac 
• Camtasia Studio – Free video editor – 30 day trial for PC and Mac
• Blender : Free and open source 3D creation suite.
• PowToon – An online animated video software for both Mac and PC. Not free.
• Making a digital story video using iMovie
• Making a digital story video using WeVideo
• Vimeo Video School
• Video Story Guide
• Tips for marketing videos
• Videvo video clips
• YouTube Audio Library
• PartnersInRhyme
• Incompetech
• Global Sound Promotion
• Free Music Archive

The DU Digital Media Center has professional video and audio software for students. They are located in the Anderson Academic Commons and are normally open when the library is open.

Related Articles

Canvas kaltura important updates (4/2/2024), how to access zoom recordings in mediaspace, how to obtain a transcript file when conducting interviews using zoom, kaltura or a phone, kaltura – adding a single video to your canvas course, adding kaltura video on a du drupal page, wevideo tutorials & resources.

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Video Assignment Tips for Instructors and Students

We don’t need to point out to people that video-based online learning has exploded over the past year and a half. But as a video platform with a strong interest in and application for education, we do like to help people make the most of leading online learning techniques. Video assignments aren’t just for film and media studies students anymore; they’re expanding in use as part of the new ways instructors and students all can relate to one another both in standard classrooms and in an online learning paradigm.

This post will run down some basic concepts regarding the video assignment: what forms it can take, how to get the most out of the assignments, some ideas to try, and an introduction to Kaltura’s educational platform for those who are looking to step up to a high-quality online learning solution.

Intro to Video Assignments and their Increasing Use

Tips for instructors, tips for students, video assignments: 3 examples and ideas, the proper way to do a video assignment.

• Meet Kaltura virtual classroom platform

Video assignments can be thought of in different ways, but in this case, we’ll define a “video assignment” as “student projects that are fulfilled by creating informative video content.” As we pointed out in the introduction, this does not need to be making a narrative short film for Film & Video Production 101, it can also include highly personalized, even social-media-style video clips that address a problem, question, or topic that an instructor wants students to investigate. Video assignments can be research-intensive, collaborative, and highly engaging class activities that demonstrate a range of skills, knowledge, and communication strategy.

Obviously, with online learning’s recent (and often mandatory) expansion, the class infrastructure for creating and posting videos is also likely to be expanding for many educational organizations. Why not take advantage of it to get students’ creative juices flowing and find compelling ways to communicate relate, even over a physical distance?

Here are a few things that can be helpful to keep in mind when assigning video projects:

• Keep it concise! Unless you’re a film program approving capstone projects, it’s good to keep video projects limited to around 2-5 minutes. If it’s high quality, even a 5-minute video can still take 5-10 hours (or more) to produce.
• That said, give your students plenty of time to complete the project. This might be as much as a few weeks, depending on how labor-intensive the research, shooting, and/or production are likely to be.
• Make sure students send you regular project updates. As an instructor, sometimes the best help you can offer is keeping the students on track.

On the student side:

• Always take advantage of whatever resources your school can offer! Frequently institutions have access to high-quality software, if not hardware, that can improve the quality of your project.
• Planning is everything! While digital video has made it possible to shoot hours and hours of footage taking advantage of low-cost storage, you’ll still have to cut that down to a running time. Things may not always go exactly as planned, but preparation and efficiency will still always go a long way.
• Remember that high-quality audio is important. If social media videos have taught us anything, it’s that mediocre-to-bad quality picture may be forgiven, but if your video is impossible to listen to, forget it.

Here are a few suggestions for different ways students can respond or inform using video content:

Recorded interviews

The staple of mainstream news media and documentaries, an interview could be in-person or virtual; intercut between interviewer and subject as a conversation or laser-focused on the interviewee’s answers. They could be serious, silly, or even fictional. The interview format is familiar to most people and is a direct way to get answers to questions that concern you.

Screencast recording

Think of it as “webinar style”. Present ideas and information step by step in slides, and record the presentation and your additional narration and commentary as it plays out. You can clean up any missteps with an editing tool and even rerecord your voiceover. It beats fumbling with a slide presentation in real-time!

Video tour or demonstration

Students who visit a place of interest to their coursework can use video to share it with the rest of the class, narrating as they go along. Video recording also makes it possible to further edit and annotate facts to make the experience as engaging as possible. Or similarly, a student could film a clip of demonstrating a process, solving a problem, or otherwise “showing, not telling” something relevant to coursework.

Not every classroom is AFI film school, so we won’t say there’s one “right” way to make a video or go on about the correct division of labor between production, post-production, talent, and crew positions. There are numerous scenarios for assignments and different approaches to video creation, and different things will work for different types of classes. However! … there are also still a few basic guidelines that can be followed to good effect in any video project:

Understand the purpose of and intended outcome for the video

In other words, “know what you want to say.” Especially in a short format, keep your video on message and make sure it will fit in the time allotted. You can still create a “script” without turning it into an exercise in formal filmmaking, and that will help clarify the information you want the video to deliver. You can even create a checklist of topics or questions that the assignment is expecting you to address.

Determine your format

This might be decided at the instructor level, but if not, it’s worth some thought. As we suggested above, there are different types of video assignments and different ways they might be tackled.

Have a camcorder? DSLR? Access to a digital cinema camera? That’s one way to do it. Got a great phone or tablet camera? That could work too. Screen recording? If you’re doing a PowerPoint-style presentation, that’s not a bad way to go. Webcam talking head video? Thousands of YouTubers can’t be wrong. The thing is to figure out what will work best for your content, as well as be available to you and uncomplicated enough for you to manage within your deadlines. Depending on the resources available that could be anything from a “Hollywood style” high-production value narrative short to a documentary voiceover captured cleverly via smartphone, so long as it fulfills the criteria of your assignment. Make sure it’s clear what kind of deliverable is expected at the deadline (i.e., “mp4 video posted to our learning portal” or whatever applies).

Set a production timeline, and stick to it

This probably goes for every project, ever. If needed you can also create team documents, shot lists, and more, but create a realistic timeline and get moving, the sooner the better. As discussed below, build in a little space for yourself to make changes or correct mishaps.

Schedule regular team meetings (when applicable)

This also relates to your timeline, but in general, you want to make sure the entire team is engaged and on top of their tasks. While it’s a little less complicated if you only have 2 or 3 team members who are handling the shoot or recording together (and, as the headline suggests, a non-issue if you’re creating and executing the entire project yourself) but if you have teammates who are going to do the majority of their work away from the video shooting/recording like graphic artists, animators, dedicated video editors, or musical composers (note: you don’t have to hire Hans Zimmer, “composing” could be as simple as making a couple of keyboard tracks in GarageBand) then you want to check in and make sure everything is on track.

Reserve some time for finishing and polishing

You might or might not be ingesting your video into professional-grade editing software but remember that you may still want to tweak your content, add titles or effects or voiceover, and do other “postproduction” tasks. Don’t back yourself into a corner where you end up having to do everything the night before the assignment deadline: take a tip from the pros and allocate yourself some time after your initial shoot (for instance several hours over the course of a few days) to review, edit, and do finishing tasks (like rendering, transcoding, or uploading) for your video.

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For instructors who favor the video assignment, cloud recording and editing tools are available to polish and repurpose your content for maximized engagement. For students, Kaltura also allows you to easily record your computer screen, webcam, and microphone.

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Going Digital | Creating a Video Assignment

• Designing the Assignment
• Digital Intensive SLOs

The Basics #

A video assignment is a great way to get your students thinking about your course content a little differently. A project like this can be designed as a standalone assignment or incorporated as part of a group project, in-class presentation, or research project.

1. What is a video assignment? 

A video assignment is any project that asks a student to film themselves or another subject. Video submissions can be the entirety of an assignment, or they can be a one part of a larger assignment. These projects can range from a simple, one-shot recording of an oral presentation to more complex projects requiring multiple camera shots edited together.

2. Why might you want to create a video assignment?

• An option for creating AI-resistant assignments
• Gives students options to demonstrate proficiency (a core tenet of Universal Design for Learning )
• Helps with classroom engagement and community-building
• Gives students experience with digital tools
• Builds oral communication skills
• Can be a step towards creating a Digital Intensive course

3. What kind of assignments can this replace or supplement? 

• Research Projects
• Journals 
• In-Class Presentations
• Discussion Boards
• Group Projects

Designing the Assignment #

Whether you are designing the assignment from the ground up or converting an existing assignment, the steps below can help you think through framing, building, and grading the project.

1. Decide on goals

Student outcomes.

The goals of an assignment can vary greatly, depending on what you hope your students will get out of the project. A few common outcome objectives for this type of assignment are:

• Demonstrate understanding of course content
• Synthesize concepts to create new information
• Practice communicating information clearly
• Practice research and citation
• Demonstrate technical proficiency with video production tools

All are valid goals, and being clear about how much priority you assign to each one will help in designing the assignment (and ultimately your grading criteria).

If you are creating this assignment to be a large final project or other large assignment, you may want to break it down into smaller parts with due dates for each (much like a research paper). Some possible steps are:

• Topic selection 
• Source selection 
• Script draft and/or shot list
• Assembly edit/rough cut
• Final video

Smaller projects, such as weekly unedited “confessional-style” reflections, may need fewer steps but the end product will likely be less polished.

Project Format

The goals and scale you determine will inform what format the project will take. You may want your students’ videos to be recorded versions of an oral presentation, or perhaps you want them to create a polished, edited video. There are different considerations for each, listed below from least to most complex.

Vlogs & Discussion Board Videos

One or two-minute videos are a great replacement for weekly reflection assignments or discussion board posts. There are even tools designed specifically for this, such as Flip (formerly Flipgrid).

• Usually unedited or minimally edited
• Can have the same expectations you would have for a written reflection or board post
• Great for building community, especially in online classes
• Tools like Flip can be integrated into any Canvas course

Recorded Presentation

Recorded presentations are usually single-take videos of what might otherwise be a standard in-class presentation.

• Usually unedited or minimally edited (may just clean up the start and end)
• May include PowerPoint or other visual aids
• May or may not include camera/webcam footage
• Can usually be accomplished with a standard laptop, Chromebook, or iPad

Fully-Produced Video

Fully-produced videos are edited together from many different camera shots or video clips. These are the most complex video projects and can be very time-intensive.

• Editing takes time! Unlike one-take recorded presentations, students will need to budget extra time after the recording phase to edit their videos
• A time limit may be helpful for these projects. Shorter videos require students to practice concision
• Quality equipment is key. While filming on a phone can produce great video, encourage students to try external microphones if they are capturing video outside or in an uncontrolled environment

2. Recommend resources

Some students may already have tools they prefer, while others will have no prior experience with these tools. Unless you have a specific reason, there’s no need to require use of a certain tool, but it’s a good idea to offer your students some options. Below are a few we suggest.

Recording Tools

No amount of post-production editing can beat recording high-quality audio and video from the start! Often a computer microphone or standard earbuds will do just fine, but encourage your students to make a test recording using the equipment they intend to use. This way they can identify whether their current equipment will be sufficient for the project before making a long recording that they have to throw out for poor quality.

If students need or want higher-quality equipment, they can use the following resources:

HCC Info Desk Equipment Checkout

The HCC offers cameras, microphones, tripods, and audio recorders for free checkout at the Info Desk on the second floor.

HCC Vocal Booth, Charnoff Production Studio, & Mini Studio

The HCC has spaces designed for audio recording and editing. The Vocal Booth and Mini Studio are both on the 1st floor and open 24 hours. The Vocal Booth includes a camera and microphone, while the Mini Studio requires students to bring their own equipment (though cameras, microphones, and tripods can be checked out from the Info Desk upstairs). The Charnoff Production studio includes three HD camera and a wrap-around green screen, and requires training through the DKC before use.

Video Production Software

Zoom is a great, simple way to film recorded presentations. Students can start a Zoom meeting, share screen to show their visual aids, and record the meeting to their computer.

Microsoft PowerPoint

After creating a slideshow in PowerPoint, students have the option to record themselves presenting it. They can record audio, webcam video, and PowerPoint slides in a simple one-stop solution.

Note that this feature is only available in the desktop (downloaded) version of PowerPoint. Video recording is not available with PowerPoint on the web. Students, faculty, and staff can download Office products for free as part of their UMW Microsoft 365 account .

See this  Microsoft PowerPoint recording guide  for more info.

YouTube Studio Editor

The YouTube Studio Editor allows users to make basic cuts to a presentation. It does  not  allow adding other video clips, graphics, or audio tracks. This is a great solution if you are asking students to share videos on YouTube and want them to make only basic edits, like trimming the start and end of their video.

A free browser-based tool made primarily for graphic design, but it is a surprisingly agile simple video editor. Canva includes a large library of photo, audio, and video elements that can be used to in video projects, but students must be careful to avoid premium assets that require purchase.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe tools like Premiere and After Effects may be overwhelming for beginners, but have many features that can help a project shine. All Adobe Creative Cloud apps are available via AppsAnywere , UMW’s virtual computer lab.

Video Editing Hardware

With so many browser-based tools for graphic design, students can accomplish simple video projects with a basic laptop, Chromebook, or even a phone! But if students want or need more powerful hardware, there are several options available to them.

HCC Computer Workstations

The Hurley Convergence Center contains computers throughout the building that can be used for graphic design projects. The HCC is open 24/7 to students with an EagleOne swipe.

Digital Knowledge Center

The Digital Knowledge Center has several computers with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, including two Surface Studios that can fold down to become large drawing tablets.

HCC Computer Loan

The HCC Info Desk loans PC and Mac laptops to students for up to six days.

3. Offer support

Make sure your students are aware that they have many options for support for digital assignments (they don’t have to always come to you!).

DKC Class Visits

Consider having the Digital Knowledge Center visit your class to introduce tools and best practices for your assignment. This can go a long way in helping your students get off on the right foot. Visits can be tailored to the needs of your class.

DKC Appointments

If students run into issues, they can book appointments with a Digital Knowledge Center consultant to help get them unstuck.

DKC Online Guides

The Digital Knowledge Center maintains online guides on many tools for digital projects, including “Getting Started” best practices for audio, video, graphic design, and website-building projects.

4. Consider Accessibility 

It is important to consider accessibility in any digital project. Since videos are a visual medium, providing the information in alternative formats is essential. Here are a few methods to accomplish this:

Provide a written outline of information

Additional written context can help people with visual impairments understand the content of a video. Consider asking students to share an outline or transcript as part of the project, either beforehand (so you can make sure they are on the right track) or alongside the project.

Closed Captions

Closed captions are the text version of an audio presentation that appears on the screen during a presentation. Closed captions communicate all audio that is essential context, including music, sounds, and other non-speech elements of the presentation. Closed Captions help hearing-impaired individuals engage with content and are useful for everyone as hearing the information and seeing it in the text at the same time fosters a deeper understanding of the material.

Tip:  YouTube provides automatically-generated closed captions for every video uploaded, but these auto-captions always need a bit of clean-up to be accurate.

5. Determine Grading Criteria

Many of the grading criteria you might use for a “traditional” project still hold true for a digital assignment. If you already have criteria you are comfortable with, great! If you are unsure how to go about grading a video project, below are some guiding questions that may help you build a rubric for an assignment.

Guiding Questions

• Does the student address the prompt and fulfill the assignment effectively?
• Does the student think creatively?
• Does the student clearly state their argument, or thesis?
• Do the visual elements facilitate communication of the thesis?
• Has the student cited sources? Are sources high-quality and support the thesis?
• Is the video high-quality (not grainy or distorted)? Perhaps more importantly, is audio clear and understandable?
• Does the student use graphics, sound clips, or video clips that are royalty free or open-license? Does the student credit the creator?
• Has the student included accurate closed captions or otherwise endeavored to make the project accessible?

6. Determine Submission Method

There is no “wrong” way to receive assignment submissions, so choose the one that works best for your learning objectives. Below are a few options.

Canvas Assignment

Canvas is a great submission option if you just want to receive the files directly. You can set the assignment submission type to “File Upload,” and students can upload their video file and supporting documentation all at once.

Keep in mind that Canvas has a 500mb upload limit for individual media files, as well as a 1gb total storage limit for each course. Very long videos may exceed the individual limit, and only graded assignments bypass your Canvas storage quota. If you accept video files as part of an ungraded assignment or discussion board, you will quickly exceed the size limits on your Canvas course.

If your project includes long videos, or you want your students to get experience with other sharing platforms, YouTube is a good option. However, since it is a public platform, students must be careful to set the privacy settings for their videos correctly. Unless you want your videos to be available to anyone on the internet, most videos should be set to “Unlisted.” Students can then share the video link with you in Canvas, or embed the YouTube video into a blog post or website.

See our  YouTube Basics Step-by-Step  guide for more info on creating a YouTube account, uploading a video, adjusting privacy settings, and sharing videos.

Flip (formerly Flipgrid)

Flip is a video discussion platform that can be set up as your classroom’s video repository. Flip is designed primarily to record and share short discussion-post style videos, but it can be used to store uploaded videos as well.

Flip is owned by Microsoft, so it can be accessed using your UMW email address and password. See the Flip Educator Toolkit for more tips on setting up and using the platform.

Alternatively, if you are interested in having your students think about their work as having life outside of your class, embedding their video in a blog post is a great option. This gives students the experience of creating an video as part of a larger piece, such as a news article, research project, or journal.

Keep in mind that web servers have file size limits, however. If students are using Domain of One’s Own, their default limit is 1gb. If you choose this method of submission, you may want to also have your students upload videos to YouTube so that they can embed the YouTube video rather than post the file directly on a web site.

Digital Intensive SLOs #

Each Digital Intensive proposal is considered by the DI committee on a case-by-case basis, so there is no “guaranteed” method to acquire the designation. But below are few examples that may help a podcasting assignment address the DI Student Learning Objectives.

These are just a few options – there are countless ways to accomplish the DI objectives. And remember that a single assignment does not need to address every SLO! A video assignment could address some, while other assignments could address others.

Students will successfully locate and critically evaluate information using the Internet, library databases, and/or other digital tools.

• Require students to share sources for the claims made in their videos
• Use the SIFT Method or other criteria to evaluate an online source’s credibility

Students will use digital tools to safely, ethically, and effectively produce and exchange information and ideas. 

• Converting a written assignment to a video assignment goes a long way to addressing this SLO
• Require a written summary, closed captions, and attribution for any pre-made assets used as part the project

Students will creatively adapt to emerging and evolving technology. 

• Instead of requiring a specific tool to create their video, ask students to evaluate several and select the one that best fits their needs
• Instead of submitting a file in Canvas, ask students to build a public web site using Domain of One’s Own or Sites@UMW to post their video

Resources #

Liberated learners – video production.

A great resource to share with your students! This walks through the video production process from start to finish.

How (and why) to use video assignments in alternative grading

Dkc presentation & recording guides.

The Digital Knowledge Center maintains getting-started guides, tool recommendations, and repositories of free media resources for various digital project types.

YouTube Basics Step-by-Step

If you are having students sign up for YouTube accounts (or want to sign up for one yourself), this guide walks through the process of creating an account and getting started with sharing videos.

Project Resources

Free umw resources.

A list of tools and services available to UMW students that can help with digital projects.

Free Media Resources

A repository of online sources for copyright and royalty-free stock photos, video, and audio that students can incorporate into their projects.

Cartland Berge’s 60 Second Pilot Project

A project designed to help students practice producing a short video from start to finish: planning, scripting, filming, editing, captioning, and sharing.

Dr. Jeff McClurken’s US History in Film Course

The final research project for this course is a 1,500-2,500 written analysis of a historical film, along with a 3-5 minute video analysis. Projects are published on the open web using Domain of One’s Own. Example Video

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Ten Engaging Video Assignments to Get Your Students Talking

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In the classroom, video means instant engagement, and making video is an increasingly important skill for youngsters to develop. We’ve put together ten exciting assignment ideas that will help elementary and middle school teachers get their students making great video! Parents, feel free to steal these ideas for rainy weekends, too.

Make Video Really Easy For All Students

Not all students will be able to access their own camera equipment. This could be due to their families’ budgets, their age, parental permissions, or some may be a little too shy to be on camera.

Remove obstacles by creating groups to work on each project, and consider setting up a couple different “studios” in the classroom. Then, come up with fun and quiet assignments that groups not actively filming can tackle, like script writing or prop-making, while others get their turn in front of the camera.

An in-class studio could be as simple as a backdrop with a tripod, or more complex depending on your school’s resources and the space you have to work with. If you are able to setup a couple different studios, more than one group could be creating videos at the same time, and, no one will be left out if they can’t get the right equipment.

Basic video equipment is really inexpensive in this day and age, especially for this type of kid-friendly production. A low-cost video camcorder from Amazon would likely suffice, and simple tripods are usually under $50. If you aren’t in a position to purchase equipment, you can always use a smartphone or tablet with a mini-tripod or similar stand, or a laptop with a built-in camera.

Editing the final video together might not be required for all of these project ideas, but it makes sense to check on the availability of video editing programs on school computers to see if it might be possible. iMovie or Windows Movie Maker are both free and easy to use. That way, any particularly inspired students can take their project to the next level if they’d like.

Video Assignments for Elementary School Students

1. task: make a short video reviewing your favorite book..

Objective: Students should record themselves giving a synopsis of the book and sharing what they enjoy about it. Using age-appropriate props, younger children can shoot a scene from the book; older children can direct a scene featuring their friends.

In addition to putting thoughts together coherently, and learning how to write for film (for older students), this task will enable children to be comfortable in front of and behind the camera, and encourage collaborative group work.

2. Task: Make a commercial.

Objective: Take an everyday object – an apple, pen, table, lunchbox – and ask students to make a commercial trying to sell it. They should put together a script, create a jingle, and design a brand logo as well as filming the advert.

Depending on the age of your students, they could work together. Ask each member of the group to take responsibility for a different element of the video. This is an effective task at showing students the power of persuasive writing, and how to work effectively in a team, as well as the objective behind advertising.

3. Task: Create a video tour of the school for new students.

Objective: Pupils can share their school experience with new students by recording and narrating it. They should interview teachers and other students, as well as showing their classmates using the school’s facilities (outdoor play area, pool, computer room). In addition to learning filming and editing skills, this task enables students to hone interviewing and communication skills.

4. Task: Exchange video messages with other schools.

Objective: Students from a partnering elementary school exchange short videos with your class that explain what life is like at their school, or another agreed-upon topic. The idea would be to generate interest in another culture, or to introduce students from a far-flung part of the USA. Not only would this type of exchange expand their horizons, but it would help develop their story-telling abilities, too.

5. Task: Explain how to make your favorite food.

Objective: Have students make a short video about their favorite food, or a special family recipe. Use creativity for those who aren’t able to do any filming at home. For instance, have them bring in some of their favorite food to share, or use animated pictures instead of actual footage.

As an alternative, assign students to different meal groups, like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Then, have them work on the assignment in teams. This assignment will help students get to know and appreciate other food cultures, while also having a really fun time.

Video Assignments for Middle School Students

6. task: create vocabulary vines..

Objective: Show a word on paper (perhaps a student could be filmed writing it), then record a visual representation of the term. Each short video should be shared with the whole class so students can easily access them. This is also a great exercise for foreign language classes.

Although Vine may no longer exist as a platform, short videos are still a great way to promote learning.

7. Task: Make a two-minute video assignment about your hobby.

Objective: The student will learn to operate a video camera (or the video function on their smartphone or tablet), grab copyright free clips from the web, and edit footage.

Part of the challenge will be to adhere to the two-minute time limit. Older students can be taught how to use industry-standard editing software. Whatever level they are at, students will respond positively to being given free rein to get creative and produce original content about a topic that interests them.

8. Task: Create a video dialogue with a famous historical character.

Objective: Using the split screen effect, the student should record themselves in conversation with someone the class has been studying in history. They will enjoy dressing up and getting into character for this task!

This video assignment challenges the student to demonstrate a deep understanding of the psyche and motivations of an historical personage. Note: this assignment also works well as a conversation between the student and a character from the book the class are studying.

9. Task: Film your science lab project.

Objective: Film a project from start to end, hypothesis to conclusion. Students should show footage of the experiment being set up, carried out, and concluded. They should add a voiceover explaining what’s happening and why in each shot.

This assignment is two-fold. In addition to demonstrating their understanding of the relevant scientific principles, students will hone their filming and editing skills.

10. Task: Give your own TED Talk.

Objective: Show students an age-appropriate TED Talk that’s relevant to a topic they’re studying in your class. They should use it as a basis to put together their own presentation on that subject area. Encourage them to use visual aids and to adapt an engaging mode of presenting, just like the TED speakers. A cameo from friends, family members, or even pets makes for a great video!

For demonstrating to students that a ‘talk’ is more than just talking, we recommend showing them the following TED videos: The Shared Experience of Absurdity, The New Bionics that Let Us Run, Climb and Dance, and Einstein the Parrot.

Secure Sharing

For sharing the video, it’s important to be sensitive to the privacy of the children participating. Consider sharing the video with a password or with login protection to make sure only the participants, or their parents, can view it.

Make sure you can track viewers at a very granular level. For instance, video engagement metrics enable you to check that only approved viewers are accessing your content.

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How and Why Educators are Including Video Assignments in their Courses

Educators in all fields, from theatre to architecture to food science, and even math , are starting to see how students can use their phones to make video and engage more strongly with what they're learning. Students make creative or explanatory videos, or just film themselves practicing the skills they’re learning.

With the disruptions everyone has experienced during the COVID crisis of 2020, video assignments may be even more powerful tools for keeping students engaged and promoting the social aspect of learning, even remotely.

As the technology gets more accessible and easier to use, more and more instructors have been turning toward student video projects as rich new form of evaluation and some are event favoring it over more traditional written assignments. Even the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of English have added standards emphasizing the need to foster creativity by going beyond text to have students use other media in their learning activities and assignments (Morgan, 2012). Students, too, are usually prouder of what they’ve accomplished and say their learning experience was deeper when they make a video rather than handing in text.

So with the combination of high-quality video cameras on smartphones and cloud video sharing, we’re set to see an explosion of video and audio assignments in every discipline . It’s suddenly practical - easy in fact - for students to record and edit video. And it's a whole lot easier to submit the video so that teachers can give feedback and grades. 

Kirkland (2006) offers a diverse list of video-making assignment project, including:

• Documentary
• Presentation
• Skills Demonstration
• Public Service Announcements
• News Reports
• Dramatization
• A Mashup of Clips

Videos can be much more than a student presenting or explaining the content they are supposed to master. They can be vehicles for creativity, for learning teamwork and project management, and the production will increasingly be an employment-relevant skill.

For example, here's the introduction to a video assignment from a course at the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health: " Do younger Canadians need a movement to promote their social determinants of health? Design a short creative video to answer this question."

In contrast to a typical in-class presentation that vanishes into thin air with little feedback, video assignments can be powerful learning tools for students as a persuasive visual argument requires deep, iterative conceptual and rhetorical thinking. Not only is it necessary for the student to synthesize various sources on the subject content, but she must also write it down as a script, read it, decide who to interview or record, and then create a video, requiring time spent filming and editing. All of those separate cognitive activities engage with the topic in different ways, stimulating creative and analytic work. Additionally, student created videos place students on display, and as such, students make a greater effort to master the subject content so as to avoid embarrassment in front of their peers. So students get to practice and demonstrate their grasp of key course concepts, but student-made video also promotes creativity and individuality, basically eliminating concerns about plagiarism.

A great deal of research reveals students themselves find video projects to be more beneficial to their own understanding and mastery of subject material. One study by Greene and Crespi (2012) looked at the perceived value of student-created videos as a tool for enhancing the student learning experience. Their data came from an accounting and a marketing course at a state university. 

Each course assigned its students a video project to assess their mastery of the material. The survey data gathered from the students who created the videos revealed that students found such projects “creative, unique and educational.” Moreover, the students who watched the creative projects said “the videos were extremely helpful, put a fun twist on learning experiences, a very good way to review material while helping others to understand the material, interesting to see the material learned in a video format, were a good learning experience, and a simple way to remember/learn the material.”

However, while these assignments are fun and provide academic benefits, they can also be frustrating for both students and instructors if students plan poorly, are not trained and supported with technology, or are confused about the purpose of the assignment. As noted by Kearney and Shuck (2006) , a gap exists in assessing learning outcomes for student created videos. This new form of learning activity brings with it challenges for teachers: What sort of guidelines should you set for video assignments? How do you make sure they are implemented effectively?

Asessment of Video Assignments

One of the most challenging aspects of assigning student made video assignments is designing a fair grading rubric that simultaneously helps students know what steps to take but doesn't quash their creativity. Video presentations are by their nature individually unique and the feedback on and grading of each assignment could therefore be quite arbitrary. It's critical that instructors set proper expectations for students so that they have sufficient understanding of the key items to focus on. Teachers will also have to have structured, regular check-ins with students. Ideally, the assignment will be graded in stages, allowing rich feedback (possibly on draft videos themselves with a tool like WeVu). 

A basic video assignment rubric will contain some of the following elements:

• An 'elevator pitch' that can be delivered as text or as a 30 second video. This is a good place to start, and it can be continually refined as the project evolves. 
• Storyboard. A sketch of each scene or phase of the video. This can be done on slides (powerpoint, google slides, etc.) or just as an outline document. The storyboard should be the main planning document and it needs to be able to be shared with teachers for feedback.
• Script. The script must be suitable for the topic, the assumed audience, and for the time available. Script editing should be a major component of the project.
• Selection of content. Students must be encouraged to generate lots of ideas, ruthlessly abandon lots of them, and sequence the content in a persuasive or engaging way.
• Technical production value. Students need to be assured they don't need to make a perfect video. They should be warned not to spend hours on little transitions or super-precise editing. But they should be directed to consider some of the key elements of production value, including distance and depth of shots, variation in perspective and length of scenes, audio quality, voice-over video, captions or text, and so on. 
• Teamwork and Project Management. Assignments will often be group assignments. Give students a recommended or required structure for their collaboration, including what technologies they should use. Consider a part of the grade devoted to their project management, in which case the teacher needs visibility into the team digital space (Google Docs/Sheets/Slides, probably) and/or the students should journal or log their work, task by task, with task assignments, due dates, and task statuses.

The Open Thinking blog has a good set of ideas for educators wanting to start using video assignments. And here’s a simple example of one from a Cognitive Psychology class:

Feedback. Learning during production and learning from production of video assignments.

Teachers face another learning curve as they try to provide effective feedback helps students really learn and do better work next time.  One problem is that the videos usually sit outside a school's online learning platform or the feedback is given as a separate text commentary, just like students get on the papers they hand in. The technology is just starting to catch up to what educators are doing — platforms like WeVu.video give students and teachers a place to share video without making it public, get peer feedback if desired, and get all the feedback on the timeline of the video, just like we’ve always done with comments in the margins of what we write. The videos can then be made public, without the comments, when they're done.

Video assignments are increasingly common and pedagogically powerful, but they need preparation and technology to succeed.

P.S. Here’s a nice short guide from Wired on how to make a film with a phone.

Related Posts

How to organize, share, and discuss videos in groups

Seven Different Reasons Why All Skills Learning will Rely on Video in Just a Few Years

Feedback: We can’t learn without it

The Content Bias in Edtech

Video for Skills Learning – Evidence That it Works

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Video assignments.

Video assignments comprise a wide range of possible assignment types from personal reflection videos in which students video-record themselves and upload those recordings to a shared space, such as Canvas, to assignments in which students are responsible for capturing, editing, narrating, and producing a polished product. Each type of assignment places more or less emphasis on either the production aspects of video or on the communicative, instructional aspects of video. Consider the following types of assignment that involve video production in some way.

Video documentary, video essay, or short film

Video is truly multi-media, providing oportunities to express oneself with visuals, sound, and text. The wide range of skills involved in capturing video, curating and editing video, possible adding narration, and the challenges of dealing with very large filesizes, mean that a video assignment can be quite daunting for students and for instructors. This wide range of tasks can also contribute to a valuable group assignment in with varied reponsibilities and roles.

News reporting or video interviews

Producing video-based news stories and capturing interviews, while quite different activities, both require students to carefully plan their work, including deciding on locations, topics of discussion, subjects, and pacing.

Video photo essay

A video photo essay takes advantage of the medium of video but may consist of recorded narration and music  over a series of still images.  This can be as impactful as actual video but may be more practical in some cases (consider historical imagery and the ‘ Ken Burns effect ’ or historical subject matter for which no video exists), or simply easier to construct, requiring less time for in-class training.

Personal reflection

Students can provide reflections on course readings, experiences related to coursework, or as a way to share their background knowledge of the course subject matter.

Instructional video

Video can of course by use to provide asynchronous instruction to students by capturing lectures or capturing and narrating screen/whiteboard recordings. These recordings can form the basis of an assignment in Canvas in which students submit their answers or other feedback. There is also, however the possibility of tasking students, or groups of students, with the creation of instructional video. Students could for example create recordings of themselves working through problems and demonstrating the process of arriving at their answers, thereby possibly helping to pinpoint areas of confusion, and perhaps leading to a repository of helpful videos for future students in the course.

Performance capture

The term performance may bring to mind a theater or music hall, but in terms of assignments, can also include any learning outcomes that are performative, such as public speaking, role playing, or foreign language oral practice.

Storytelling vs. Instruction

Some types of assignments, such as short documentary films, are creative, story-telling assignments that may involve not only learning to use the software but also in developing the skills of effectively conveying a story. Other assignments may use video more simply to capture students thoughts or performace. For these latter assignments, the video capture tools built into Canvas, Kaltura, and Panopto will suffice.

Assignment considerations

• Keep it short! Video editing can be a very time-consuming process. A two or three minute video can convey a lot of information and, when done well, can be a challenging assignment. Limiting the scope of a video project also introduces en element of information curation into the assignment process.
• Have students submit a storyboard as the first step of the assignment. A storyboard is simply an outline of the video with possible shots, scenes, and basic dialogue.
• A video assignment may be a new experience for many students. Consider outlining your expectations in a grading rubric to provide a scaffold.
• Video assignments can present more logistical problems than other types of activities, including choosing the cameras, the software, and potential very large files. If possible, work with the staff of McGraw’s Digital Learning Lab (DLL) to identify equipment and software students will use to complete the assignment. The DLL also offers ample storage space for video files.
• Video editing software such as Adobe Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, and even iMovie, offer many options but may require training. For simpler assignments, software such as Keynote, Powerpoint, Zoom, and VoiceThread may be easier to learn and can be used to generate videos that combine image and voiceover narration.
• Simple videos, such as video reading responses or student interviews, that do not involve transitions, titles, and music can be recorded and uploaded directly within the Canvas learning management system.

Student preparation

Learning to edit video not only necessitates learning how to use video editing software, which can be quite complex, but also involves developing storytelling skills and how good stories are conveyed via scenes, shots, transitions, titles, dialogue, and characters. The results of all this work can be rewarding, but will require significant time in and out of class. A video assignment should, ideally, be a culmination of a series of assignments that involve script-writing drafts, revisions, hands-on practice in the use of the software, peer-review and discussion.

Possible tools

• Adobe Premiere
• DaVinci Resolve
• Keynote, Powerpoint
• VoiceThread

Rubrics and resources

• Sample Video Editing Assignment , University of Portland
• Video Essays and Virtual Animals: An Approach to Teaching Multimodal Composition and Digital Literacy , Christina M. Colvin, Georgia Institute of Technology, in the Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy
• Digital Storytelling Rubric and Digital Video Project Rubric , Video class assignment tips for instructors and students . Denver University EdTech Knowledge Base
• Single Point Rubrics, Jennifer Gonzalez, Cult of Pedagogy Blog
• How To Write A Documentary Script , Helen Kantilaftis, New York Film Academy
• Pre-production . Student Multimedia Services, Oregon State University
• Six styles of classroom video projects , Free Tech for Teachers, freetech4teachers.com

Example podcasting assignments

Understanding Assignments

What this handout is about.

The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects. See our short video for more tips.

Basic beginnings

Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well :

• Read the assignment carefully as soon as you receive it. Do not put this task off—reading the assignment at the beginning will save you time, stress, and problems later. An assignment can look pretty straightforward at first, particularly if the instructor has provided lots of information. That does not mean it will not take time and effort to complete; you may even have to learn a new skill to complete the assignment.
• Ask the instructor about anything you do not understand. Do not hesitate to approach your instructor. Instructors would prefer to set you straight before you hand the paper in. That’s also when you will find their feedback most useful.

Assignment formats

Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.

An Overview of Some Kind

The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example:

“Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”

The Task of the Assignment

Pay attention; this part tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. (See the section in this handout titled “Key Terms” for more information.)

“Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution”, or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”

Additional Material to Think about

Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic.

“You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils, or Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”

These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations:

“Be concise”, “Write effectively”, or “Argue furiously.”

Technical Details

These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines.

“Your paper must be typed in Palatino font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.”

The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.

Interpreting the assignment

Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:

Why did your instructor ask you to do this particular task?

Who is your audience.

• What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?

What kind of writing style is acceptable?

• What are the absolute rules of the paper?

Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.

Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that they will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor. For help with this, see our handout on getting feedback .

Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.

Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs

Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:

Information words Ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.

• define —give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning
• describe —provide details about the subject by answering question words (such as who, what, when, where, how, and why); you might also give details related to the five senses (what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell)
• explain —give reasons why or examples of how something happened
• illustrate —give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject
• summarize —briefly list the important ideas you learned about the subject
• trace —outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form
• research —gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you have found

Relation words Ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.

• compare —show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different)
• contrast —show how two or more things are dissimilar
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation
• cause —show how one event or series of events made something else happen
• relate —show or describe the connections between things

Interpretation words Ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.

• assess —summarize your opinion of the subject and measure it against something
• prove, justify —give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth
• evaluate, respond —state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons
• support —give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe)
• synthesize —put two or more things together that have not been put together in class or in your readings before; do not just summarize one and then the other and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together that runs all the way through the paper
• analyze —determine how individual parts create or relate to the whole, figure out how something works, what it might mean, or why it is important
• argue —take a side and defend it with evidence against the other side

More Clues to Your Purpose As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class:

• What kinds of textbooks or coursepack did your instructor choose for the course—ones that provide background information, explain theories or perspectives, or argue a point of view?
• In lecture, does your instructor ask your opinion, try to prove their point of view, or use keywords that show up again in the assignment?
• What kinds of assignments are typical in this discipline? Social science classes often expect more research. Humanities classes thrive on interpretation and analysis.
• How do the assignments, readings, and lectures work together in the course? Instructors spend time designing courses, sometimes even arguing with their peers about the most effective course materials. Figuring out the overall design to the course will help you understand what each assignment is meant to achieve.

Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, they still have to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.

Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.

• Tone means the “voice” of your paper. Should you be chatty, formal, or objective? Usually you will find some happy medium—you do not want to alienate your reader by sounding condescending or superior, but you do not want to, um, like, totally wig on the man, you know? Eschew ostentatious erudition: some students think the way to sound academic is to use big words. Be careful—you can sound ridiculous, especially if you use the wrong big words.
• The level of information you use depends on who you think your audience is. If you imagine your audience as your instructor and they already know everything you have to say, you may find yourself leaving out key information that can cause your argument to be unconvincing and illogical. But you do not have to explain every single word or issue. If you are telling your roommate what happened on your favorite science fiction TV show last night, you do not say, “First a dark-haired white man of average height, wearing a suit and carrying a flashlight, walked into the room. Then a purple alien with fifteen arms and at least three eyes turned around. Then the man smiled slightly. In the background, you could hear a clock ticking. The room was fairly dark and had at least two windows that I saw.” You also do not say, “This guy found some aliens. The end.” Find some balance of useful details that support your main point.

You’ll find a much more detailed discussion of these concepts in our handout on audience .

The Grim Truth

With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”

So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with bourbon.” Instead, you could say, “Of all the oral cleaning methods, sandblasting removes the most plaque. Therefore it should be recommended by the American Dental Association.” Or, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”

Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present. For help with understanding the role of argument in academic writing, see our handout on argument .

What kind of evidence do you need?

There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.

Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly—see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.

Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality they expect.

No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal. For specific help with style, see our handout on style .

Technical details about the assignment

The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format (see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial ) are negotiable. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.

Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.

Tricks that don’t work

Your instructors are not fooled when you:

• spend more time on the cover page than the essay —graphics, cool binders, and cute titles are no replacement for a well-written paper.
• use huge fonts, wide margins, or extra spacing to pad the page length —these tricks are immediately obvious to the eye. Most instructors use the same word processor you do. They know what’s possible. Such tactics are especially damning when the instructor has a stack of 60 papers to grade and yours is the only one that low-flying airplane pilots could read.
• use a paper from another class that covered “sort of similar” material . Again, the instructor has a particular task for you to fulfill in the assignment that usually relates to course material and lectures. Your other paper may not cover this material, and turning in the same paper for more than one course may constitute an Honor Code violation . Ask the instructor—it can’t hurt.
• get all wacky and “creative” before you answer the question . Showing that you are able to think beyond the boundaries of a simple assignment can be good, but you must do what the assignment calls for first. Again, check with your instructor. A humorous tone can be refreshing for someone grading a stack of papers, but it will not get you a good grade if you have not fulfilled the task.

Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How to access Microsoft Clipchamp with your work or school account

The Clipchamp video editor is available for  Microsoft 365 commercial customers  since it was launched in October 2023 and for education customers with the rollout starting in July 2024.

To help you get started, we collected a list of common questions about it, how to use it with your work or school account, where to access it, which Microsoft 365 plans it's included in, how it's integrated with other Microsoft products, and more.

We'll update this FAQ over time as the product evolves and new releases get published.

If you’re a Microsoft 365 administrator, see:  How to manage Clipchamp access for users in your organization .

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between using clipchamp with a work or school account versus using clipchamp with a personal account, how can i tell which version i'm in, when can i access clipchamp with my work or school account, where can users with work or school accounts access clipchamp.

How can I edit a video?

Can I move projects created in Clipchamp for personal accounts into the work version?

Does the Clipchamp desktop application support work and school accounts?

Are the features the same across Clipchamp's work and personal versions?

What is the best way to stay updated on the availability of features, can i change the language that clipchamp is displayed in, will multiple people be able to edit the same video at the same time, what types of integration exist with microsoft stream, will it be possible to import or export transcripts, chapters or other metadata from clipchamp projects with stream, will admins be able to turn off availability of clipchamp, how are clipchamp projects stored, will it be possible to edit teams meeting recordings in clipchamp, when i edit a video in onedrive, is the original video file replaced or updated immediately.

The personal version of Clipchamp  can be used standalone with personal accounts via the Clipchamp app for Windows 10 or Windows 11. It can also get used in the Edge or Chrome browser at  https://app.clipchamp.com  and has a free and a paid account tier. Some of the premium features in this version of Clipchamp are also available as part of Microsoft 365 personal and family subscriptions.

In contrast, the standard plan of  Clipchamp's work version is an included service in the following Microsoft 365 business and education licenses:

By default, Clipchamp for work is enabled for users who have one of these Microsoft 365 licenses assigned to them by their organization.

New Clipchamp for work  subscription plans

Since the beginning of December 2023, in addition to Clipchamp Standard being part of the above-mentioned Microsoft 365 licenses, the new Clipchamp Premium plan is available as a Microsoft 365 Enterprise or Business add-on. Customers on one of the license plans listed above can purchase Clipchamp Premium to access additional features.

Clipchamp Standard and Clipchamp Premium are also available as  standalone subscriptions for work users who are not on one of the Microsoft 365 license plans mentioned above. For more information, see this announcement .

Additional notes on availability

Clipchamp will not be added as a service to Office 365 SKUs. Subscribers of an Office 365 SKU can however purchase Clipchamp as a standalone license.

The Microsoft 365 E3/E5 (and A3/A5) Extra Features licenses are available for subscribers of the Microsoft 365 E3/E5 (and A3/A5) Original SKUs . For more details, see this tech community blog post .

For information about Clipchamp releases including the possible availability in additional Microsoft 365 SKUs, please follow the Microsoft 365 roadmap .

The work version of Clipchamp has a Microsoft 365 landing page that shows a list of all your video editing projects. It's available at  https://www.microsoft365.com/launch/clipchamp/ in Edge or Chrome and when you launch the Clipchamp desktop app for Windows, then log in with a work or school Microsoft account.

This version of Clipchamp is only available to you if you have a work or school Microsoft account that is managed by your organization/employer/educational institution.

If you're in the work version in the browser, the web address is that of your organization's SharePoint or OneDrive, such as https://contoso.sharepoint.com.

In contrast, the personal version  of Clipchamp does not have a Microsoft 365 landing page at this stage. On your Microsoft 365 homepage where all apps that are available to you are getting shown, selecting Clipchamp will lead you out of microsoft365.com to Clipchamp's personal version at https://app.clipchamp.com.

You can access the personal version with a personal or family Microsoft account, an email (via the magic link login method) or an email/password combination. In the Clipchamp desktop app for Windows, use a personal Microsoft account to log into the personal version.

Lastly, at this stage there are some features available in the personal version that are not available in the work version yet. See: Feature comparison between Clipchamp's work and personal versions .

Whether Clipchamp is already visible in your account depends on it being enabled in the Microsoft 365 organization that you are part of, and it also depends on the Microsoft 365 business or education license that your organization is subscribed to.

If you don't see Clipchamp in your Microsoft 365 apps yet, speak to your administrator about the availability of Clipchamp in your organization.

There are several entry points to launch Clipchamp. Some are available now; others will get added over time.

Microsoft 365 App Launcher,

Clipchamp start page in Microsoft 365 for the web,

Microsoft 365 Create page ,

On the web within OneDrive and SharePoint by clicking New ,

In Microsoft Stream,

In the Clipchamp desktop app for Windows (from version 3.x).

Clipchamp entry in the Microsoft 365 App Launcher.

Clipchamp start page in Microsoft 365 for the web. You can select one of your existing editing projects or open a new one by clicking  Blank video .

Clipchamp on the Microsoft 365 Create page .

In OneDrive and SharePoint, the option Clipchamp video  is available in the Add New menu. 

It will launch the Clipchamp editor in a new browser tab and save the corresponding Clipchamp project in OneDrive / SharePoint.

In OneDrive and SharePoint on the web, you can also start a Clipchamp project from an existing video file in My files by selecting it, then selecting  Open > Edit in Clipchamp .

In Microsoft Stream, you can start a Clipchamp editing project from a Stream video, if you have the required access permissions for the video.

How can I edit a video with Clipchamp?

To get started, see:  How to edit a video .

Images, videos, audio and more can be loaded in the My Media section.

Drag media to the timeline and extend or trim clips to adjust the desired duration and preview the video by selecting Play . You can also record your screen or webcam and add text to your video.

When you're finished editing, select Export  to save a new video file of your project. This .mp4 video can be downloaded to your computer or saved back to OneDrive or SharePoint for sharing with others.

No, this is not possible at this stage.

Does the Clipchamp desktop application support work and school accounts?

Up to version 2.9.x, Clipchamp's desktop application for Windows 10 and Windows 11 only supports Microsoft personal or family accounts.

From app version 3.x, work and school accounts are also supported. This new version of the desktop app is now generally available.

With both account types getting supported in the same Windows app, there is some logic applied to direct users into their "correct" version of Clipchamp. For more information, see: Work account support in the Clipchamp app for Windows .

Not all features found in Clipchamp for personal accounts are yet launched for those accessing Clipchamp with a work or school account. For the current set of features in each version and plan, see:  Feature comparison between Clipchamp's work and personal versions .

The release of additional features gets announced in the Microsoft 365 Admin Message center that your administrator has access to, and on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap .

Clipchamp is available in the languages that OneDrive and SharePoint support and you can change the language of the app if this is enabled in your organization by your administrator. Selecting a preferred language is possible via your  SharePoint personal profile page . 

When you access Clipchamp through its desktop app for Windows, the language of the UI is controlled by the language you set for Windows.

It will not be possible initially for multiple people to edit the same video at the same time, however projects can be shared via OneDrive or SharePoint, duplicated or edited at separate times.

Videos exported from Clipchamp for work are automatically uploaded to Stream (on SharePoint) . After exporting a finished video, users will be able to create a sharing link or continue to Stream for a variety of other actions, including setting chapters.

You can also open a Stream video in Clipchamp to edit it there, if you have the required access rights for the video file.

Microsoft 365 admins can manage the availability of Clipchamp for individual users, groups of users, or their entire organization.

Clipchamp projects are stored as files in OneDrive and SharePoint document libraries. For more information, see:  How Clipchamp stores and processes media files in editing projects .

Yes. Navigate to the recording, then select "Open > Edit in Clipchamp". This works if you have the necessary access rights for the recording.

No. When you export the edited video, the default behavior is to save a new video unless you specifically replace the original video.

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New video shows moment nyc worker ran over, decapitated elderly man, nyc decapitation new video shows moment city worker hits elderly man.

New video from the horrific scene where a city truck decapitated an elderly man in New York shows the moment the vehicle made contact ... and shockingly, it happened slowly.

Surveillance footage going around online catches the 86-year-old victim slowly making his way across a street in Brooklyn ... and he actually narrowly avoided another car that took a left turn just as he was starting to cross -- before the NYC Dept. of Transportation truck arrived.

The elderly man waits for that car to pass before continuing across the street ... when the big yellow Transportation truck starts to turn right, heading directly into his path and hitting him.

It's almost as if it all unfolds in slow-motion -- and it seems the truck driver didn't even see the old man, because it didn't slow down, nor did it stop once it struck the guy. Instead, the vehicle just rolls right over him ... and leaves the body behind in the aftermath.

In this clip, you don't clearly see the decapitation -- but we know this poor man's head was severed as a result of the accident based on other footage that surfaced showing the scene.

A man in a work vest -- who is presumably the driver in this tragedy -- was also filmed kneeling and buckling on the ground afterward ... looking absolutely devastated.

No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. The elderly man was identified as a resident of the area who lived nearby.

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Lesson Plan

June 17, 2024, 6:05 a.m.

Lesson plan: History of Juneteenth and why it became a national holiday

A Juneteenth celebration in Richmond, Virginia, 1905. Library of Congress

This lesson was originally published on June 16, 2021, and was updated on June 16, 2024.

For a Google version of this lesson plan, click here . (Note: you will need to make a copy of the document to edit it).

In this lesson, students will explore and discuss the history and context around the Juneteenth holiday in the United States. Topics explored will include the history of racial injustice in the U.S., the Civil War and the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation. Additionally, students will be encouraged to explore the modern significance of Juneteenth and its long-term impact.

Estimated time

One 50-60 minute class period

Grade Level

Grades 6-12

On June 15, 2021, the Senate unanimously approved a bill approving June 19 as a federal holiday for “Juneteenth National Independence Day.” The House passed the bill one day later. Still, many Americans are still unaware of the history and significance of June 19.

On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “that all persons held as slaves” in the Confederacy “shall be free.” While this may have freed some enslaved people on paper, the reality was much more complicated.

Source: PBS NewsHour via Associated Press

For instance, the Emancipation Proclamation only freed those slaves held under the Confederacy, not in border states loyal to the Union, including Kentucky, West Virginia and Delaware, where slavery was still legal after the Emancipation Proclamation. In fact, slavery was still legal in Kentucky until Dec. 1865, when the 13th Amendment was passed, though Kentucky voted against ratifying the amendment.

Confederate states and slaveholders also resisted emancipation, and many people remained enslaved in Confederate states after the proclamation, even as many enslaved people fought for their freedom or escaped behind Union lines. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger of the Union issued an order in Galveston, Texas, alerting all enslaved persons that they were legally free.

At this point in 1865, Texas was the westernmost state in America and one of the last Confederate states to be occupied by the Union. Many slaveholders had fled Union advances in other parts of the South to Texas, along with the people they had enslaved.

While it took time for the logistics of “freeing” enslaved people to come into effect, the importance of June 19, or “Juneteenth” lived on. Considering how complicated emancipation was, many dates were considered for holding celebrations of emancipation, but over 150 years later, June 19 remains.

What originally was a holiday mainly observed by Texans has grown to be recognized all over the country. Each year on “Juneteenth,” (or more formally Juneteenth National Freedom Day), communities all around the United States gather and celebrate and reflect on the history of slavery and struggle for civil rights and equality, including the work that still remains after conditional advances such as the Emancipation Proclamation.

Warm up activity

As a class, watch the BrainPop video (8 minutes) below found here introducing Juneteenth. While watching the video, answer the following discussion questions.

Source: BrainPop

Discussion questions:

• What is “Juneteenth”? What does it celebrate?
• Why did it take so long for enslaved peoples in Texas to finally be free? What obstacles existed?
• What were some of the forms of discrimination against newly freed people mentioned in the video?
• What is the Great Migration?
• How did Juneteenth become a national, not just regional, celebration?

After watching the video, separate into groups of 3-4 to discuss the focus questions (5 minutes).

Main activities:

• Why was June 19th chosen as the date to celebrate the freedom of all Americans? What were some of the drawbacks to other dates? Can you make an argument for why you think a different date might have been better and/or worse?
• Gates describes several reasons why Juneteenth struggled to be remembered at times, and why it was able to endure. Compare and contrast what the BrainPop video included as reasons why Juneteenth struggled and endured with what Gate’s emphasizes. What do you think were the most important factors in Juneteenth’s momentum and remembrance continuing?
• “When did they start recognizing Juneteenth, if at all?”
• “What was the process of Juneteenth becoming a holiday in my state?”
• If Juneteenth isn’t recognized in your state, see if you can answer, “Why is Juneteenth not recognized?”
• This search engine for state and local government websites
• The Library of Congress

Additional activities

• Brainstorm or plan a Juneteenth celebration activity. This can be decorating a common area, bringing in a relevant local speaker or planning a refreshment break for your school. Juneteenth celebrations can be in the home, at school or in community locations. For more inspiration see these resources:
• “ How to Celebrate ” from Juneteenth.com
• See how others are celebrating Juneteenth on Twitter .
• Some activists feel ambivalent about Juneteenth becoming a national holiday, or reject the idea. To learn more about the nuances surrounding making Juneteenth a federal holiday, watch this NewsHour interview with Dr. Mark Anthony Neal recorded in 2020 amid the George Floyd protests.

• The day now known as Juneteenth was formally recognized as a national holiday in 2021, due in large part to the activism of retired teacher Opal Lee. Learn more about Lee's activism and the message of Juneteenth in this NewsHour interview with Opal Lee.

If classrooms finish and plan a celebratory activity, please share your ideas with us on social media @NewsHourEXTRA on Twitter.

This lesson was written by Cecilia Curran, NewsHour Classroom intern, while she was a rising sophomore at Amherst College. This lesson was edited by NewsHour Classroom's education producer and former history teacher Vic Pasquantonio.

Fill out this form to share your thoughts on Classroom’s resources. Sign up for NewsHour Classroom’s ready-to-go Daily News Lessons delivered to your inbox each morning.

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Image of the Week: Sculptor at work

• June 19, 2024

This week’s UH News Image of the Week is sculptor and alumnus Bumpei Akaji when he was a student at UH Mānoa in 1952 as he worked in Hemenway Hall.

One of Akaji’s sculptures “RISE,” was installed outside the Walter Dods, Jr. RISE Center, and dedicated in a special ceremony prior to the official grand opening of the center on June 15.

Previous Images FestPAC Welcome Night tree Sunset research Shama Shower tree All Images of the Week

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• Send your image using a UH email address .

Please include a brief description of the image and its connection to your campus, class assignment or other UH connection. By submitting your image, you are giving UH News permission to publish your photo on the UH News website and UH social media accounts. The image must be your original work, and anyone featured in your image needs to give consent to its publication.

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