Use of videos is common as part of training sessions. It promotes learner engagement with content, allows people to see different places and people in the real world, and can also be a great way to summarise large ideas into easy to understand bite sized pieces. As self-paced training becomes more popular, video has become a way to share lectures, discussions and demonstrations when and where a learner needs to access it.
But what is the role of video in the assessment side of things?
Submission of evidence via video has been an option by many training providers for a long time. It provides authentic evidence of a person doing a skill, and can be a stronger form of evidence than a third party report. COVID saw this use of video being used more widely, as it helped overcome the challenges of restricted travel and the requirements to isolate. This option seems to have dropped off again by many providers since restrictions eased, however it remains a great option.
In addition to the submission of recorded videos sent as a file as part of assessment submissions, video can also be used to assess things virtually in real time. This allows an assessor to ask questions, clarify what is being done, and to ask things to be shown from a different angle, or to be done multiple times showing different variations. While this requires a little more work to set up, it can overcome distance and assessor availability. The improvement in mobile devices, social platforms and internet connections means this is increasingly becoming an easy option for those willing to try.
Video can also be used to provide feedback to learners on their work – in addition to or in replacement of written feedback. Research has shown that video based feedback is seen by learners as more individualised and easier to implement. From an assessor viewpoint, it can be faster and is more detailed to talk about something than to record this in a written format. Incorporating a shared screen also supports assessors in highlighting to learners what they are talking about in their assessment submissions. When this feedback is given live, it supports learners in asking questions to clarify the feedback too.
The retention of video evidence/feedback for the requisite length of time (6 months) required for nationally accredited training is one challenge that must be managed. Video requires substantially more storage than word documents and scanned paperwork. Again, the amount of space made available through cloud based systems and other hardware is increasing and becoming more cost effective. Having a process in place to review files and delete these once the required amount of time has passed will assist. with this.
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