Multimedia Submissions

Assignments that involve students creating multimedia are challenging for students, markers and the technology that they use. The submission methods used need to be adapted according to the type of content you ask students to create. We cannot provide one guide on how to set up submission tools for student created multimedia and therefore it is not possible to provide students with one set of instructions.

What we have done is to create four different sets of instructions for the four most common scenarios. We have create four sets of pre-fabricated resources for module builders to import into their module and each of these includes instructions for students.

Flow Chart

 

• If your assignment corresponds to one of the four standard methods then you should be able to very quickly set up your module. 
• If you are able to adjust the requirements of your module to match one of the four standard methods, especially method 2, you may save considerable effort. 
• If your multimedia assignment cannot be adapted to one of the standard methods please seek help from the digital learning service months before the module starts. We may be able to help you create a custom method. 

Why are multimedia assignments so tricky? The handling of multimedia files from students for assessment is fraught with technical challenges. 

• Files can sometimes be huge and therefore very difficult to transfer between students and markers.
• There are a bewildering number of encoding schemes.
• Video does not play well if hosted on ordinary web servers.
• Students may need to tangle with multiple software tools in combination. 

The fact that assignments have deadlines and that some modules have hundreds of students enrolled on them means that if a module leader strays into using eir own custom method of submission our support system could be overwhelmed. This could result in students receiving no support in time for their deadline. 

Accessibility 

When designing your assessment please consider the accessibility needs of both your students and markers. Multimedia presents additional challenges for accessibility, especially video. 

PowerPoint presentations containing embedded video present the greatest difficulties for students and markers with disabilities. This is because the PowerPoint files themselves are huge and are nearly impossible to distribute from students to markers but the process of converting to streaming video on Panopto renders the text content of slides inaccessible to users with visual impairments. 

PowerPoint presentations containing audio only narrations are easily distributed and provide a high level of accessibility. This is because these PowerPoint files are small enough to submit without any conversion process and markers can access them using PowerPoint itself which is a highly accessible software application. It is fairly easy to convert the audio content of the slides to transcripts for hearing impaired markers. 

Ideally you will choose a type of assessment that works well for all students and markers. However, in some circumstances you might give different instructions for some students. For example, you might require most students to include video of their head and shoulders in a PowerPoint presentation but not for a student who has visual impairment. This may lead to different instructions on how to submit work for certain students.  

Comparison of the 4 Recommended Methods 

Method 1 – Slides with Embedded Video 

• For work that consists of slides with narration and webcam video.
• The student will create a PowerPoint presentation and then use the recording feature of PowerPoint to add video of their head and shoulders to a corner of the slide and audio narration.
• The student will export the slides with video/audio to an MP4 video file on their own hard disk.
• The student will access the test and will embed their MP4 file into the text region of the submission page using Panopto Video Submission tool. (NOT upload the MP4 file or the PowerPoint file to the file attachments)
• Do NOT ask students to separately upload their PowerPoint file to the test– it will be huge and markers will find it near impossible to download all the student’s work. Do NOT ask students to upload the PowerPoint file to TurnItIn. It will be huge because of the embedded video and Turnitin cannot provide a useful originality report for slides. 

Method 2 – Slides with Embedded Audio 

• For slides with narration but no embedded video. Best method for accessibility.
• The student will create a PowerPoint presentation and then use the recording feature of PowerPoint to add audio narration.
• The student will access the test and upload their PowerPoint file as an attachment. 
• Make it clear to students that they MUST NOT record video onto their slides, only audio. Do NOT ask students to upload the PowerPoint file to TurnItIn. It is inappropriate for textual originality analysis and Turnitin is unable to adequately present slides for the insertion of feedback. 

Method 3 – One Video File 

• For a single video file created by student in various ways – screen capture, video camera recording, animation software etc. This will be technically demanding for students.
• The student will create a video file in one of a limited number of file formats and compression algorithms according to your instructions.
• The student will access the test and will embed their video file into the text region of the submission page using Panopto Video Submission tool. (NOT upload the video file to the file attachments)
• Whatever software you instruct students to use, you will need to also provide training, not merely instructions on how to use it. It is crucial that students are able to create a video file that is sufficiently compressed to make it practical for them to upload with the Panopto Video Submission tool. 

Method 4 – One Audio File 

• For an audio recording.
• Students will create an audio file using instructions you provide.
• Students will upload their audio file to a test as an attachment.
• There are many audio formats and compression algorithms. Please make sure that students are trained to understand how to produce their audio such that markers will be able to play it. 

Module Leader How-To 

• Do NOT recycle instructions and tools from the previous academic year – these will include all the glitches that caused students to repeatedly request support from the library. If you have already rolled over your MyBeckett module from a previous year delete all the items that relate to multimedia submission.
• Identify the recommended method 1 to 4 that is appropriate for the work students are doing. 
• Find the resource module
  We have created four resource modules in MyBeckett, corresponding to the four recommended methods which you can copy into your own module to provide students with instructions and submission tools. Follow our instructions on how to find and self-enrol on a resource module.
  
  • Navigate to the self enrol tool (Self enrol on a module)
  • Click on the Search Resource Modules button.
  • From the list of resource modules select and enrol on the appropriate module; Multimedia Submission Method N
  • As always it may take quit some time for the module to appear on your personal Modules page but you can immediately find it in the Module Catalogue using words from the title in the search.
• Each resource module contains instructions on how to copy the content and how to use the content when the module starts. 

Accessibility 

If you need to use a different submission method for some students for accessibility reasons, e.g. a non-video submission for a student with visual impairment, then import a different one of our packages. You will need to take steps to ensure that the right students use the right instructions and MyBeckett test using adaptive release.  

Student Creation of Multimedia 

• Please provide students with ethical guidance appropriate for the subject area. Topics will include:
  • Respect for copyright.
  • Respect for privacy and confidentiality.
  • Use of consent forms.
  • Health and safety.
• Our standard methods 1 and 2 provide students with a links to instructions on how to include narration with or without embedded video in PowerPoint. However, for methods 3 and 4 it is up to you to provide students with training with whatever tools you recommend for them to create their video or audio files.
• Please do not overestimate student’s prior skills with multimedia production. In some IT work trial and error is a reasonable strategy – but NOT with multimedia production.  There are too many ways to go wrong.
• Since many staff are familiar with using Panopto to record lectures they sometimes tell students to also use it to create their video material.  Our experience is that many students find Panopto Recorder for Windows frustrating to use without significant training.
• Please consider recommending much simpler software for video creation – for example;
  • The screen capture tool built into Windows as standard.
  • A mobile phone recording.
• Unless your course or module includes advanced video production in the learning outcomes don’t expect your students to use video postproduction tools.