12 posts of Christmas: 9 presentations. An iPad surrounded by presents to represent Panopto presentations.

12 posts of Christmas: 9 presentations. An iPad surrounded by presents to represent Panopto presentations.

Improving assessment reliability and student experience with a particular focus on student feedback and opportunities for reflection

A general criticism of many areas of learning in HE has been around the quality of student feedback. If students have taken part in a practical activity, for example teaching a group of school students or even delivering a presentation, they really do need the opportunity to get good quality feedback. This feedback will identify a student’s strengths and weaknesses so that they can move forward and improve.

The Kolb Cycle: concrete experience - observations and reflections - formation of abstract concepts and generalisations - testing implications of concepts in new situations.
The Kolb Cycle

There are many general theories on how learning happens. Most educators agree that opportunities for reflection and abstract conceptualisation are key to the learning process.

A student using a stethoscope on a patient sitting on a bed as part of an OSPE examination.
A student takes part in an OSPE as part of his assessment.

Physiotherapy staff (cardiovascular and respiratory) have been working with the Digital Learning Team. We are using Panopto to capture on video “Observed Structured Practical Examinations”, (OSPEs) performed by students as part of their assessment.

These assessments last about 30 minutes. The ‘live’ marking of numerous criteria as well as observing potentially dangerous practice is difficult to achieve, record and moderate without recourse to video.

Lengthy rounds of video recording and editing are highly technical and time-consuming. The same is true for the individual discrete deployment of each video to students, in a timely fashion.

By using Panopto, a series of video sessions can be created in advance, by uploading an excel spreadsheet with the help of iSolutions. Individual sessions can be recorded using a low-cost webcam and a Bluetooth microphone.

Extract from an Excel spreadsheet.
Sample format of the spreadsheet.

iSolutions send you back a complete list of all the students with links to the videos.

There are numerous advantages to conventional video recording

  • There is no editing involved
  • No lengthy manual uploading, to say youtube
  • Deployment is automatic
  • Each link is password-protected, so each student can see only their own video
  • Assessors can see all recordings
  • Each video is available within a few minutes of the OSPE being completed
  • Moderation between assessors is easily achievable making marking much more secure.

Potential advantages going forward

  • Each video in Panoto has a notes field (ringed in red below) and it is possible for live annotation (of assessment criteria, for example) during the video to be attached to specific points on the timeline. Mobile devices with a browser extension can be employed to use speed keys for assessment comments.
  • A discussion field (for text) can be employed by students to comment on their own reflections on their performance within the video, again attached to the timeline.
  • Panopto by its very nature can employ multiple sources. We have worked with two cameras and a view of a patient monitor (top left in the image below), giving an accurate picture of all the circumstances surrounding a patient examination.
A screenshot from Panopto.
Using Panopto with multiple sources reflecting the clinical environment.

Panopto can be used in so many different ways where we want to deploy individual videos to individual students. We are also using the system so students can record over 800 individual, ongoing therapeutic practice interviews in Therapeutic Engagements in Occupational Therapy Practice.

Time-saving and secure, with the encouragement and monitoring of genuine student reflection.

Panopto for Student Presentations and Assessment

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