This page describes various tools available to instructors for conducting video-based assessments and related activities. Flipgrid, GoReact, and VoiceThread are all video-based tools, but it can be hard to know which one to use. All three tools have strengths and weaknesses for any given activity, and all three tools send grades into the Canvas grade book. Read on for information that will clarify which tool is right for your activity.
Overall consideration: Will your activity benefit from the ability to use multiple slides or media objects within a single presentation?
Tool Comparison
» Shared features of Flipgrid and GoReact:
- Ability to assign/upload a prompt video and require basic commenting.
- Ability for students to upload media content as part of their engagement in an activity
- Ability for students to trim the start and end of a web camera recording before submitting.
- Ability for students to reply directly to other students’ responses (threaded discussion)
- Ability for students to link to a YouTube video as the substance of their response/reply
- Ability to set a time limit for primary submissions
- Ability to limit students to a single submission (exam situation)
Choose Flipgrid in the following situations:
- You want students to discuss a single topic or question using video replies instead of typed text, whether graded or ungraded.
- You want to view student posts and grade them using Canvas's SpeedGrader tool.
Choose GoReact in the following situations:
- You want students to record or upload a video file that will be critiqued/graded by you, possibly with comments by other students (using voice, video, or text).
- You want peer feedback on submissions to be an integral part of the activity experience, including peer feedback rubrics.
- You want a group of students to be able to record a live meeting and submit it.
- You want to create and use a rubric as part of the final grade.
- You don’t need to use SpeedGrader to grade student work in the activity (grades are still passed back to Canvas)
Choose VoiceThread in any of the following situations:
- You want students to build, narrate, and submit a multi-slide multimedia presentation from scratch, either individually or as a group.
- You want all students to watch and comment on their peers’ presentations.
- You want students to have a web discussion (using voice, video, or text) within the context of a larger slide presentation.
- You want students to use a single VT to have a web discussion by choosing from multiple topics/prompts.
- You want students to contribute media/videos to a common class-wide presentation and record comments.
- You don't need to use SpeedGrader to grade student work in the activity (grades are still passed back to Canvas)
Shared features of all tools:
- Canvas integration for grading and due dates (due dates enforced by Canvas, not the tool)
- Moderating/hiding of student posts or feedback until revealed by instructor
- Ability for students to upload media content as part of their engagement in an activity
- Recording direct replies to specific posts
- Incorporate a wide range of media documents, videos, files, etc. into an activity (attachments to videos in GoReact)
Looking for Panopto?
The three tools compared on this page are ideally suited for assessments where students create video content and members of the course engage with it in some way. Panopto is geared much more toward video delivery in the form of course resources. While Panopto does have a worthwhile quiz feature that can be integrated with the Canvas grade book, its own video assignment feature is much less developed than the options available through GoReact, VoiceThread, and Flipgrid.
Questions?
To consult with an instructional designer about your pedagogical needs and the tools available, please contact oat@csustan.edu.