Help! My Student is Having a Hard Time Uploading a Video

Allison McComb Updated by Allison McComb

Help! My Student is Having a Hard Time Uploading a Video

Our courses sometimes include assignments in which students are required to incorporate a video recording of themselves as a component of the work. On occasion, and for a variety of reasons, a student may be unable or unwilling to submit such a video.

If this situation arises in your courses, begin by following up with the individual student to gather more information. If there is a technological hurdle or a low-level discomfort with the process, you may well be able to guide them to resources that will resolve the issue. For example, some students may find it easier to upload an Mp4 file or YouTube video recording, rather than upload to Canvas directly.

In other cases, however, you may discover that there is a more serious obstacle — for example, if the student is on active military duty, there may be a prohibition on sharing video for security and safety reasons.

In cases where there is a valid rationale, please do your best to work with the student on an alternate approach to meeting the requirement. An option we encourage is a one-on-one Zoom call, wherein the student can display their mastery of the requisite skills in essentially the same format.

Ultimately, we do expect all students to complete all course requirements, either exactly as written or through an approved alternate mechanism that meets the same standards. If you have any concerns about a student's unwillingness to follow through with the video portion of a project, or with your ability to reasonably facilitate a different solution, please reach out to the Facilitation Support Team for Guidance.

The Student Support Team can also try to help students with troubleshooting video uploads. You can direct students to reach out to them at 1-800-801-0287 or ec_helpdesk@cornell.edu

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