Imagine this: participants creating their own videos about what they’ve learned. Not as homework that gets filed away, but as a powerful learning exercise that encourages reflection, elicits feedback, and makes the next session much more meaningful. With LearningStone and one well-designed assignment, you can make it happen.
This is an article in the "Blended training activities with LearningStone" series of the LearningStone blog - for trainers who want to get more out of their learning environment.
Explain what the assignment involves, what participants will learn from it, and explicitly state that the videos will remain private within the group. After the training, they will removed. This lowers the threshold enormously. Come up with a fun title for the assignment, depending on your target audience.
Describe the assignment in a text block in the LearningStone course timeline. Add a direct link to the correct folder in LearningStone Docs (or use the alias /group/docs), so participants know exactly where to go. Give tips (feel free to copy the tips below!).
Once you’ve written this down once, you can reuse this assignment with very little effort!
Participants upload their video to the shared folder in LearningStone Docs - a kind of online Dropbox within your own learning environment. Clear, secure, and easy to find. In Docs, you can create group folders, folders for subgroups, or private folders that are useful for exchanges with the trainer or coach.
Each participant watches videos from others and gives feedback at least three times. This reactivates learning: you need to understand the material to be able to give good feedback. Respondents can give feedback using the comment feature in LearningStone, or you can ask everyone to prepare it for the session, or both!
Discuss the best videos plenarily. What stood out? What did it trigger? This very conversation - fueled by real examples from the group itself — is what completes the learning activity.
Always hold your phone horizontally (landscape). Vertical videos create ugly black bars on the screen and look unprofessional.
One minute goes by quickly. Make one or two test recordings so you know what you want to say - and how long it takes.
Face a window or a lamp. Lighting from behind makes you look dark and unrecognizable. Daylight is your best friend.
Place your phone on a stack of books, lean it against a wall, or use a tripod. Shaky footage is tiring to watch.
Smartphones pick up background noise well, but soft voices get lost. Speak as if you’re addressing someone two meters away.
Choose a quiet place with no clutter in the frame. A neutral wall or a bookshelf works fine — the message should be central, not the surroundings.
In the first five seconds, say what the video is about — otherwise viewers tune out quickly. End with a clear conclusion or insight so the video feels complete. Only stop recording once you’ve finished speaking, not while you’re still trailing off.
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