Understanding the Student View of Video Response Questions

When you add a Video Response question to an assessment, students move through a guided sequence: reading the prompt, preparing, recording, and (if needed) re-attempting and choosing the best recording, before finally submitting. Seeing this sequence from the student's side helps you write tighter prompts, set realistic time limits, and answer student questions before they come up.

This article will guide you through:

1. What a student sees when a Video Response question opens
2. How preparation time works from the student's side
3. How students record and review their responses
4. How attempts and re-attempts appear to students

What does a student see when a Video Response question opens?

Device Check

Students will receive a prompt to allow Cadmus to use their device's camera and audio. After clicking “Allow”, they will see:

On the left-hand side you can see the Assessment outline. At this point, the Oral question prompt is not yet showing (still hidden).

If the device check is successful, the student will see a Green checklist similar to above, and they can click “Next” to proceed towards the questions.

Viewing the Question

At this stage, the question prompt is still hidden, but they can see:

• The required response time
• How long will they have to prepare
• And the number of attempts aligns with what is set in the Assessment settings.
• They can also move between questions (if Backtracking is turned on)
• They can also bookmark the question and view the Rubric attached. Please note that students cannot see your marking rubric unless you've switched on Show rubrics to students in the assessment settings.

How does preparation time work for students?

Once a student starts a question, they will be able to view the question prompt on the left hand side, and their Preparation time countdown begins.

Preparation time is the window you set to let students think and plan before recording.

They can also opt to skip the countdown entirely by clicking “Start Recording Early”

During the recording

When the Countdown runs out, the recording automatically starts in the same Cadmus tab (no pop up)

Please note that:

• If you've enabled Video mandatory, students must keep their camera on for the full recording.
• They can click Stop Recording anytime before the timer runs out, and will receive the following confirmation screen:

• Once confirmed, they receive a notification in the bottom right corner that their recording is saved, and have the option to rewatch their recorded video.

Re-attempting the video

For each question, students are able to see how many attempts they have remaining.

It’s worth noting that:

• If Re-attempts will expire are switched on in Assessment settings, students will see a countdown showing how long they have to start their next attempt before it expires. Example below:

• If Backtracking is disabled, students won't be able to return to a question they've already attempted or skipped — worth flagging in your instructions if your cohort tends to want to revisit answers.
• If the student logged multiple attempts, they will have the choice to pick the recording they want to submit, as shown here:

• Once they have selected their recording, students can then proceed to the next question and submit their work as normal. 

After submission

If Students will receive their submission PDF is enabled, students can download a copy of their submission after finishing.