Employing history: Enhancing ‘employability’ in BA history degrees with recorded video presentation assessments

Abstract

Until recently, British university history departments have rarely made use of assessed recorded video presentations. Inspired by the increased popularity of Online Educational Resources (OERs), it moves away from traditional essays, exams, and oral presentation-centred assessment strategies. This article outlines an intervention undertaken on a first-year cultural history module to incorporate such an assessment and evaluates its effectiveness in promoting greater ‘digital literacy’. Building on the greater availability of more effective submission platforms, and acknowledging increased student tech-literacy, changing skill requirements for history-related career paths and the growing significance of the employability agenda, the article explores how history graduates can be made more ‘employable’. Using a mixture of open questionnaires and a focus group, student experience and interpretation is used to gauge the effectiveness of the intervention from the perspective of its prospective beneficiaries.