Use of Flipcams – GEO3030 Geographers at Work

Introduction

Faith Tucker used Flip Cameras to record interviews as part of a mock interview exercise. Here’s how she incorporated their use into her module and her observations after the event.

The exercise

Final year Geography students undertake a mock interview exercise during the autumn term as part of GEO3030 Geographers at Work. This module, which focuses on career planning and employability skills, incorporates an application exercise. Students are asked to complete a covering letter and application form for a graduate-level job. Following this, they are interviewed for the post. The interview is chaired by an experienced interviewer (someone from a local business or a senior member of University staff), with the panel made up of other members of the class. All students have the opportunity to be interviewed and take on the role of interviewer, enabling them to learn about both sides of the interview process.

Flipcams are used to record each interview. The small size of the camera helps to make the videoing process unobtrusive. Each interviewee gets a copy of their video to help them review their performance. It also acts as an aide-mémoire: at the end of the academic year students complete a reflective report in which they review their learning from the entire module, and the video provides useful reminders about the interview experience. Feedback from recent graduates reveals that some have also used the video in preparation for interviews for real jobs.

Post-exercise observations

• the cameras were very easy to use;
• it was quick and easy to download the videos;
• the quality of the sound was a bit variable (you need to be quite close to the camera for quiet voices to be picked up effectively, which wasn’t always possible in this exercise).