How an AI video competition can enhance student engagement

Teaching complex physics topics in an engaging and accessible way is a challenge, particularly at the undergraduate level. Traditional teaching methods often struggle to capture the interest of digital natives, leading to passive learning and superficial understanding. 

Integrating AI into the curriculum creates an interactive and student-centred learning environment that prevents passive learning and improves outcomes. In our first-year module “Classical physics for engineers”, we task students with using AI to make physics explainer videos by hosting a competition as an optional extra credit assignment. 

Students must work in groups of three using AI tools such as DeepSeek to design their videos. These tools streamline the script-writing process, ensuring that the content is both informative and engaging. Students can also use platforms such as Doubao to generate high-quality images to enhance the visual appeal and clarity of the content. They can then use AI tools such as CapCut to edit the videos. Features such as automatic trimming, transition smoothing, text overlay and professional voiceovers enhance the quality of the final product. 

This initiative not only enhances students’ grasp of physics concepts but also boosts engagement, promotes creativity and provides hands-on AI experience. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with students appreciating the interactive approach and its impact on their understanding of theoretical concepts. Here are tips based on the experience:

Use AI to create safety instructions

To ensure students protect themselves when recording experimental content, I recommend requiring each participant to sign a safety instruction form when submitting their intention to compete. AI was extremely helpful in preparing mine. Such tools can provide more comprehensive, nuanced and watertight instructions. The tool I used anticipated hazards I hadn’t considered, balanced caution with encouragement and layered protective measures in a cohesive flow, creating robust, student-friendly safety protocols.

My instructions, created with the help of AI: 

1. Stay safe!

Before I begin, I will inspect the entire area and remove any hazards. I will not experiment with dangerous materials, chemicals, open flames or unsafe electrical devices. I will work in a clear, open space, eliminate any risk of fire, and wear appropriate protective clothing – apron, safety goggles and gloves – whenever necessary. I will ensure there is no physical or psychological risk to myself or to others, and no chance of damaging property.

2. Ask permission

If I am filming anywhere other than my own home, I will obtain explicit permission from the property owner. I understand that the owner may not agree to activities that could be risky or disruptive.

• Spotlight guide: Bringing GenAI into the university classroom
• Three ways to use ChatGPT to enhance students’ critical thinking in the classroom
• Why I ban AI use for writing assignments

3. When in doubt, ask my teacher

If I am unsure about the safety of any part of my activity, I will email my teacher for approval before I start.

4. Have fun and learn something!

I will balance education with entertainment, expand my knowledge, and enjoy the process responsibly.

Student name: 

Signature: 

Date: 

I also found AI to be particularly adept at providing options for competition titles or video topics, planning activities and generating rubrics for marking students’ work.

Provide open-ended topics and promote freedom with AI tools 

Initially, I considered providing fixed topics and AI tools to choose from. However, I soon realised that students had their own ideas and ways of making the videos. Setting minimal limitations and encouraging students to create videos according to their preferences resulted in higher-quality, more creative videos than I had anticipated. 

Encourage voluntary group formation 

During one-to-one meetings before the competition, students mentioned that being forced to work with someone they didn’t want to work with would diminish their motivation. This is particularly true for shy students, or those who do not know their classmates well. Therefore, we do not force students to find partners. Instead, we state in the official announcement that every participant is free to enter the competition solo or in a group of up to three members. We begin a two-week “teammate-finding period” the moment we make the announcement. During these two weeks, students get to know classmates, discuss ideas and finalise their group. When the two weeks are over, each student submits their final registration by emailing the teacher personally, either confirming they will work alone or listing their teammates.

Throughout the process, explicitly state that working alone is always an acceptable option and that no justification is required. This wording removes any perceived stigma for shy students or those who simply prefer to work alone, while still giving everyone else ample opportunity to collaborate.

Let students evaluate and vote for the winner 

Allowing all students to evaluate and vote for the winner encourages students who did not participate in the competition to watch the videos and engage in the activity. According to the activity report on our online learning platform, more students watched these videos than the videos I had uploaded as extra learning resources. 

Provide sample videos as a guide 

Post-competition feedback suggested that I provide sample videos for reference to help students generate ideas. It’s worth emphasising that these are just for reference for students struggling with the task. They are not best-practice examples, and we should encourage students to think outside the box with theirs. 

By adopting a student-centred approach that leverages AI, educators can create dynamic, interactive and effective learning experiences. This approach not only meets the challenges of modern higher education but also paves the way for innovative teaching methods that can be tailored to various subjects and contexts.

Xi Chen is an associate professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

If you’d like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.