A growing number of schools are using digital video as a powerful tool to convey to parents how their children are performing in the classroom. The use of dynamic video can communicate a student's abilities far more effectively than paper-based progress reports, proponents of the trend say.

Elementary school teachers in Barrington, R.I., for instance, have been showing parents videos of their children reading, to help parents truly understand what they mean during parent-teacher conferences.

Concepts such as reading ability and social interaction are difficult to illustrate verbally. So teachers at Primrose Hill School have begun recording students reading, which enables the teacher to show parents exactly what they mean by abstract terms such as "comprehension" and "word-attack."

"Sometimes at a parent conference, a parent can get lost in the jargon," said Principal Elizabeth Durfee. If a teacher can describe a child's abilities while the child's parent is watching on video, the parent can understand what the teacher is saying more clearly, she said.

Traditionally, the school's teachers have assembled paper portfolios of student work to present to parents during conferences to explain their children's progress.

Now, four teachers—in grades one through three—create web-based digital portfolios for each student that highlight each student's abilities. Each portfolio features math and writing samples, as well as video clips of the child reading and interacting socially.

"It's been so well received by our parents. They are just so fascinated by seeing their child in action," Durfee said. "It's clarified information, and it's brought them much closer to being in the classroom."

Parent volunteers are essential in helping teachers put their portfolios together, said Elizabeth Kruse, a third-grade teacher at the school.

A parent volunteer makes a video record of the students while the teacher gives the lesson. Later, the teacher looks at the video and chooses clips that demonstrate skills or problems the teacher wants to address with the parent.

Sorting through video taken of an entire classroom to pick out clips that are most relevant for each student sounds like a lot of work, but teachers say preparing in advance is far more helpful.

"I feel much more organized about the process. It's less stressful," Kruse said. "I've never been able to do 17 conferences in a day, but now I can."

Parent volunteers also scan all the math and writing samples for each portfolio. Having everything digital, on one medium, saves teachers from having to switch back and forth between digital and paper examples during the conference.

"It makes my life easier in a lot of ways," Kruse said. When it's time for the interview, teachers simply take parents through their child's portfolio.

Durfee said the video segments help parents see their child differently. The teacher can point out a child's strengths, such as leadership, collaboration, and responsibility in a group setting.