Innovation requires that you are willing to fail. I am not willing to always do what is easiest in the classroom. Occasionally my assignments include working with a non-profit or another entity and then reflecting on this work or having students do podcasts or vidcasts. I find that there are some students who are most comfortable with papers and exams.
The students need to trust me with the assignment. How do you support non-paper and exam assignments?
Dr. Janni Aragon 
I do an assignment requiring an “Ignite” presentation (5 mins – 20 slides). It requires a set of steps – annotated bib, etc – but the most important I think is having them do a “draft” of their presentation by simply shooting a video while they talk through their slides and then posting it on Youtube (or Vimeo…) for my review. They are almost always too long or too short and I can take notes as they go and them send off the email with comments.
Oh, I like that! I have had drafts and vids for specific assignments. I think it’s great to give them different modalities for presenting their work. Thanks for sharing!