The cooking video project I referred to in the introductions forum, for instance, emerged in class when the kids themselves asked whether we could have a cooking class at the school cafeteria to prepare the recipes they had read about or favourites they brought from home. I told them I could not do it with the whole class for safety reasons but suggested they make a video of themselves in pairs preparing a recipe at home, which would count for an extra mark.
I work with young kids (12/13 year olds), whose language is not English, so it is crucial for them to have the task, preparation steps clearly defined and explained, the criteria for evaluation shown and discussed beforehand.
When they agreed to doing the project and we set the deadlines, I gave them the steps (task, plan, vocabulary to priviledge, evaluation criteria) and also offered extra help after class for those who did not feel comfortable or had some kind of problem with the software (very few).
The overall result (see the links to various videos at the bottom of the page) in terms of language and performance went beyond my expectation. They were proud of their productions and most enjoyed the whole project immensely. The kids also brought the food to class and shared them with their colleagues. (See photos)