Using audio to provide general feedback on exams, Dr Bill Dixon

Dr Bill Dixon (School of Sociology and Criminology) provides a description of his experiences of using audio to provide general feedback to all students on a module in relation to a multiple choice exam.

1.    In the project what technology and /or process did you use to provide feedback to students?

I wanted to provide generic feedback in an accessible format to first year students on an MCQ exam.  I recorded a sound file in MP3 format using a very simple recorder provided by the STAF project and uploaded it to the module section (CRI-10010 Understanding Crime) on the KLE.  

2.    Prior to the project how would you normally provide feedback to students?

In previous years I had provided written generic feedback in the form of a Word document posted on the KLE.  I was disappointed by the number of students accessing this feedback and given up doing so in 2009/10.

3.     Did you find providing feedback was more or less efficient than the process normally used?

Yes.  Although the process was new to me and I made several false starts with the recording, it took me no more than an hour to record and upload a 17 minute sound file.  Writing a Word document covering the same ground has taken me up to 2 hours in the past.

4.     Did using the technology allow you to provide richer or more detailed feedback to students when compared with the ‘normal’ process used?

It is hard to say whether the feedback provided in the sound file was richer or more detailed but it may well have seemed to be more immediate and personal.  But I have no hard evidence to support this hunch.

5.     Do you think that the students benefited from the change in feedback process? (Why? What is your data?)

With roughly similar numbers of students registered on the module the total number of visits to the audio file in 2010/11 from the date of release to 27th May was 52.  The corresponding number of visits to the Word document made available in 2008/9 was 29 over the same period.  

6.    From your perspective, what were the main advantages of using this process to produce feedback?

From my perspective the strengths of this process are the sense of immediacy (perhaps even intimacy) that a sound file provides and the time saved in creating such a file rather than a written document.

7.    From your perspective, were there any disadvantages to using this process to deliver feedback?

None.

8.    How do you think the process used could be improved to make it easier to use?

No - like most things, practice will make the process (more) perfect.

9.    Will you continue to use the intervention in your teaching practice? If not, what would need to change for you to adopt the intervention as current practice?

I would certainly use a sound file to provide generic exam feedback again.  Since using this technology to record feedback I have also used it to record an entire lecture which was then uploaded to the KLE.  

Using audio for feedback on assessments

Supported by project STAF Dr Dave McGarvey has been using audio to provide feedback on a range of assessments. A detailed explanation of the approach take can be found here using audio feedback on assessments, a video outlining his experience of providing feedback in this way can be found here, part 1 and part 2

Providing audio feedback to level 3 Psychology students, Professor Nicky Edelstyn

In this recording (audio file) Professor Nicky Edelstyn discusses her experiences of providing audio feedback to third year students in her special interest group.  The feedback was delivered to the students through the KLE via a private discussion journal.  The experience from a student’s perspective was quite positive, some student comments are noted below.   

“Audio feedback worked fine. I really liked feedback being presented in this way, and I feel I've got a lot more out of it than just reading a  feedback sheet.”

“I liked the audio feedback as sometimes written feedback can be misunderstood or hard to read. However, I think there were some issues in the practicalities of distributing the audio feedback- so this probably needs to be considered in more detail.”

“I found the audio feedback much more useful than the standard feedback sheet in seeing where exactly I went wrong, and could take from that a better idea of where to improve in the future. Thank you”

“I really enjoyed getting the audio feedback and I thought it was a new and inventive way of getting feedback. It was a very good idea as you were able to ask question on what you thought you didn't do well on and get clarification. So all in all I think this type of feedback should be use more universally and often.”

Using audio feedback and electronic submission for French Language students, Mr Yvan Tardy

In this recording (audio file) Yvan Tardy outlines how he used audio files to provide feedback to students and his perception of its use. This projects method was for students to submit word files to the KLE Yvan then used word track changes combined with audio files as feedback these files were then delivered through the KLE back to students. Amongst his findings Yvan found that the feedback from the students was positive and that he could convey a lot more information using audio than he could in written form. He also found that it was much easier to explain where mistakes in the French language were using audio. Yvan is moving towards trying screen capture for feedback next and asking the students to submit some assessments as audio files

Providing all students with feedback on their OSCE’s performance via an interactive website, Adrain Molyneux and Chris Harrison

Providing all students with feedback on their OSCE’s performance via an interactive website, Adrian Molyneux and Chris Harrison

The National Student Survey (NSS) has demonstrated a strong student desire for more, and more timely, feedback. Assessments in medical education, especially Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs), are particularly expensive, so it makes sense to maximise the value that can be obtained from them. Traditionally, feedback following ‘high-stakes’ summative OSCEs has been limited to confirmation of whether students have passed or failed. Feedback after OSCEs is likely to be popular with students and provides value for money. However, the feasibility of providing detailed feedback to whole year groups is difficult. Most resources are therefore usually invested in students who fail assessments. However, all students would benefit from feedback to improve their performance. This is particularly relevant in healthcare, where it is important to identify potential gaps in a student’s competence, even when they have passed an assessment overall. 

To try to meet these conflicting needs, we have designed an interactive website to deliver feedback after all OSCEs and OSSEs. It is designed to upload spreadsheets created for the exam board in a simple process to enable delivery of feedback at the same time as release of results, via the institutional VLE. Students are given options to receive the feedback in a variety of different formats, including station-by-station analysis or analysis of their performance in certain skill domains across multiple stations. Guidance is given to help students reflect on the feedback and develop an action plan. When it was introduced to Year 1 students, 130 students made over 4000 separate page hits within the first 24 hours. We are performing detailed evaluation of how students use the website and how long they spend on different sections. 

Following this successful trial and enthusiastic acceptance by students, this method of dissemination of students’ performance and feedback will be embedded in our practices.  It is planned to evolve the process to harvest and deliver richer content and offer compatibility with the ever growing desire to access tailored content on mobile devices.

This is an ongoing innovation for further details on its progress please contact Adrian Molyneux or Chris Harrison

A reflective piece about using audio files for feedback, Louise Vincent

Louise Vincent used audio files to provide feedback to students on a BSc programme in Children's Nursing.  In this piece Louise explains audio feedback was chosen, the approach she took and what she found.  The full reflection can be found here

Audio feedback resource

What is audio feedback?

Audio feedback is using the spoken voice to provide feedback to students on formative or summative assessments. This could be general cohort level feedback or specific feedback to individuals.

Why use audio feedback?

Providing audio feedback to students can have a range of benefits for both the marker and student. One student notes “Audio feedback worked fine. I really liked feedback being presented in this way, and I feel I’ve got a lot more out of it than just reading a feedback sheet”

The main advantages for the student include

• Allowing for timely feedback
• Allowing for richer more detailed feedback to be produced, a lot more can be conveyed to a student in 5 minutes of speech than the equivalent written or typed.
• The feedback is more portable, it can easily be downloaded by the student and reused
• Evidence suggests that students feel feedback produced in this way is more personable and         understandable as the intonation of voice is clear.

Members of staff that have been using audio feedback noted that it allows them to provide richer more detailed feedback in the same amount of time as ‘normal’ written feedback. The main advantages for staff can include

• The ability to provide richer more detailed feedback
• When explaining complex concepts it is often easier and quicker to explain these verbally than to write them.
• It can take the same amount of time to produce more detailed feedback to students

How do I produce audio feedback?

The main methods of producing audio feedback include

• Using a digital voice recorder available from Audio Visual Services.
• Using the recording features built into your laptop, desktop PC or mobile device.

How do I deliver audio feedback?

Audio feedback can be delivered to students through the Institutional VLE for further details on how to do this please refer to http://www.keele.ac.uk/lpdc/learningandteaching/technologysupportingassessmentandfeedback/ and locate the ‘project STAF consultation paper’.

Tips for providing audio feedback

1. Make sure you are in quiet space
2. Turn off your phone
3. Prepare some notes or prompts for yourself before hand
4. If using a voice recorder make sure to make a note of the file number against the student number. This helps you to identify which file is for which student
5. For better audio quality use a microphone (available from the LPDC)
6. If you want to provide textual comments as well or follow a standard proforma, embed the audio file into a word doc (resources http://tinyurl.com/5sx8ual)
7. Try to keep the recording to about 5mins
8. Don’t feel your recording has to be perfect stumbles can add a human element.
9. Tell the students what you are doing and why

Resources and further information

• http://tinyurl.com/staffexperiences
• Bob Rotherham project sounds good.http://sites.google.com/site/soundsgooduk/
• AFAL project. http://sites.google.com/site/audiofeedbackuk/
• ASEL Project http://aselproject.wordpress.com
• JISC digital Media http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk
• Project STAF blog http://tinyurl.com/5sx8ual
• http://www.enhancingfeedback.ed.ac.uk/staff/resources/newways.html