Using Screencasting and Grademark to provide feedback, Dr Sheila Hope

In this recording (video file) Dr Sheila Hope outlines her experiences of providing feedback using Grademark and screen capture software Camtasia.  More specifically she describes the practical issues faced and compares the use of jing (freely available screen capture software) with Camtasia a more complex programme, and details how else she has been using Camtasia to support student learning.  In this project the general process followed was students would submit their assignment to a Turnitin drop box in the VLE where the work would be marked using Camtasia to record the comments and screen actions.

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 Screencasting to provide timely general feedback on assessments, Dr Katherine Haxton

Screencasting, also known as vodcasting, offers a means of providing mini-lectures working through answers to assessments that students can view at a time and place of their choosing, rather than being forced to listen in a timetabled class.  Crucially, screencasts of model answers and problem solving allow teachers to reveal their problem solving strategy, something not easily conveyed with written answers. 

We use a Toshiba tablet PC running Windows 7 and Camtasia Studio 7 and a digital voice recorder was used in place of the internal microphone to record high quality audio which was then edited into the screencast. The screencasts were edited before production of the video to remove any awkward pauses or stumbles.  This enabled the screencasts to be recorded in one attempt. Custom production settings were used within Camtasia Studio 7 to enable a table of contents to be produced in the finished video. This allows students to navigate to a specific part of the screencast, for example a specific PowerPoint slide title, enabling them to revisit content easily. Screencasts were approximately 5 minutes in length (the maximum length for online production) and took around 20 minutes to prepare, record and edit each after the initial learning curve. 

Screencasts were used to provide model answers to a number of class tests in the 2010/11 academic year including those involving spectroscopic data interpretation and main group inorganic chemistry. For first year Chemistry, screencast model answers and feedback were provided in addition to marked class test scripts, but the level of feedback offered on the marked scripts was reduced to only the key points and uncommon errors, and students were directed to consult the screencast model answer feedback.  

Screencasts were well received by the students with most rating them equal to or better than written, individual feedback. 

In particular, the opportunity to watch and see the problem solving strategy was identified as particularly useful:

“I found the video feedback to be very helpful.  It allowed me to look at my answers in the comfort of my own home, without using up valuable problem class / lecture time.  [The] commentary highlighted some points that would not have been easily conveyed in writing alone.” – First Year Student

Please see below for a more video of Dr Katherine Haxton explaining more  

http://tinyurl.com/projectstaf-eval-Katherine 

Providing video feedback to Music Technology Students, Dr Diego Garro

In this recording Dr Diego Garro discusses his experiences of providing video feedback to students, the recording has been separated in to three parts, part 1, part 2, part 3.  The students submitted a portfolio of video clips on video-DVD.  Feedback was recorded by playing  the video-DVD back on the computer and recording, with a screen-capture application, the computer output and sound/video from a webcam. A talking head will appear, in the video feedback, in a little inset window inside the DVD player window. Comments will be provided on parts of the videoclips.  Feedback was then delivered to the students through the KLE.

This approach was taken on a level 2 module in music technology consisting of 35 students.

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

Moving from paper to online marking using Grademark, Dr Mark Featherstone

In this project Dr Mark Featherstone moved from paper based assignment marking and feedback to electronic marking and feedback using Grademark.  This was initially tried on a small piece of written work.  It worked well so Mark decided to use Grademark on a larger piece of written work (circa 2500 words for 25 students).  Outlined below are Marks findings, to summarise he found that using Grademark changed the way he marked and allowed him to provide richer more detailed feedback to students.  

Comments from the students included 

“The electronic feedback was very helpful and made my research proposal have a better direction and conclusion”

“Electronic feedback was fantastic, best and most helpful way I’ve had work marked so far at uni”

“Electronic feedback was positive and encouraging. Provided new links to further improve quality of word project”

Responses to Questions

Further details of his experience can be found here 

Using a tablet PC and Grademark for online marking, Dr Jan Hoole

Dr Jan Hoole describes her experience of using a tablet PC to mark using Grademark.  She finds that the tablet PC didn’t suit her style of marking but was impressed by the features Grademark offered.  This was project was carried out with a group of MSc students in Life Sciences.  The recording is three parts, part 1,part 2 and part 3