[MUSIC] In this case study, we look at how teachers can use audio feedback in their online teaching practice. Audio recordings, are a very powerful and very efficient form of student feedback. And they can be used on any device, such as your computer or even your phone. In this case study, Simon McIntyre, from COFA.online uses audio feedback, to engage his students in a fully online post graduate program. >> I teach a class, of about 30 students, which is a core course within that degree. And they're all fully online students. Maybe one or two live in Sydney, but the rest are from overseas and rural Australia. I think the main thing that prompted me to start using audio feedback, was the fact that, when I was marking assignments, it actually took a long time to write a decent amount of feedback for students. So I could take anywhere between 30 or 40 minutes, to write what I consider to be good feedback. So by picking up my iPod and actually speaking that feedback, it just saved me a tremendous amount of time. We're working in an art and design faculty here, but it could work equally well in the sciences, medicine, law, etc. Okay so, this is my course. The Cross Disciplinary Art and Design 1 core course, of our master's program. Some of my students have done, a Wiki report. So once I've actually looked at the student's work on the screen, I simply jump in to a program called Audacity. Which is a free piece of software you can download online. And, using the built in microphone on my computer, or an external mic, I can just press record and start giving my feedback to the students. Hi team pixel. Thanks very much for your project portfolio B report. It's a really thorough piece of analysis, and I'm really glad that your online collaborative skills, have built up over the course of the program. To enable you to work so well together. Now once I've finished recording my feedback, I can listen to it again. >> Hi team pixel? And thanks very much for your project portfolio B report. >> And with this software, I can quickly edit things, just like in a word processor. By quickly dragging. Pressing delete, and moving things around. I can also, press record again if I've made a mistake and record some other part. And once again team, I think it's been fantastic that you've worked together so well. Congratulations! Now the easiest file format that you can use to deliver this feedback to students. Is an MP3. It works on just about every computer without the students needing to get other pieces of software to play it back. So Audacity, has the option to Export As MP3. Now if you choose that, this is going to merge it into one file for me. I can give my feedback a name. [SOUND] And just hit OK. [BLANK_AUDIO] Okay, so that's rendered that file out for me now. There's the MP3 file, and I can see that it's very very small, so it's great for delivering over the internet. I actually upload this into the portfolio area. Where, they can keep it private. And there that file is for the student online, so at any time they can come in and listen to live, just by clicking. >> Hi team pixel and thanks very much for your project portfolio B report. >> If they want to they can also download the original file from here. So that they can keep it on their desktop, or put it onto their iPod or any other audio playing device they may have. I did this to save time for myself, but when the students first received this audio feedback, they had this tremendous sense of connection back to me as a teacher, and because I never see my students face to face. They actually found that incredibly valuable. LIke they got to know me a little bit better. >> It also gives that personal touch, the human touch to your course. Which sometimes can be a challenge, in online learning. >> If I'm giving student feedback and recording it. I usually don't plan it first. What I usually do, is I'll download their assignment, I'll look at their work online, I don't actually print anything off these days, and as I'm reading it, I sort of may make one or two notes on a piece of paper, but then I just switch on the recording and just talk. Teachers don't need much technical skill at all to do this. When I started doing this, I actually. Had an iPod, this is one of the older models now but it wasn't back then, and I just bought a little microphone from the Apple store that I could just plug right into the bottom there, [SOUND] and literally start giving feedback and recording it from here, and then just downloading that into iTunes. So it's great if you're giving people feedback people have their work all around a room or something like that, you can walk around and do it. If it's something that I'm marking on the computer screen, I just use something like a program called Audacity or I also use Quicktime Pro, just to record straight into the computer, and then it's done. I don't treat it any differently to any other form of feedback. You've got to be true to yourself, and to the student's needs too. >> With audio feedback, it absolutely doesn't matter if the lecturer stutters, or pause in his emphatics. It does humanise the feedback a lot. >> Having that conversation with the student, that's what really matters. Getting to the crux of the feedback. The issues, what's going to help the student learn, that's what's important, rather than sounding, super polished or, professional. I felt quite self conscious to start with, but, I, I, I guess that after you've done it one or two times, you start to forget, that you're actually recording, and it's sounds like you're having a conversation with the student, so that becomes a lot easier. >> I appreciated the fact that the audio feedback came. To me, in a private section nobody else could access it. >> I upload my file into a private area for the student. Personally, I don't like giving audio feedback in a way that other students can hear it. In my mind it's between me and that student. And they can share it if they like. >> If it's a positive thing, then I'm very happy. But if I need to work on some things, I would like to. Have that told to me in a, private conversation rather than in a way that other people can listen in. >> When I'm using audio feedback, in terms of my teaching, I don't necessarily use it for every aspect of the online course. To me, using the message board and having those written threads is still very important. So that they form a record of learning, and students can look back. So I just use audio feedback for main assessment points. When students are submitting final assignments, and that kind of thing. It doesn't have to actually be used in the context of a fully online course. You could actually have a face to face class, and give feedback to students, using audio feedback. Because they've got that archive of, of the feedback there. The feedback that I get from the students, tells me that it's worthwhile because they themselves get such a greater depth of understanding of what I'm trying to say, when it's not just called words on the screen. >> I would encourage all lecturers to try the audio feedback, because as a student. It has more impact. [BLANK_AUDIO]
