Using audio-recording equipment to record feedback given to a piece of student work. The recordings are uploaded to the VLE. Students are given extra-credits if they access the recordings and if they can demonstrate that they acted on the recommendations. The recordings give clues and direct students to additional resources (books, web-based, etc.). Advantages: quicker and more efficient (and more personalised) way of providing feedback; increased chance of students acting on feedback.
A reminder of the guiding questions:
- How would you actually do this in your classroom?
- What would students actually do?
- What other tools and resources would you use or suggest?
- What would students be learning?
- How would you evaluate and assess what they are learning?
- What else would you do and/or who else would you involve?
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Draft narrative overview (21 June 2012): Ms L is familiar with the VLE and is interested in new approaches to assessment for learning through technology. She agrees with the head teacher to start a pilot project that will attempt a radical change in the way feedback is given to students, and in how students act on such feedback. Students in a number of classrooms are involved in the pilot. Over a semester, Ms L agrees with her students on two or three “feedback target weeks”. During these weeks, holistic feedback about students’ overall performance up to that point will be provided. Ms L will tailor the feedback to individual students, but such feedback will not be given during time consuming and potentially embarrassing face-to-face sessions. Instead, it will be recorded and uploaded to the VLE: this will allow Ms L to save a huge amount of time.The feedback produced is stored in audio or video form on the VLE – or on the [iTEC resource]. students can only see the feedback that concerns them by logging in the system with their credentials. They can do so in their own time and in the privacy of their homes if the wish so. The feedback stored on the VLE is accompanied by a number of “recommendations” made by Ms L, e.g. “read these papers”; “research the following websites”; “complete this quiz only when you feel ready ”, etc. The aim of this new approach to feedback is to help clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards), by providing opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance, and allowing students to use the feedback to produce improved work. The system could easily allow the teacher to create a “general” feedback, applicable to all students, in which criteria and expected standards are spelt out. Students will be able to access this part of the feedback as a “refresher” in their own time, in addition to the part of the feedback that is tailored to them and hence only visible by them. The VLE could allow the teacher to easily make and edit recordings which have public, accessible by all, sections and personal sections.The system could also allow other teachers to add their recommendations and make suggestions to encourage cross-curricular learning and assessment. Ms L can track whether the students have acted on the recommendations. She and the head teacher are thinking of expanding the program to the whole school, and they are planning to use the permanent audio records to showcase the school’s good work during future school inspections.
Draft scenario 6 ,
What follows is a summary of the main comments and suggestions made by those who took part in the first Skype meeting on Monday 7th May 2012.
This is another potentially very useful scenario, quick and easy to implement assuming the technology is available. The idea of audio feedback is very interesting from an assessment perspective, and a permanent audio record could also be used in the context of school inspections to showcase the work carried out by teachers. It’s even better if you can also track what students have done in response to the feedback, for example seeing if they have accessed materials or clicked on suggested links. Some of the tools already developed for iTEC might be used to collect audio feedback, such as team-up. An audio feedback would be particularly useful in the context of language teaching, for example a teacher could give pronunciation tips which is clearly far better than a written feedback.