30. Sounds Good: Using Digital Audio for Evaluation Feedback

Abstract

Feedback on student work is problematic for faculty and students in British higher education. Evaluation feedback takes faculty much time to produce and students are often dissatisfied with its quantity, timing, and clarity. The Sounds Good project has been experimenting with the use of digital audio for feedback, aiming to save faculty time and give students richer learning experiences. Results are generally positive, with students and faculty acknowledging the higher quality of audio feedback. Favourable circumstances for timesaving have been identified and there is reason to believe that more faculty will eventually be able to save time on feedback without loss of quality. Practice recommendations for the use of audio feedback are given. Some issues for further research are identified.