How many professors actually enjoy marking papers…I mean REALLY enjoy marking papers? Now there are those few students who are able to create a masterpiece that is enjoyable to read; however, many times those students seem to be few and far between. For the most part, the enjoyment of reading student papers is overshadowed by multiple grammar and spelling errors to the misuse of the APA format. Then, after working your way through the paper, you have to try to provide meaningful feedback in a typed or written message.
I always try to come up with something new when teaching online, and a few years ago I read an article on audio feedback and always wanted to try it, but never really had the opportunity. This term, for the first assignment, I tried audio feedback in place of written feedback. Now, when making audio recordings, I usually use Audacity and my headset; however, this time I thought I would use my pocket voice recorder (exactly as shown below) that I purchased a few years ago and didn’t really use too much. It is a great little gadget that actually separates into 2 revealing a USB stick that you just plug into your computer and upload the voice file.
So, as I was reading the student papers in digital format, I marked them up with comments (Note: sometimes the comments only made sense to me…but no worry). When finished marking, I went back to the first page, turned on the recorder, and then provided page-by-page voice feedback. When students were having difficulty with the overall organization of their papers, I found it was easier to talk about how to improve their writing than to write paragraphs on how they could improve. I did receive positive comments about the feedback, and today, I posted an informal survey in the course asking about the audio feedback and if I should continue to use it for future assignments. I also think that it not only adds to teaching presence, but adds to the much needed social presence in an online learning environment.
Try it out, especially in courses that you never meet your students face-to-face as they like to hear that there is a real person on the other end! It also adds some interest to the paper marking process. Videos also help in connecting with your students (I did that at the beginning of the course..a flip video camera makes it super easy to do).
Try it out, especially in courses that you never meet your students face-to-face as they like to hear that there is a real person on the other end! It also adds some interest to the paper marking process. Videos also help in connecting with your students (I did that at the beginning of the course..a flip video camera makes it super easy to do).
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