[Linda Creanor]

I’m enjoying this discussion and all the different examples of feedback approaches. There’s been a big increase in the use of Turnitin and Grademark at my own university (Glasgow Caledonian) and the audio feedback tool is being used successfully by a number of lecturers in different discipline areas.

I’ve also seen Jing (http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html) being used very effectively to provide video feedback – up to 5 minute clips with the free version.

I’m doing an OU Beginner’s Spanish course just now (why did I ever think I’d have time for this!) which includes a mix of audio and written assignments. Detailed tutor feedback is provided in audio format  along with a short written summary of the main points. In a language context this works very well indeed, and from a student perspective, the audio feedback   feels very personal and motivating.

Linda

 

[Linda Creanor]

These are really useful references – thanks everyone.

Linda

[Linda Creanor]

Yes, peer assessment/review is a powerful way of promoting deeper engagement with the topic and for encouraging students to reflect on their own performance. I also think it’s an approach we could be using more with novice teachers as part of PGCE programmes as it can be a valuable experience for lecturers to be put in the position of giving and receiving constructive feedback in this way, and gaining an insight into how the students might feel about it.

If anyone is doing this, either using WebPA or any other TEL approach, I’d be very interested to hear about it.

Linda

[Linda Creanor]

This is an interesting example Stephen, and I agree with both you and Sancha that there is a place for different theoretical approaches within the same learning context.

An example that comes to mind for me is from a colleague who teaches journalism. He makes use of a range of technologies in his teaching and has developed an effective way of using wikis as part of the postgraduate programme.  In media ethics for example, he’ll seed a wiki with a description of a controversial situation (usually taken from a real news item) and invite the students to add their views, backed up by relevant links, photos and other resources. The students are graded individually on their contributions, based on a set of criteria which they agree to beforehand. Like Stephen’s example, this reflects both situative and social constructivist  approaches. It also highlights the importance of what Gilly Salmon calls a ‘spark’ to engage students and encourage participation.

Assessing these types of approaches is challenging though. In my own experience, I’ve found that involving the students in agreeing the assessment criteria can help with the level of engagement and the quality of contributions. This is also something which David Nicol recommends too, backed up by findings from the REAP project http://www.reap.ac.uk

Linda

[Linda Creanor]

Thanks Ali and Elizabeth for your reflections on what appear to have been very positive experiences of  tutor feedback. I think this type of engagement is what we should all be aiming for, whether we’re students or tutors.

I’d be interested to know how you received your feedback – was it face to face, written, online –   and did this make any difference in the way you engaged with it?

It would be good to hear about other’s experiences too, either from a tutor or student perspective.

Regards,

Linda

 

 

[Linda Creanor]

Hi Sancha, thanks for starting off this topic with your excellent post on blogs for assessment and feedback in a design context. This is a really interesting area and you’ve raised some useful questions, including,

can blogs be used for summative as well as formative assessment?
does the public nature of blogs encourage less critical feedback?
how can tutors manage their time with regard to student expectations of feedback?

I look forward to hearing other experiences and views!

Linda

 

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