This document provides an overview of the Community of Inquiry framework and its dimensions of teaching, social, and cognitive presence. It then describes a study that examined the use of asynchronous audio feedback compared to text-based feedback in an online course. The study found that students strongly preferred receiving instructor feedback via audio comments rather than text. Audio feedback helped students better understand the instructor's intent, feel more involved, retain content better, and feel that the instructor cared more. Analysis of student work also showed they applied content from audio feedback more and at higher levels. The findings suggest audio feedback can positively impact all three presences of the Community of Inquiry framework.

2. First – A Quick Overview of the Community of Inquiry Framework

4. Cognitive Presence The exploration, construction, resolution and confirmation of understanding through collaboration and reflection in a community of inquiry. (Garrison, 2007)

5. Social Presence The degree to which participants in computer mediated communication feel socially and emotionally connected The ability of participants in a community of inquiry to project themselves socially and emotionally -- as ‘real’ people. (Richardson & Swan, 2003)

6. Teaching Presence The design, facilitation and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes. Instructional Design and Organization Facilitation of Discourse Direct Instruction

7. Challenges in Online Learning Asynchronous courses do not provide instructors with as many paralinguistic cues as face to face environments Communicating in text can be difficult and frustrating as we are unsure of whether or not our intent is conveyed Instructor immediacy behaviors (use of personal examples, humor, and openness toward and encouragement of student ideas and discussion) in online courses were a significant predictor of student learning (Arbaugh, 2006)

8. Text will work, HOWEVER… Various surveys of online learners indicate that they prefer multimedia over text only presentations of content This made us question whether applying media other than text to online interactions would be of benefit in projecting teaching presence

9. Asynchronous Audio Feedback Audio commenting tool in Adobe Acrobat Pro v.7 was used to provide feedback on student assignments – 2005. Version 8 is currently available and has the same capability.

12. The Study and It’s Context

13. What We Wanted to Know RQ 1: Between audio and text-based student feedback in ALN, which do students believe is a more effective means of interaction with the instructor? RQ 2: To what degree do students believe audio feedback is an effective replacement of instructor/student interaction that typically occurs in traditional face to face classes?

14. What We Wanted to Know RQ 3: How does the use of audio feedback impact the sense of community in ALN? RQ 4: In what manner is perceived learning impacted by the use of audio feedback? RQ 5: What relationship exists between the use of audio feedback and student satisfaction?

15. What We Looked At Alternating text-based (6) and audio (5) feedback on assignments in online course C&I 687: Advanced Teaching Strategies Single item on course survey -preference for audio versus text feedback Semi-structured post-course interviews with 27 of 34 enrolled students Document analysis of final project Relation between feedback modality and level (Bloom’s) of content application

16. Unsolicited Feedback Emails started coming in immediately after the first use of audio commenting Over 40% of students spontaneously emailed us about audio commenting– 100% expressing satisfaction with the technique

17. Unsolicited Feedback - Example “ We’ve had written comments twice and verbal comments twice now. Let me guess – this is someone’s research project right? Let me just save you some time. The verbal feedback is much, much, much better than the written.”

18. End of Course Survey Data 26 of 31 students preferred audio to text 4 students indicated no difference 1 student indicated N/A (due to technical problems – defective sound card)

19. Semi-structured Interviews Four themes emerged from transcript analysis THEME 1 – Ability to understand nuance (70% of students) Students indicated that they were better able to understand instructor’s intent Humor, encouragement and emphasis were all much more clear

20. Semi-structured Interviews Four themes emerged from transcript analysis THEME 2 – Feelings of increased involvement (56% of students) Students felt less isolated and were more motivated to participate

21. Semi-structured Interviews Four themes emerged from transcript analysis THEME 3 – Content retention (44% of students) Students believed they retained audio feedback, and the content to which audio feedback was related , better than text-based feedback and related content.

22. Semi-structured Interviews Four themes emerged from transcript analysis THEME 4 – Instructor Caring (30% of students) Students felt that audio was more personal than text Comments frequently related to nuance and tone of voice

23. Document Analysis - Quantity In final projects (series of thematic integrated lesson plans), students used content for which audio feedback was received approximately 3 times more often than content for which text-based feedback received Notice triangulation with Theme 3 from interviews

24. Document Analysis - Quality Students were 5 to 6 times more likely to apply content for which audio feedback was received at the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy than content for which text-based feedback was received Further reinforced interview data

25. Subsequent Data Collection Triangulation and novelty effect Quantitative: 312 students surveyed No decrease in preference after multiple exposures across semesters Qualitative: 51 students interviewed The same themes emerged from content analyses of interview data

26. Efficiency Mean time to provide feedback text = 13.43 minutes audio = 3.81 minutes Mean quantity of feedback text = 129.75 words audio = 331.39 words

27. Confirmatory Data

28. Multi – institutional Research Quantitative: n = 1138 Qualitative n = 607 15 institutions Range AA – Ph.D. 7 Likert-type Items Open Qualitative Item – probing for more themes

29. Quantitative Items When using audio feedback, inflection in the instructor’s voice made his / her intent clear. M = 4.53, SD = .652 The instructor’s intent was clearer when using audio than text. M = 4.48, SD = .587 Audio comments made me feel more involved in the course than text based comments. M = 4.38, SD = .683

30. Quantitative Items Audio comments motivated me more than text based comments. M = 4.46, SD = .702 I retained audio comments better than text based comments. M = 4.31, SD = .568 Audio comments are more personal than text based comments. M = 4.29, SD = .544

31. Quantitative Items Receiving audio comments made me feel as if the instructor cared more about me and my work than when I received text based comments. M = 4.38, SD = .617

32. Additional Findings No additional themes revealed by analysis of qualitative data No difference among learner or institutional types Some indication that the technique may not be as effective if the instructor is not a native speaker – more data needed

33. Audio and the CoI The following slides compare the findings of the Summer, 2007 multi-institutional CoI instrument validation (n = 287) and responses from the aforementioned study (n = 1138) that received audio feedback In the items addressed there was a significant difference (p > .05) in responses

34. Teaching Presence 1 The instructor was helpful in identifying areas of agreement and disagreement on course topics that helped me to learn. Summer 2007 / mean = 4.12 Audio group / mean = 4.43

35. Teaching Presence 2 The instructor encouraged course participants to explore new concepts in this course. Summer 2007 / mean = 4.44 Audio group / mean = 4.58

36. Teaching Presence 3 The instructor provided feedback that helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses relative to the course’s goals and objectives. Summer 2007 / mean = 4.28 Audio group / mean = 4.57

37. Social Presence Online or web-based communication is an excellent medium for social interaction. Summer 2007 / mean = 3.90 Audio group / mean = 4.27

38. Cognitive Presence 1 I felt motivated to explore content related questions. Summer 2007 / mean = 4.31 Audio group / mean = 4.55

39. Cognitive Presence 2 Reflection on course content and discussions helped me understand fundamental concepts in this class. Summer 2007 / mean = 4.37 Audio group / mean = 4.49

40. Looking Forward

41. Multimedia Feedback Using highlighting tool provides students to review specific information while listening to instructor comments Using the pencil tool for brief positive affirmation increases student perceptions of connectedness with the instructor

42. Offline Applications Though embedded audio feedback was originally used in the online environment, it is equally powerful in the face-to-face classroom Term papers, spreadsheets, dissertation advising, graphic art projects, etc., etc.

43. Want to Talk More? Phil Ice, Ed.D. [email_address]