This document summarizes the findings of a study on providing audio feedback to nursing students. Students received digitally annotated scripts with either a typed feedback sheet, audio without grade, or audio with grade. Those who did not receive audio feedback wished they had. The audio groups found the feedback more personal, in-depth, and listened to it more. Audio feedback improved self-awareness, collaborative work, and practical skills more than written. While audio takes faculty longer to record, students consistently prefer and engage more with audio feedback formats.

1. Technology Enhanced Learning Symposium
Wednesday, 6 March 2013 from 13:00 to
17:00 (GMT)

2.  Effective feedback
 Technology enhanced
learning
 Individual student
learning needs
 Entrepreneurship /
Enterprise

3.  Use of audio files
 Assignment brief
 Tutorials
 PGCEL
 Review of
equipment

4.  Funding received from Leadership Foundation for
Higher Education through CfEL
 3 Focus groups from one pre-registration nursing
cohort
 All received digitally annotated scripts, plus either…
 A typed front feedback sheet
 An audio file with feedback (grade included)
 An audio file without grade (released after they had
reflected on feedback)

5.  Format of feedback
 Digital annotation
 Feedback content
 Reflective response
 Enterprise / entrepreneurial skills

6.  Those who did not receive audio file would have
preferred to have received one!
 Two groups receiving audio:
 More personal and ‘polished’
 More in-depth and ‘richer’
 Clearer and given ‘more attention’
 Listened to audio file more than they would
normally read written feedback

7.  More likely to take note of audio than written
 Made notes around audio file
 Future – only one preferred written

8.  Better than hand written - clearer
 Link between audio-file and digital comments
useful. Less obvious with typed sheet and
annotation group
 Less personal than hand written, but this depends
on whether hand written is decipherable

9.  Content biggest impact on progression and
development, rather than format
 Positive comments appreciated, especially
elaboration on ‘good point’ or ‘’
 Audio-files allow for greater expansion on feedback,
that is difficult to cover in written
 Audio-files enhance the nature of the feedback

10.  ‘I did ok but could have done better, now give me
the grade!’
 If the whole group had to do this, and all grades
released at the same time, they would be ok with
this
 Having to make a response, created more
consideration of comments
 Quick release of grade after comments received
was appreciated
 Anxiety provoking wait outweighs benefit of
reflection

11.  Self awareness
 Feedback in all groups made them more aware of their
learning needs
 Audio groups – this was more ‘evident’ due to being more
personalised – interacted more, especially delayed grade
group

12.  Collaborative working
 Typed = clearer comments, which they discussed more
with peers
 Audio (including grade) did not discuss with peers as
much, due to audio being comprehensive
 Audio (delayed grade) discussed more with their peers

13.  Practical Creativity
 Realised the importance of need for logical and cohesive
flow to work from feedback
 Identified need to read more literature and compare and
contrast (different ways of doing this)
 Time management identified as an issue
 Audio group (delayed grade) noted the above more than
others, and they needed to work harder next time
 The ‘practical’ way of preparing to submit more evident
than ‘creativity’ in participants’ eyes

14.  Opportunity Awareness
 Additional prompts identified need to seek further help
with work (e.g. student support, literature searching,
accessing library, critical analysis). Audio groups felt
format allowed for greater expansion on these points
 Audio group (delayed grade) took opportunity to discuss
feedback with peers more then before, but did not see
this as ‘collaborative working’
 Audio format makes it more personalised, and therefore
more likely to act on opportunities available

15.  Strategic Thinking
 Identified need to plan more, as opposed to ‘Strategic
thinking’
 Action Orientation
 Many students had already acted upon the feedback
 Audio (delayed grade) seemed to be more active in
addressing feedback than other groups

16.  It can take longer…but….
 Recording average of audio-file took 4 minutes,
whereas typing sheet took 8!
 Not for everyone
 Be careful where you record and where it is played!
 Make notes
 More tech = more in-depth? (marker perspective)
 Content is more important than format

17.  Students consistently
evaluate audio files
positively in module
evaluations and Staff
Student Consultative
Committees
 Students have choice of
audio or written feedback
at the point of submission,
in addition to digital
annotation in one module.
 Assignment brief audio-
file available in most