Research Article: Students’ Attitudes to and Usage of Academic Feedback Provided Via Audio Files

This study explores students’ attitudes to the provision of formative feedback on academic work using audio files together with the ways in which students implement such feedback within their learning. Fifteen students received audio file feedback on written work and were subsequently interviewed regarding their utilisation of that feedback within their learning. The written work provided by twelve of the students was also conventionally marked and this feedback was quantitatively compared with the audio feedback comments following classification of individual comments. The students responded very positively to the audio file feedback judging it to be good quality because it was easier to understand, had more depth and was more personal. Most students annotated their work as they listened and stated that they would use the audio feedback to improve their work for other tutors. Pitfalls of this form of feedback included the large size of the audio files (up to 11Mb) being incompatible with some e-mail systems. Comment classification showed a greater emphasis on developmental aspects of learning within audio file feedback. Guidance is provided for tutors concerning the effective use of audio file feedback. As feedback is integral to all learning this project has wide applicability across the disciplines.