Sounding out staff and students: perceptions of audio feedback – a more effective mechanism?

In the context of the National Student Survey (NSS) that identifies a clear relationship between student satisfaction and feedback (HEFCE, 2007 as cited by JISC, 2010) the consideration of alternative mechanisms to enhance student feedback has never been timelier. An increasing HE evidence base demonstrates the benefits of more innovation in the use of technology in supporting assessment and feedback (Nortcliffe and Middleton, 2007, Rotheram, 2007 and Merry and Orsmond 2008). This paper is based on a live project that aims to ascertain staff and students’ perceptions of audio feedback via the virtual learning environment (VLE) and extends a pilot study (2011-12), where audio feedback was provided to two groups of students using the Wimba voice authoring tool within Blackboard Learn+.