Does it make a difference? Replacing text with audio feedback.

There is a growing body of evidence which indicates that the potential learning benefits of providing students with feedback, however well crafted, are often not realised, with many students not valuing or understanding the feedback provided. Moreover providing feedback is a time consuming activity for many tutors to undertake, and is often perceived as wasted effort. Within this context the paper examines the impact of audio feedback as an alternative to traditional text based approaches. We draw on interviews with staff and students on three social science modules together with an analysis of the feedback itself to explore the value of this approach. The study finds that providing feedback using audio files leads to improvements in both quantity and (it is argued) quality. However anticipated savings in staff time were not realised and possible solutions to this issue are explored.