asynchronous audio feedback
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
First – A Quick Overview of the Community of
InquiryFramework
Cognitive Presence
The exploration, construction, resolution and confirmation of understanding through collaboration and reflection in a community of inquiry.(Garrison, 2007)
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)
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
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)
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
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.
The Study and It’s Context
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?
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?
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
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
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.”
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)
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
Confirmatory Data
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 = 4.12Audio group / mean = 4.43
Teaching Presence 2
The instructor encouraged course participants to explore new concepts in this course.
Summer 2007 / mean = 4.44Audio group / mean = 4.58
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 = 4.28Audio group / mean = 4.57
Social Presence
Online or web-based communication is an excellent medium for social interaction.
Summer 2007 / mean = 3.90Audio group / mean = 4.27
Cognitive Presence 1
I felt motivated to explore content related questions.
Summer 2007 / mean = 4.31Audio group / mean = 4.55
Cognitive Presence 2
Reflection on course content and discussions helped me understand fundamental concepts in this class.
Summer 2007 / mean = 4.37Audio group / mean = 4.49
LookingForward
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
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.
