Asynchronous Audio Feedback Julian Cowart Director of Curriculum and Academic Resources

Definition The use of audio feedback to replace text based feedback in asynchronous courses.

Research Conducted Ice, Curtis, Phillips, and Wells (2007) conducted research from spring 2004 through summer 2005 with 26 master’s level students and 8 doctoral students in online courses to determine if there is value in using asynchronous audio feedback (AAF.) Five research questions were posed to determine: 1.whether students preferred audio or text feedback 2.to what degree audio feedback is an effective replacement to the interaction that takes place in a face to face course 3.how audio feedback improved a sense of community 4.in what manner is perceived learning impacted by the use of audio feedback 5.what relationship exists between audio feedback and student satisfaction

Research Conclusions The results concluded: That students believed that AAF gave them more insight into what the instructor was trying to convey That there was an increased feeling of involvement That the instructor was more caring That content retention improved (Ice, et al, 2007)

Research Conclusions Additionally, the research indicated that the instructors’ time in giving feedback: Decreased on average from 14 minutes to 4 minutes The average feedback increased from 130 typed words to over 330 spoken words. So, time in grading decreased, while the amount of feedback increased Ice, P., Curtis R., Phillips P., & Wells, J. (2007). Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback to Enhance Teaching Presence and Students’ Sense of Community. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 11(2). Retrieved October 2, 2007, from

Hands-On Time Continue with slide 29

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback The student sends you his/her document in a Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint format. Save the document. Open the student’s document in Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional (or higher.) Adobe will convert the Microsoft document into a PDF format.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

Use the SELECT TEXT tool to highlight text on which you would like to make comments.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

After clicking on the SELECT TEXT tool, use it to click and drag, highlighting the text on which you wish to comment.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

Now that you have the text highlighted, click anywhere on the highlighted text and a pop-up window will appear. Click on the HIGHLIGHT TEXT button in the pop-up window.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

Clicking on the HIGHLIGHT TEXT button will highlight the text in yellow. You now have the text on which you wish to comment highlighted in yellow.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

Select the RECORD AUDIO COMMENT tool from the TOOLS menu.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

A small MEGAPHONE cursor will appear. Place the cursor at the point where you want to insert the audio comment. In this example it would probably be at the end of the paragraph.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

When you have the MEGAPHONE cursor at the location where you want to insert the audio comment, left click the mouse and a SOUND RECORDER will pop-up. Click on the RED record button and record your comments through the microphone attached to your computer.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

After you are finished recording, click on the BLACK stop button, then click OK.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

This small pop-up window will appear. SOUND should already be highlighted. Click the CLOSE button.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

You will now notice that there is a small megaphone located at the insertion point where you added the audio comments. Continue to go through the paper selecting and highlighting text, and inserting your audio comments using the steps above. When you have completed making your comments save the document and return it to the student either through the MYLETU course or via in the same way you would any other document. When the student opens the document he/she will see your highlighted text and can double click on the megaphone to hear your recorded comments. The student will only need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the document.

Instructions for Using Asynchronous Audio Feedback

Items You Will Need Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0 or higher Good quality sound canceling microphone

Comments from LU Instructors From Darryl Chandler:  I just completed my first use of Adobe with a class. I graded research papers completed by the students. Needless to say, I absolutely loved the program! The voice response makes things so much more personal. Not only was I able to tell a student they had made a mistake, but I was able to tell them why and how to make a correction. The program also allowed me to make comments throughout the paper I would not have been able to make otherwise. It also allowed my comments to be much more personal.  I also had the students give their opinion of this system. They overwhelmingly approved of the use of this program. The students remarked how this system was so much more personal and how much they enjoyed being able to hear my comments. One student remarked that it would help her accept criticism much better.

Comments from LU Instructors From Scott Ray:  I also utilized the voice recording capability in adobe. The students really liked the voice comments over written comments. My students were from New York, Washington D.C. and Houston.

Comments from Students Andrea  “I received your feedback on my Week 1 assignment where you suggested using the APA format, so I modified it. The way in which you give the audio feedback is such an awesome tool. Thank you for that extra effort! And thank you for the encouraging comments.” Carter  “I think that it is great. I have taken internet classes before and like the audio comments.” Tina  “I liked it. It seemed more personal.”

Sample Document