Achtung, Baby! Using Audio Feedback in the Classroom

When U2 had something to say to their fans in the '90s, they used German and asked us to Achtung, Baby!  When I have something to say to my students, I use Audacity, Screenr, Jing, or even Audioboo, and I, too, want them to listen up.



From Flickr, courtesy of xrayspx

The issue of how teachers give feedback has been relevant as long as teachers have asked students to compose their thoughts. Written feedback may appear as only terminal comments, as praise/comment/question, as a series of checks and question marks, or any combination of words and symbols meant to reward, punish, shame or inform the writer (depending on the professionalism and disposition of the teacher). English Journal published an essay from Bardine, Schmitz-Bardine and Deegan that highlights a number of key points about feedback. One key issue is the benefits of conferencing. I've highlighted the work of Don Murray in 2 previous posts ("Implications 1" and "Implications 2"), and of course he wrote about the importance of discussing students' work with them, also. It's no secret. But what if we are struggling to find the time, management style, or method for having those meetings?

While it's not an honest quid pro quo, audio feedback is a worthy surrogate for the conference, and I'll explain why.

1. Students have repeated access to the comments. In a conference, a student or the teacher may jot notes, but it lacks the lucid value of a recorded comment. 
2. Audio comments offer a reference point for the student. In a screencast, a teacher can highlight or circle a point of emphasis. With purely audio feedback--Audacity or Audioboo, for example--the teacher can still point students with audio cues to the appropriate point of emphasis. In the conference, students can make quick notes to themselves, but the depth my disappear by the time the students sit down and attempt revisions a day or two later. 
3. Equal to the conference, students who hear our voices know the tone we are intimating. I've yet to say "awk" in audio feedback; however, when I come across a sentence that just doesn't sound right, I can read it back to the student and ask if possibly something else was intended. I could say CS four times to indicate four comma splices, or I could explain how comma splices have become an issue four different times, reference those, and explain one time, orally, how these could be revised to be grammatically correct. In a conference, again, the opportunity--given the typical time crunch of a conference--might not present itself for recognizing patterns that the reflective audio feedback may present.

"But what about time?" they shouted.

What about time? Well, I've included the data in my Master's Thesis below. For that study, I typed comments and I recorded audio comments. What I discovered is that the audio comments saved me significant time, and they provided more significant feedback leading to better revision. And that's the key for evaluating a draft, right? It's not about assigning a point value to a draft. It's to make the writer better, and, selfishly, to give teachers the opportunity to grade a better final product. 

Let's discuss the audio platforms available to us for feedback. Of course, these same resources can be used for peer revision as well. 

1. Audacity:
• How to get it: our school-issued laptops come with Audacity, but if you don't already have it, click the link here to get it. It's free and quick to download. 
• How I use it: I open the Word document on 3/4 of the page, and I open Audacity on 1/4 of the page. I only need to see the "record," "pause," and "stop" buttons. After I read a paragraph, I'll hit "record" and talk to the student about what I'm seeing. I'm sure not to mention minor, infrequent errors, but rather I discuss larger issues. I hit "pause," read the next paragraph, and so on. When I'm done, I hit "stop," and then I export the file as an MP3. Audacity updates have improved the product so exporting to the MP3 is quick and easy.
• How they hear it: I save the file to my desktop, and then I drag the file up to the heading of the student's paper, save it, and now the student has access to the audio file.
2. Screenr/Jing (any screencast product): 
• How to get it: For www.screenr.com, there's nothing to download. Just create an account and go to the site. Like Jing, screenr has a 5-minute time limit. For Jing, you must download this screencast product by going to the link included here. 
• How I use it: hen the students submit their essay digitally, I open up the screencast program and evaluate the essay. I read first, then hit "record," talk about what I'm seeing, and hit "pause." Again, just as with Audacity, I think about bigger issues I'm seeing and comment on those. With these programs, I can use the mouse to highlight issues, point them out, or even make certain revisions or suggestions if I want.  
• How they get it: For screenr, I've sent the students the link. The downside of this site, though, is that if a student clicks on the link, any other screenr work you've done pops up on the right. It's still a great tool for peer editing. For Jing, I have pasted the link on the assignment.
3. Audioboo:
• How to get it: go to www.audioboo.com and create an account.
• How I use it: Audioboo limits you to 3 mnutes. You have unlimited "boos" you can make. I still use the same format of pausing and recording as I read, but they offer more opportunities to share.
• How they get it: Audioboo allows a link to share, an embed code that can be used, or even more interesting, it allows you to create a QR code. These can be printed/sent to students, and it includes the QR code and the link. I'm really intrigued by the potential for QR codes, but that may be for another blog.

Older versions of Microsoft Word allowed for "Voice Comments." This was perfect. They since eliminated that option in updates after 2007, but it was great while it lasted.

For more information about my study regarding voice/typed comments, access to my sources about commenting and feedback, or just to see how students felt about the different types of feedback, feel free to give it a read and send some comments my way. I've already got the degree, so I'm not changing the essay, but if you use audio feeback in a way I haven't listed here or even considered, I'd love to hear your ideas.

Newman's Master's Thesis on Audio and Typed Feedback