Lesson: Multimedia Feedback

Representation: Providing Multimedia Feedback

 

 Note

Different browsers (e.g. Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge) may use different web tools to record media. We'd recommend using the media recording feature from the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Edge at this time; those browsers use the more modern and far more secure HTML5 to record media.

 

  Lesson Pages

 

Sizing Up the Barrier

Three decades ago, Hounsell wrote that the "traffic of comments from tutor to student is overwhelmingly in the written form" (1987, 113). Despite the gains in technology and pedagogical knowledge in the intervening 30 years, comments on student work are still overwhelmingly in the written form (Bailey & Garner, 2010 Links to an external site.).

Written feedback may create a number of barriers.

From the instructor perspective, written feedback can be time consuming and laborious. Many instructors feel this fact is only enhanced when having to write comments in a digital form. Carving out the time to provide feedback is difficult. Moreover, some instructors question if written feedback even has value. For example, some faculty may wonder (perhaps rightly) if some students do not care about the feedback, and are only interested in the grade. This is especially true when feedback is provided after an assignment is complete with no opportunity for further submission.

From the student's perspective, written feedback (especially that which is necessarily written in haste by instructors) may be difficult to understand due to shorthand, use of unclassified jargon, or other linguistic or cultural rifts whereby the intention of the feedback author (instructor) and the perception of the feedback reader (student) are not the same. When feedback comes well after a final submission is made, with no opportunity to improve "next time," formative comments may appear superfluous to some students, who recognize that only the grade itself will end up on one's transcript.

 

A picture showing a male professor on the left with a thought bubble. He is thinking "time, laborious." and then asks, "value?" Then, on the right, a female student stands with a thought bubble in which she thinks, "Meaning? Perception, improvement?"

(For more in-depth review of the literature on this topic, please consider reading Bailey and Garner's (2010 Links to an external site.) excellent review of the literature.)

How can instructors provide quality formative feedback to students in such a way that feedback is engaging and more likely to be utilized (without overtaxing themselves)? One possibility would be to utilize multimedia tools for feedback. In this lesson, instructors will learn how Canvas features can facilitate multimedia feedback that may at once increase student engagement and the utility and clarity of feedback while also reducing the total time it takes for instructors to provide feedback.

All of the methods covered in this lesson assume a basic knowledge of how to access and use Canvas SpeedGrader. If you need some more background knowledge regarding the basics of SpeedGrader, check out this SpeedGrader guide.

 

Methods

Method One: Provide Audio or Audio/Video "Podcast" Feedback

So long as the student for whom you are providing feedback does not have a disability, there are times when audio or audio/video feedback may be a quick and easy way to provide quality response to students. Many people feel they are able to make themselves clearer through speech than through text and for most of us, it is faster to say something than to type it all out.

Audio/Video feedback may be a good option if:

  • The student for whom instructors provide feedback does not have a disability that would make listening and processing audio feedback difficult (e.g. hearing impairment, audio-processing disorder, some forms of attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
  • The feedback is general to the submitted work, rather than focused on grammar corrections, etc.
  • The instructor is adept at gathering thoughts and providing clear, organized verbal commentary.

To provide audio/video feedback, instructors may use the built-in tool available in SpeedGrader.

  1. Go to SpeedGrader from an assignment

    A screenshot showing "SpeedGrader" to the right of the assignment description in Canvas Assignments

  2. Locate the film strip icon ( ) beneath the assignments comments box.

    Screenshot of the comments pane in canvas. An arrow points toward the icon for creating media feedback.

  3. Choose whether you would like to record video ( Webcam Icon and word) or just audio ( Audio icon and word.).
  4. Click "Start Recording" 
  5. When finished, click "Finished"
  6. Give the recording a title (optional. e.g. "Draft one feedback") and then click Save (or start over).
  7. The video (or audio) is saved in the comment pane to the right. Optionally add a text comment and/or grade as well and/or click "submit."

    The grader pane shows a media comment, a text comment, then the cursor about to select "Submit."

 

Video feedback from Outside Canvas. An alternative way to provide media-based feedback without using the media recording built into Canvas is to record audio or video using your other software (e.g. Quicktime Links to an external site. , Microsoft Voice Recorder Links to an external site. ). If you choose this option, you may save the resulting audio or video file to your hard drive and upload in to Canvas. To do so, follow steps 1 and 2 (above), then click the "upload media" tab (see picture below), click the appropriate button ("select audio file" or "select video file") and locate the file you prepared.

In the "Record/Upload Media Comment" window, the "upload media" tab is selected.

 

Please see this Teaching Channel video Links to an external site. that overviews how one teacher uses audio-based podcast feedback to deliver efficient, effective responses to her students (< 2 min).

Method Two: Provide "Screencast" Feedback

In Module 3 Lesson 1, I discussed how screencasts may be used for instructional presentations. Here, I draw from the same tool: this time for providing feedback on student digital submissions.

Screencast feedback may be a good option if:

  • The student for whom instructors provide feedback does not have a disability that would make listening and/or watching a screencast difficult (e.g. hearing impairment, visual impairment, audio-processing disorder).
  • The feedback may be general or have some specific focal points whereby the ability to use both visual demonstration and audio commentary would be useful.
  • The instructor is adept at gathering thoughts and providing clear, organized commentary.

Screencast feedback helps provide substantive feedback that is essential for progress. Such feedback is far more than simply evaluating a product, but guides students in helping them identify where they are in relation to the learning objective and effective next steps they can take to focus their learning (ASCD, 2012 Links to an external site.). This short video (2:45) from Teacher Solutions Links to an external site. describes different types of feedback.

Below is an example of how screencast feedback can be used to provide such feedback. The creator of this video has positive things to say about his experience in using screencasts as a way to provide feedback in his blog Links to an external site..

 

To provide screencast feedback, teachers at UU can use Canvas Studio or Zoom. Canvas Studio is a particularly good option since it provides users the ability to edit videos, and is relatively simple to learn. You can obtain direct support staff at UU for using these tool by contacting IT-support or by dropping in to one of the daily workshops. 

Method Three: Using Canvas Native Grading Features*

*the content in this section also appears in the Mastery-Oriented Feedback lesson.

Canvas native features for feedback may be a good option if:

  • The feedback provided is fairly straightforward and clear without need to elaborate.
  • The assessment has a rubric (built in Canvas) with clearly defined "cells," each with corresponding appropriate point values.
  • The instructor is comfortable with providing feedback via "comments" in Microsoft Word (or similar) and wants a less restrictive/less involved medium to provide such feedback.

 

Canvas "SpeedGrader". SpeedGrader is Canvas' simplified, native tool for grading and providing feedback on assignments, quizzes, and discussions. Instructors can see the Canvas guide that provides an overview of the tool and another that provides instruction as to how it is used. It can be used with or without rubrics (which are addressed next!). The SpeedGrader always enables instructors to give wholistic feedback quite quickly. Detailed feedback (e.g. grammar correction) is possible in SpeedGrader automatically if students have uploaded a file submission in one of the formats that can be accessed in DocViewer (including .docx, .pdf, .pptx). See how to use DocViewer in Canvas for more information about detailed feedback in SpeedGrader.

 

Pro Tip: Detailed Feedback via Canvas and Google Drive

If an assignment calls for detailed feedback, instructors should assign students to submit work via file upload in .pdf, .doc/.docx, or .ppt/.pptx format. SpeedGrader will then provide options for commenting on the document itself via Docviewer. Alternatively, instructors can encourage students to submit links to their work shared via Google Drive .

 

SpeedGrader always allows instructors to provide feedback via a text-entry box, file attachment, or audio/video comment. Though it is not "traditional," many instructors find that leaving audio or video feedback enables them to provide more natural, personal and complete feedback more quickly; it is more like talking about the work rather than writing notes about it.

Canvas Rubrics. Rubrics can be created using the "outcomes" tab in a given course page and then add a rubric add a rubric to assignments (this method is especially helpful if a given rubric will be used for more than one assignment). Alternatively, instructors may make a rubric at the same time they create an assignment using the same methods described in "" above, except that the new rubric is made on the spot instead of being located and attached. Once a rubric is attached to an assignment, it will be available for use in the SpeedGrader.

 

Pro Tip: Why and How to Design Quality Rubrics

There is ample research regarding rubrics Links to an external site., which generally demonstrates their effectiveness in variety of outcomes for students in higher education. What is clear is that rubrics support students by providing clarity in how work will be graded and supports instructors by providing a faster and more focused way to assess student performance. As a bonus, the tiered and differentiated nature of rubrics may allow for students to quickly assess which areas warrant the most work to develop. For example, a student may see that he is doing well in the "organization" criterion but needs to do more to develop his "quality of content." For more information about designing quality rubrics, see this excellent PowerPoint . (Tomei, 2013).

 

Summary

Instructors often feel pressed for time to provide high quality feedback to students, and students don't always find instructor feedback to be clear or helpful. By harnessing the potential of media-based feedback, instructors may be able to provide richer but more time-efficient feedback to students in some situations. The three methods explored in this lesson were (1) creating podcast feedback (video or audio), (2) providing screencast feedback, and (3) using Canvas native feedback features. These tools have a lot of overlapping features, but podcasts are probably a better choice when the focus is broad and conceptual whereas screencasts allow instructors to demonstrate or highlight things on their computer screens while discussing student work. Canvas native features for feedback are useful when the feedback is simple and clear without need for significant explanation.