Periodic Fable

This is the first of a series of posts reporting on papers and happenings at the ALT-C conference held this week in Leeds.

Bob Rotheram (Leeds Met) reported on the Sounds Good pilot about giving audio feedback to students, both formative and summative feedback on coursework.

The technology involved direct-to-mp3 recorders (with direct USB connectors), free Audacity audio editing software and WIMBA voice-tools. The resulting files could be delivered via email, through the VLE or via mobile devices.

Very practical tips for technical setup & for advice on how to structure audio feedback, plus other useful information is available at the Sounds Good website

The headline is -students like audio feedback!

It can save staff time but only if:

• Staff type slowly but speak quickly

• Staff are comfortable with the technology

• Staff give lots of feedback – it’s not worth it for just a few words or marks.

The Closer! educational podcasting pilot and continuing research was reported by Andrew of Sheffield Hallam. The technology involved adding the the Podcast LX module to Blackboard VLE.

Headline news:

• Students prefer to access podcasts thru VLE (rather than mobile devices)
• Staff want variety in the VLE

There was no real enthusiasm around RSS podcasts in this context, which seems to be typical of educational podcasting within institutions. Where students have access to a VLE they aren’t really interested in subscription ability.

I feel this means that what is being produced aren’t really podcasts but digital audio files. However, many of the same issues apply to podcasts as to this type of educational audio.

Digital audio is seen as an everywhere technology: acessible, reliable, flexible, easy to use, appropriate, an ‘everywhere’ technology.

Advantages of digital audio include:

• voice and presence (eg empathy, significance, emphasis)
• timeliness, currency, immediacy, authenticity
• constructionism (student design and generation)
• formative intervention
• media seeding further learning activity – ie challenging, provoking, motivating, and orientating
• variety & teaching “punctuation”

New and emerging technologies provide innovative opportunities for new and emerging pedagogies.

Some of the possible uses of digital audio include:

• Audio Glossary
• Professional Briefings
• Newscasting
• Field assignments
• clinical skills vodcasts
• learning stories
• audio announcements
• found audio
• peer assessed AF
• Conversatonal AF
• Broadcast AF
• Audio Scaffolding
• Tutor centred PC AF
• Audo Conversations
• Audio Summaries
• Vox pops
• Audio features
• Audio FAQs
• Global Experts Voices
• Audio Introductions.