Educational Technology & Distance Learning
Manchester Community College
QUICK & EASY WAYS TO PROVIDE
ELECTRONIC FEEDBACK TO STUDENTS
WHAT WE’LL LEARN
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This workshop will provide pedagogical and
technical guidance for the provision of
electronic feedback to students. Participants
will learn how to provide effective and timeefficient feedback using a variety of tools such
as Microsoft Reviewing, audio comments in
Microsoft Word, VoiceThreads, and Jing.
WHAT IS FEEDBACK?
TYPES OF FEEDBACK
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Summative
Formative
Individual: Comments on assignments, conferences
Group: Questions about the class forum, group work, peer reviews
Personalized: Salutations, use of student’s name
Boilerplate: FAQ, copy & paste
Demonstration of correct method
Questions that lead students to answers
Suggestions for alternatives
HOW IS FEEDBACK DELIVERED?
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Orally
In writing (style & tone)
Body language
Expressions and tone of voice
Attitude
Modeling
Rubrics
Electronically: Blackboard Vista
discussion boards, journals,
announcements, MS Word,
VoiceThreads, Jing, etc.
STUDENT PREPAREDNESS
 Common
understanding of purpose
 Understanding of how to decode feedback
 Strategies to use feedback for improvement
 How to communicate with instructor about
feedback
 Understanding how to use technology that delivers
feedback
HOW IS FEEDBACK RECEIVED/PROCESSED?
Cognitively
 Emotionally
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WHAT AFFECTS DECODING?
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Stage of learning
Learning style
History/past experiences (baggage)
Too much information (cognitive overload)
Student’s perception of self as learner
Student’s perception of instructor (expert, parental figure, guide,
enemy, etc.)
WHAT MAKES FEEDBACK EFFECTIVE?
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Clarity
Timeliness
Timing
Tone (oral and written)
Personalization
Sufficient, but not overwhelming detail (pick your battles)
Explains why and shows how
Modeling
Inclusion of strengths as well as weaknesses
Context
Opportunities for improvement
Appropriate delivery method
Opportunities for discussion (journals, e-mail, phone)
Action plan to empowering student’s control of learning
Opportunities for student reflection
Opportunities to apply/practice feedback in different situations (recursive)
ENGAGING STUDENTS WITH FEEDBACK
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Students comment on their work before handing it in,
using rubrics, questioning, or marginal comments that
explain process (MS Word Reviewing)
Students respond to instructor comments before
receiving grade
Revision cover letter
Journaling (Blackboard Vista)
ePortfolios
Facilitated group critiques (Blackboard Vista)
Guided peer critiques (Blackboard Vista)
WHAT ABOUT PEER FEEDBACK?
Student preparation
 Clear, detailed
guidelines/checklists
 Modeling
 Clear understanding of the
technology
 Blackboard Vista peer review

PEER REVIEW IN BLACKBOARD VISTA
Peer Review options in discussions enable students to review
each others’ posts using a simple rating scale or a Grading
Form that can also be used by the instructor.
STUDENT VIEW OF PEER REVIEW
A student can select a particular discussion and
look at both a summary of all Peer Reviews of
their posts on that discussion, as well as at
individual reviews of specific posts by other
students.
Students can only see peer reviews of their own
posts to discussions.
Instructors can see peer reviews that have been
made about any students’ posts.
USING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
Match objectives to type of technology
 Be aware of advantages and constraints of
various technology
 Prepare students to use the technology
 FERPA compliance
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MS WORD REVIEWING
Track Changes and Comments in MS Word 2007
tutorial:
http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.asp
x?AssetID=RC102359491033
Quick Reference Card:
http://office.microsoft.com/training/Training.a
spx?AssetID=RP102359541033&CTT=6&Origi
n=RC102359491033
MS WORD AUDIO COMMENTS
Adding a Voice Comment in Microsoft Word 2007 If want to add a voice comment to a
document in Word 2002 and 2003, you simply click the drop-down arrow of the New
Comment button on the Reviewing toolbar and select Voice comment. This opens the
Sound Object dialog box for you to record your comment. However, in Word 2007,
you will first need to add the Insert Voice button to the Quick Access toolbar: :
1. Click the Office Button.
2. Click the Word Options button.
3. Click Customize.
4. Click the drop-down arrow of the Choose Commands From box and from the list,
select Commands Not In Ribbon.
5. Scroll to, and then select, Insert Voice.
6. Click the Add button, and then click the OK button.
The Insert Voice button will be available on your Quick Access toolbar, so you can easily
add voice comments to any Word 2007 document.
How to Insert and Record Your Voice Comment
To add a comment, simply click your cursor into
the spot where you want to add your voice
comment, and the little sound recorder dialog
box will open.
Click the record button (a red circle) and record your comment. when you're
done, click the Stop button (black square) and then you can close the sound
recorder dialog box.
Your comment will be shown in the margin with a little "speaker" icon. When the
student clicks on the icon, they will hear your recorded comment.
VOICETHREAD
An interactive website for group conversations
around images, documents and videos
 You can leave comments in 5 different ways: using
voice (with a mic or telephone), typing text,
attaching an audio file, or video (via a webcam)
 Users can doodle while commenting, use multiple
identities, and pick which comments are shown
through moderation. VoiceThreads can be
embedded on other websites and exported to MP3
players or DVDs to play as archival movies.
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VOICETHREAD
Comments are
on both sides
of the image
and are played
in order. You
can skip or go
back by
clicking on the
arrows below
the Comment
bubble.
VOICETHREAD
There can also
be multiple
pages of a
voicethread.
You can leave
your own
comments by
using the
comment
bubble.
JING
Jing is a free, screen-capturing program offered
by TechSmith (Creator of Camtaisia)
 Create 5 minute screen recordings or pictures
from your screen and post them online with
screencast.com, Flickr, or download the file
 You can add voice narration to your short
videos
 It’s super easy!

JING
Select Capture
in the Jing Sun.
Draw on your
screen a box of
what you want
to capture.
Select Capture
Image or
Capture Video.
JING
Stop your capture when
you are finished.
Preview it.
JING
Save the file or post to
Screencast.com. With
Screencast, you can just
send a link to the video
to others.
You can also download
the embed code to
embed the video in a
website.
RESOURCES
The Complexities of Responding to Student
Writing; or, Looking for Shortcuts via the Road
of Excess
Richard Haswell, Haas Professor Emeritus, Texas
A&M University, Corpus Christi
http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/articles/haswell20
06.cfm
This presentation is available here:
http://mccetdl.pbworks.com/Screencasting
THANK YOU!