Student feedback via screen capture digital video: stimulating student’s modified action

Abstract

A new technique of providing assessment feedback to students is demonstrated via a case study of MBA and undergraduate students. The feedback method uses inexpensive and widely available screen capture digital video technology; it gives the student an impression of being present during the marking process. In addition it enables the tutor to provide a richer range of feedback. For example the tutor can annotate and correct as with traditional methods; demonstrate step-by-step answer formulation; algorithms; show the solution, alternative answers, etc. Primary data was collected from target groups of students and from tutor reflection on using the new feedback medium. Results from a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach in this descriptive-exploratory study suggest that (a) this medium has advantages over traditional methods of communicating feedback, (b) that students enjoy this new form of feedback, and (c) that this encourages them to engage with and learn from the tutor assessment of answers, rather than concentrating only on obtaining marks. It seems that this generation of students find the medium a close fit with other forms of communication they are used to in their technology enriched lives. Feedback via screen capture digital video takes engagement of the two parties, tutor and student, to a higher level of effective communication and helps stimulate students to continually improve and modify action. We have found that the formative assessment feedback mechanism in this case study, even though it is not a dialogue and is asynchronous, does encourage greater student engagement with feedback than prior methods of annotation on student submitted work.