Two modes of feedback are better than one: Educator experiences of providing audio feedback on student work

The integration of digital teaching and learning practices can contribute to the organisational change required by the higher education digital transformation agenda. One such digital practice, audio feedback, is claimed to be more efficient and engaging than written comments. A substantial body of empirical research in this area evaluates student satisfaction, impact on student performance, and time efficiencies for tutors. What remains to be usefully investigated is tutors’ experiences with providing audio feedback and its impact on tutors’ pedagogical processes and practices. To address the identified gap in literature, thus, an online tutor, the author of this article, conducted a collaborative practitioner research project with three other online tutors to use an audio feedback function for their module assignment marking. Qualitative data were collected through tutors’ reflective journals and a group discussion to gain insights into their experiences. Findings suggest that the production of audio feedback is the culmination of a complex process involving both written and spoken stages and has the potential to address pedagogic concerns and communicate authentically with students, but requires additional time and cognitive processing. Implications for the potential contributions of the practice to the broader digital transformation vision are discussed.