Audio feedback for the iPod generation

On campus it is a common site to see the student population plugged into their life support machines: the iPod and the phone. From newspapers to radio, the media are recognising need to embrace the iPod generation to deliver content, and as Rupert Murdoch has highlighted, newspapers are in risk of losing out to the digital world. Should ink and paper continue to be the media of choice for our students? What can we do with audio? Is audio feedback the future to support the learning of the iPod generation? This paper compares the summative assessment2 results for a cohort using recorded audio feedback in formative and summative assignments to that of a cohort who received formative and summative feedback in an aural and/or succinctly, written form. The paper presents students’ reflections on the use of audio formative and summative assessment feedback for a module and considers whether this type of feedback had a pivotal role in the assessment process and a significant impact on their academic performance. The paper proposes a strategy for the integration of digital audio into assessment feedback to promote feed-forward student learning.