iPhone supervision and feedback: a case study

The aims of the case study discussed here were to revolutionise project supervision by audio recording student project meetings using an iPhone smartphone and the Recorder Pro app to provide both parties with a record of the meeting. The rationale for this study came through recognition that student’s written notes from supervision meeting do not necessarily reflect what was discussed or do not always contain enough detail. Equally, written notes do not provide the means to clarify information that has been misheard or misunderstood during the supervision meeting. By recording the meetings, a student can review the conversation, thereby reducing their need to seek meetings in addition to those that are scheduled. The recent proliferation of iPhones, and other smartphones, amongst staff and students suggests that their use for recording meetings is increasingly viable. This study therefore reports on how well iPhone audio recording and distribution encourages learner autonomy and the extent to which students listen back to the audio files and apply what they hear to their learning.