Click here to view the video transcript
We know that there are many challenges around giving and receiving feedback, so could choosing the right mode of feedback be part of the solution? Research suggests the answer to this is yes. There’s been a significant growth in the amount of research focusing on technology enhanced feedback methods in the past decade and screen capture video feedback has emerged as a potential solution for some of the problems that are inherent in supporting students’ engagement with feedback. Screen capture video feedback combines the strength of text, audio, and video feedback by allowing you to record your on-screen actions and spoken comments simultaneously. The study showed that there’s a strong consensus among students that screen capture video feedback is more detailed and easier to understand and feels more personal and caring than written-only feedback. These positive outcomes and sense of teacher presence are particularly vital in blended and online-learning environments where we know that there can be fewer opportunities for social interaction and synchronous conversation. Researchers also explored the educators experience of video feedback. Educators report that it’s valuable for explaining concepts and suggesting strategies. It helps to prioritize feedback messages and it saves time while allowing for a greater quantity of high-quality feedback.
Although written comments are still the most common form of feedback, even with online courses, educators are increasingly providing their students with screen-capture video feedback as a supplement to written feedback – and for good reason. Screen-capture software allows the educator to record their on-screen actions, such as scrolling through a student’s paper, highlighting text and navigating through websites, while simultaneously recording spoken commentary. Screen-capture (also referred to as screencasts) could also include an embedded video of the educator. The video can be emailed to the student as a video file or uploaded to a cloud-based account and shared with the student via a link.
Of the limited amount of research into screen-capture video feedback that exists, four common themes have emerged with regards to the students’ perspective.
- Students feel that they receive a greater quantity of feedback and are provided with richer and more detailed information (Anson 2015; Mahoney, Macfarlane, & Ajjawi, 2019; Ryan et al., 2019; Stannard & Mann 2018; Turner & West 2013).
- Students tend to find video feedback clear and easier to understand than written feedback (Anson 2015; Harper, Green & Fernandez-Toro 2012; Mahoney, Macfarlane, & Ajjawi, 2018).
- Students feel that video feedback increased the social presence of the teacher and is therefore perceived as being more personal, caring, and engaging (Anson 2015; Bahula & Kay, 2021; Harper, Green & Fernandez-Toro, 2018; Ryan et al., 2019; Stannard & Mann, 2018; Turner & West 2013).
- Most students prefer screen-capture video feedback to other forms of feedback, and in some cases even prefer it over face-to-face feedback conversations as they can watch the video multiple times (Harper, Green & Fernandez-Toro, 2018; Turner & West, 2013).
My own research (Cavaleri et al., 2019; Cavaleri et al., 2014) examined whether video feedback helped students engage with the feedback more successfully than conventional methods. Evidence from an analysis of feedback comments and corresponding revisions, as well as surveys and interviews with students, found there was significant value in providing video feedback to help students revise.
Bahula, T., & Kay, R.H. (2022). Exploring instructor perceptions of using video-based feedback: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Informatics 3(1), 3-20.
Bahula, T., & Kay, R. (2021). Exploring student perceptions of video-based feedback in higher education: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 21(4).
Harper, F., Green, H. & Fernandez-Toro, M. (2018). Using screencasts in the teaching of modern languages: Investigating the use of Jing in feedback on written assignment. The Language Learning Journal, 46(3), pp. 277–292.
Mahoney, P., Macfarlane, S., & Ajjawi, R. (2019). A qualitative synthesis of video feedback in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 24(2), pp. 157-179.
Ryan, T., Henderson, M., & Phillips, M. (2019). Feedback modes matter: Comparing student perceptions of digital and non-digital feedback modes in higher education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(3), pp. 1507-1523.
Stannard, R. & Mann, S. (2018). Using screen capture feedback to establish social presence and increase student engagement: A genuine innovation in feedback. In CH Xiang (Ed.), Cases on audio-visual media in language education, IGI Global, Hershey, Pennsylvania, pp. 93–116.
Turner, W., & West, J. (2013). Assessment for "digital first language" speakers: Online video assessment and feedback in higher education. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 25(3), 288-296.
Wood, J. M. (2022). Supporting the uptake process with dialogic peer screencast feedback: A sociomaterial perspective. Teaching in Higher Education.
Discussions
Have you used screen-capture video feedback with your students? What were your students’ reactions? How did you feel providing video feedback?
Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments section below.