Providing feedback to learners is an essential part of the assessment process but one that is often seen as something outside of the remit of library and information professionals. Feedback to learners is usually associated with written comments on a standard sheet or scribbled in the margins of their work. Because we may not be involved regularly in the formal assessment process, we might therefore consider this part of the learning and teaching process best to be left to others. However, we should be providing feedback to our learners on how they are progressing towards achieving the learning outcomes that we have set, praising or amending as required. (See feedback to learners.)

Much of our feedback will be given verbally during sessions. However, if the opportunity arises to provide feedback after sessions or as part of a formal assessment and feedback process, then audio feedback is a very effective alternative to written comments. In the Sounds Good project, Rotheram (2009a) found that student satisfaction with feedback rose significantly if it was provided via a sound file. The level and amount of feedback given by the tutor also rose with over four or five times more words spoken on the sound file than would usually be written on a sheet. Participants in the project found that recording audio feedback takes no longer than producing written sheets.

The process is simple. Record your comments using an MP3 player (or similar) and save them as a sound file. The files can then be e-mailed to learners or embedded into a blog, wiki or VLE (virtual learning environment). All the learner requires is an MP3 player or a PC with a sound card to hear the individualized feedback.

Some criteria for successful audio feedback have been collated by Steve Bond at LSE (2009) and reproduced here with permission: