Effective Feedback for Digital Natives – The key to delivering a twenty-first century educational experience?

Race et al (2005) state that “Nothing we do to, or for, our students is more important than our assessment of their work and the feedback we give them on it.” It is therefore essential that academics provide meaningful feedback to students within a quick timeframe and in a medium which is likely to appeal to them. Findings from the National Student Forum Annual Report (2009) indicated that ‘As technology continues to develop in all spheres of life, this not only increases its potential for use within the lecture room and beyond – but also our expectation that this will happen’. With today’s students being constantly surrounded by twenty first century technology in their daily lives, it seems obvious that academics should capitalise on the use of this technology and employ it as a means of engaging with students to help with their educational development. This presentation will look at a project undertaken at the University of Ulster, funded by the Higher Education Academy, focusing on widening the understanding of the use of video and screencasting technology as a feedback mechanism. The presentation will document the key findings from the study whilst highlighting the student’s reaction to this feedback technique.