Using screencasting to give feedback for academic writing

Abstract

This article reports on student reactions to a relatively new method of giving feedback using a technique called ‘screencasting’. Screencasting is a technique where the computer screen is captured in a video while an audio recording is being made. In this way, students can receive oral feedback in conjunction with written corrective feedback. Forty-four freshman students from an advanced writing class in the ELT department of a small private university in Istanbul participated in the study. During the semester, three high stakes essay assignments were given. For the first essay only written corrective feedback was given, but for the subsequent two essays students received a combination of written and oral feedback through screencasting. Screencasting was originally used because it was purported to be more efficient than written corrective feedback. While it wasn’t found to be more efficient for the teacher, it was enthusiastically embraced by the students. To gauge the students’ perceptions, a survey was given at the same time as the final exam. The survey included a section for demographics, four open-ended questions, and 28 Likert scale-type questions. The Likert-type questions represented nine categories of inquiry including both practical and affective factors. The results indicated overwhelmingly that the students perceive screencast feedback as more pleasant and more effective than written corrective feedback alone. The technique is appropriate to the twenty-first century classroom and the learning styles of modern students. It is recommended that this technique be adopted in academic writing classes.