Using Recorded Audio Feedback in Cross-Cultural e-Education Environments to Enhance Assessment Practices in a Higher Education

Providing feedback to learners on their writing assignments is perhaps one of the most important and time-consuming tasks that a supervisor performs. In e-Education environments, giving feedback becomes more challenging because there are often no possibilities for face-to-face discussions with learners. Typically, a supervisor provides comments to learners in written form via email; however, the use of recorded audio feedback (RAF) in e-Education environments has become a viable alternative. The purpose of this case study was to examine learners’ perceptions of RAF and written feedback for their assignments at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) and at Keio University SFC (Japan). Formative feedback was used to study RAF. Data were collected through surveys and interviews. The results show that learners tend to have positive feelings toward RAF. The findings also indicate that learners’ methods of revising their assignments based on the feedback they receive may impact their preference for one modality over the other. We introduce a process model based on the findings of our study that highlights RAF best practices and guides supervisors in effective use of RAF.