Abstract:

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, university campuses throughout the world adopted a variety of technologies to deliver course content. Expanded use of learning management systems and adoption of web-based video technologies such as Zoom became prevalent. With the COVID outbreak waning, institutions are now considering their long-term strategy for these newly expanded or adopted instructional technologies. This paper reports the findings of a case study in which asynchronous web-conferencing feedback was utilized in synchronous face-to-face and synchronous online courses. Previous audio feedback research by Hill (2019), Stewart (2020), and others demonstrated high satisfaction with audio feedback, while questions remained on perceived student learning, shortcomings of tool usage, and faculty satisfaction with the development and delivery of feedback. This research seeks to assess the impact and potential of asynchronous web-conferencing feedback in a post-COVID environment in which web-conferencing tools were adopted or expanded.

Data was collected through a cross-sectional feedback survey utilizing focus group interviews with 50 education graduate students conveniently sampled. The sample included students from both face-to-face and synchronous online courses. The data analysis followed a thematic approach with themes used to structure the discussion of findings.

The study found that four themes which were substantiated by Hill, et. al. (2019) and Stewart (2020):
- Students perceived asynchronous web-conferencing feedback to be more effective and efficient than text-based feedback for providing specific concerns and conveying nuance.
- Asynchronous web-conferencing feedback was associated with feelings of increased involvement and enhanced class interactions.
- Asynchronous web-conferencing feedback was associated with the perception of increased understanding and connection with course content.
- Asynchronous web-conferencing feedback was associated with strong perceptions of individualized feedback and closer faculty connections.

The study also identified faculty and institutional factors impacting the long-term adoption asynchronous web-conferencing feedback including:
- Uncertainty to the long-term institutional commitment to instructional technologies adopted during the COVID pandemic. Many of these new tools were funded through “emergency institutional reallocation” or additional governmental funding.
- Faculty time commitments for the development of audio feedback and management of file distribution to students.
- Data privacy and security based on faculty-available restrictions on new institutional systems.
- Data storage limitations placed on group-based video systems.

Implications of this case study and directions for future institutional policy and instructional research are addressed in the discussion and conclusions section of this paper.

Keywords:

Asynchronous Feedback, Web Conferencing, COVID, Best Practices, Learner Focused Assessment.