Assistant Professor, Department of Education Leadership, Salisbury University | jtfox@salisbury.edu

     I want to share a story with you. I teach graduate students how to engage in the process of research, and through an evolution of circumstances, I have stumbled upon a pedagogical practice that has transformed the quality of my instruction, my feedback to students, and my human connection with my students.

The Pre-Story

     My story begins pre-pandemic, and actually about seven to eight years ago. In my field, I have read and provided detailed feedback on research proposals, dissertation defenses, and my all-time favorite (sarcasm), the literature reviews that range anywhere from 15 pages for my masters’ students up to 80 plus pages for my doctoral students. But, I pride myself on the detailed feedback.

     However, as my pre-story goes, I grew increasingly frustrated when wonderful students would not take my feedback into consideration, and as a matter of fact, I believe that on many occasions did not even open their document to view the written feedback that I had so painstakingly and liberally offered them. That frustrated me! That’s the context of this story.

My Story: Instructor Feedback on Student Assessments

     It appears that social media, video capability at our very fingertips, TikTok, Instagram reels, Facebook posts, etc. have mesmerized our whole society with video platforms unequal to anything we have ever seen in human history. So, just shortly prior to the pandemic, I began to wonder if I could harness this capability and provide videos of my critical feedback on students’ work. What if I could find a technology that would allow me to record my whole monitor and put the students’ work on that monitor and then go through the document and provide feedback to them via video? Maybe, just maybe, they would take the time to actually see and hear and incorporate my critical feedback and learn. Even though I am slightly overdramatizing the story, this is exactly what I did the semester prior to COVID-19.

     I found a video technology called Screencast-O-Matic. I really don’t like the name, but it worked for what I wanted to do. It would record anything on my screen (the student’s paper) as well as a small headshot of me in the bottom right corner of the screen. I felt it was important for students to see my facial expressions and not just hear my voice. So, I started doing video feedback on student work, especially on longer assignments that required detailed feedback. I found that this really was a time saver for me and probably has kept my fingers from a painful future arthritic reality.

     My process was to scan through a student’s paper, put small tick marks at different places where I knew I wanted to make a comment, go back up to the top of their paper, and start the video recorder. As stated, my face would be down on the bottom right of the screen so that they could see me….and I would begin scrolling through the student’s paper making various critical comments, as well as the occasional praise.

So, Did it Work?

     Students began seeing and hearing my feedback to them, and they responded. It was amazing. So much so, that I began making more videos on all kinds of assignments. And students responded again! In that first semester and a half of providing students with video feedback assessment on their work, I made over 500 videos.

     As a research professor, I began thinking to myself, ‘Why am I not collecting data on this?’ And so, I put together a small pilot study just for my own benefit to see what my students thought about this video feedback. Overwhelmingly, the response was favorable.

     Although my study was not an empirical study, my students were overwhelmingly pounding the “strongly agree” button on my likert-style statements relating to: (1) video feedback helped me to feel connected with my instructor, (2) video feedback is better than written feedback, (3) I would re-watch the video to better understand the feedback, (4) the video feedback was encouraging to me even if it included critical feedback, (5) video feedback helped me to learn, (6) I wish other professors would use video feedback, and (7) I used the video feedback to improve my writing. I also provided an open response question relating to the video feedback and students responded with such sentiments as (1) they felt validated, (2) they appreciated the time it took for me to make the videos, (3) the video feedback provided more feedback than written feedback, (4) the feedback was thorough, (5) the feedback felt more personal, and (6) they loved the video feedback.

     However, I learned a few things about my practice of providing video feedback. If you are thinking about possibly incorporating this video feedback into your repertoire of pedagogical practices, listen closely.

1. 1. Too much of a good thing is not good. Don’t go overboard. Be selective on when to use video feedback and find a good balance between written and video feedback.
   2. Students much prefer shorter videos over lengthy ones.
   3.  You can become a resounding gong by saying the same thing over and over and over again; students don’t really like that.
   4.  Be aware of the power of your nonverbal communication. For example, I found out that sometimes after I offer a point of critical feedback that I do this little chuckle thing and apparently some students found this to be highly offensive (they told me so). I was not even aware of that at all.

     So, that’s video assessment of students’ work, in a nutshell.

My Other Story: Video Messaging

     COVID-19 and the global pandemic erupted. So, let’s all go home and isolate ourselves from all living humans for about a year. Oh, and at the same time, continue to teach and remain wonderfully connected to your students. What????  For a person who thrives on human connection, this shook me. I find great satisfaction in the personal connections that I have with my students. Period.

     Well, as the pandemic was really kicking up a notch, I thought, maybe I can use this video strategy beyond just student video feedback. So, I began using Screencast-O-Matic for video messaging as well, but only in the following specific circumstances:

1. 1. When a 30-second video could communicate volumes to a student that their lives and their learning matter to their instructor. Boom, there went a 30-second or less video.
   2. When I sensed that a student needed a word of encouragement from their instructor, there went another 30-second or less video.
   3. When a student asked a technical question that involved SPSS, Excel, or some other technical application, I quickly provided a 30 second video on what to click, etc…..there went another video message. For example, one student emailed me and said she could find no articles on “retention of students in higher education”….really? I knew exactly what she was doing—loading up the first search box with all kinds of terms; thus, zero hits. So, I logged in to the Library databases, and showed her exactly how to use the “Keywords”….boom, 1,252 scholarly articles all written within the past 6 years….on her specific topic.

So, How did Video Messaging Work?

     Students felt supported, encouraged, and empowered. In addition, I am certain that these students knew for sure that I whole-heartedly supported their individualized learning. I know there are limitations to this practice and that it is not feasible in all circumstances. But, video feedback and particularly, a well-timed video message can go a very long way in humanizing our instruction and students sensing that their instructor cares about them. Students have needed that more than ever through the global pandemic. A good 80+% of my students are teachers in school settings. They are stressed and frazzled. If there is anything that I can do to humanize their experience in my classroom, I will do it.

And My Story Continues

     A few of my colleagues have agreed to join me in also engaging in video feedback via Screencast-O-Matic: Dr. Maida Finch, Dr. Jenni Davis, and Dr. Ron Siers. We will be collecting data from our students relating to our practice of providing video feedback on some of their assignments and are looking forward to continually figuring out how to best harness this pedagogical capability. If you would like to consider adding video feedback to your toolbox of pedagogical practices, I have created a short video on how to get started. Email me at jtfox@salisbury.edu and just ask for it.