Enriching Programming Student Feedback with Audio Comments

Introductory programming is challenging for many students, requiring them to engage with a deep approach to learning concepts in order to succeed. These challenges compound for online students who do not have direct face-to-face interactions with teaching staff. With the growing demand for online education, we need to examine approaches that assist in building supportive learning environments for these students. A growing body of work from other education disciplines indicates that audio feedback provides an opportunity for developing stronger relationships with students. Further studies recommend an integrated implementation of audio recording into the virtual learning environment. To evaluate audio feedback for use in programming education, we developed an integrated, cross-browser audio feedback feature into the open-source Doubtfire learning management system. Doubtfire is used to support and scale a task-oriented teaching and learning system built upon the principles of constructive alignment and has been shown to help students engage with programming concepts in campus-only units. Our findings from experimental and observational activities indicate that programming tutors can use a blended approach of audio and text feedback via the learning management system to better support student learning. The blended approach provides more nuanced feedback, conveying personality and feelings of connectedness to students, while retaining the benefits of specificity for code-specific issues.