Evaluation of Multimedia Tools and e-Feedback in Virtual Learning Environments

There is a high consensus that one of the key elements to ensure knowledge attainment in a virtual university context is the existence of regulatory processes of learning, which allows students to regularly evaluate their learning process. In asynchronous learning environments one of the usual strategies to facilitate this regulation is the use of feedback mechanisms between the student and tutor. But in the environment of large groups of students written personalized feedback may be too laborious for the tutor. In this paper we present a pilot project focusing on the context of Degree in Business Administration from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. We have explored ICT tools to give feedback (audio, video and screenshots). The aim is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the learning regulatory process. During one semester the project was implemented by taking a virtual classroom with a reduced number of students in specific subjects using alternative ways to written feedback. In order to evaluate the effects of using these alternative multimedia tools, the results obtained have been compared with the other benchmark groups taking into account the following aspects: academic results, assessment of students, evaluation of tutors, and hours of dedication of tutors. The implementation of the pilot test and evaluation of results have allowed to draw some conclusions about the conditions under which the use of multimedia tools in feedback may in fact help the adjustment process in virtual learning.