Supporting Graduate Student Writers With VoiceThread

Abstract

This qualitative case study examined the influence of the use of VoiceThread technology on the feedback process for thesis writing in two online asynchronous graduate courses. The influence on instructor feedback process and graduate student writers’ perceptions of the use of VoiceThread were the foci of the study. Master’s-level students ( n = 18) in two different degree programs received and responded to multiple rounds of instructor feedback on their thesis paper via VoiceThread technology for one semester. Instructor and student comments on VoiceThread and an open-ended survey of students’ experiences using VoiceThread in the course were analyzed. Findings show that VoiceThread promoted a two-way dialogue between the instructors and the students during the revision process, students had a generally positive perception of the use of the technology, and that instructors’ feedback processes were impacted in different ways by the use of the technology.