Feedback

How can I use feedback effectively and why will this benefit learners?

Contact the Digital Learning team for help, support and advice for any digital learning tool or task.

What is feedback?

Feedback is integral to effective teaching, helping students understand their progress and take purposeful steps to improve their academic practice. It should be constructive and focused on supporting learners' own growth, motivation and development. Feedback should be aligned with learning outcomes and assessment criteria, while recognising prior experience and guiding future expectations.

Feedback given to students should be actionable and include strategies for improvement alongside the breakdown of the work.

Why should I consider using digital tools in my feedback?

Feedback has a powerful influence on student learning, but its effectiveness depends on how it is designed and implemented. Factors such as scale, structure, and timing should be carefully considered within the context of the course, ensuring feedback is consistent and aligned with the assessment method.

Digital tools can support this process by enabling more efficient, timely, and structured feedback. They can help manage large cohorts, provide consistent approaches across modules, and offer flexible ways to deliver feedback that is relevant to different types of assessment.

Time saving rubrics

Using rubrics in Moodle or tools such as WISEflow helps staff grade efficiently using pre-written criteria and feedback. This supports consistent marking, speeds up common feedback, and still allows for personalised comments tailored to each student鈥檚 individual work.

Feedback format

Recording feedback using digital tools enables students to revisit and reflect on it over time. Combining text, audio, and visual formats can improve engagement and support understanding, allowing students to respond to feedback in ways that suit their individual learning preferences.

Gathering feedback

Feedback is a two-way process. Digital tools and analytics can be used to gather insight from students and teaching teams, supporting continuous improvement. These tools can also provide timely input, enabling you to respond quickly and enhance the learning experience for current students.

Scan for fast feedback

Gathering student insight is key to effective teaching but frequent surveys can lead to fatigue and low engagement. One way to make participation more manageable is to create a Microsoft Form and share it via a QR code, enabling quick, convenient access for students whether in class or remotely.

Whether you are using Moodle to collect your student feedback or a tool such as Microsoft Forms in your teaching, collecting feedback regularly - not just at the end of a module, supports reflective practice and can help to identify any issues early, enabling evidence-based changes that improve student outcomes and satisfaction.

This case study and guide shows how Microsoft Forms were used in Global Sustainable Development to deliver quality, personalised feedback to a large cohort of students.

How can I use digital tools to generate and gather feedback?

We recommend designing your feedback strategy into your overall course and assessment design. Digital tools can be used to gather feedback, to disseminate it to your students and also to create and build elements of feedback.

Design timely, meaningful feedback

Quizzes and tests

Digital platforms such as Moodle and H5P allow you to embed automated feedback into assessments. You can set up response-specific feedback, such as explanations for incorrect answers or model answers for correct responses.

For example, in Moodle Quiz settings, each answer option can include tailored feedback. Using multiple attempts allows students to receive feedback during the attempt and try again. This supports immediate learning in formative tasks, reinforces understanding, and reduces marking workload while still providing meaningful guidance.

Use Moodle Lesson to branch students to different content or feedback depending on their responses, creating a more personalised feedback pathway.

In H5P, several activity types support feedback:

Interactive Video: Embed questions within videos and give instant feedback based on responses.
Course Presentation: Combine content and knowledge checks with feedback throughout.
Essay activity (with sample rubrics): Allows guided responses with automated prompts and example answers.

Gather feedback with digital tools

Polling tools can be used to gather named or anonymous feedback during or after teaching sessions. They support both quick in-session checks and more reflective student experience feedback. Consider whether you need qualitative comments or quantitative data (e.g. charts), and whether responses need to be exported or used immediately.

Student Feedback

Moodle Questionnaire is used to collect Student Module Feedback, a key tool for improving the quality of teaching and learning by gathering students' reflections on their module experiences.

Offers a wide range of question types (multiple choice, Likert, open text).
Responses are automatically visualised and can be exported to Excel for deeper analysis.
Integrates well with Teams and other MS tools.

Padlet

Useful for collecting open, text-based feedback in a collaborative space.
Responses are visible to others, so moderation and clear guidance are important.

Vevox

Ideal for live polling in lectures, with real-time results displayed as charts.
Supports anonymous participation and is well suited to quick checks for understanding or instant feedback.

Use AI to support efficient feedback

AI tools can support feedback and marking processes but should always be used with a clear human-in-the-loop approach to ensure academic judgment, accuracy and fairness.

Can be used to analyse and match assessment briefs, learning outcomes and other criteria
Can be used to generate scaled rubric elements (always with human input and oversight)

Refer to the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants - guidance before using.

Provide scalable feedback across groups and cohorts

For some assessment types, group feedback can be an efficient way to highlight common strengths, areas for improvement, or reflect on group dynamics. This approach helps reduce duplication while ensuring key messages are consistently communicated.

Microsoft Teams

If your teaching uses Microsoft Teams, you may consider sharing group feedback within a channel, ensuring it is visible only to the relevant group members. This method can work when delivering group work modules, providing feedback on collaborative projects, or sharing cohort-level summaries alongside more detailed group-specific comments.

Audio and Video

You can also use recorded posts (e.g. video or audio) to explain common feedback themes. For example, a short video can highlight recurring strengths, clarify misunderstandings, and model good practice. This helps students engage more deeply with feedback, revisit it when needed, and ensures consistency across large cohorts, while reducing repetition for staff.

EchoVideo

EchoVideo tools support simple video creation and capture which can be used to deliver feedback:

Capture video using attached cameras or screen recording
Download recordings for use in other tools and platforms

Microsoft Clipchamp

enables flexible video creation and editing:

Allows capture of a tab, window, or your entire computer screen with or without sound.
Add a face to your video by simultaneously recording your screen and webcam.
Combine video, audio, and images from a wide range of sources
Access web-based editing tools for more advanced production tasks

Bespoke advice

Collaborate with Academic Technologists and the Digital Learning team to explore, test, and develop feedback methods and tools tailored to your teaching context.

Digital Learning tools

The following list of digital tools can support delivering and gathering feedback. Some approaches to using these are mentioned above. If you think that one of these might work to support you with this but would like to discuss this with us, please get in touch.

Moodle

Moodle is Warwick鈥檚 Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) - a web鈥慴ased platform used to support teaching, learning, and assessment across the University.

Staff use Moodle to structure module content, deliver learning materials, set assessments, and guide student engagement. Students use it as their main hub for accessing module information, completing activities, and submitting work. Moodle is used to gather and deliver feedback that supports academics in enhancing teaching and learning. Tools such as questionnaires, choice activities, and analytics enable the collection of structured student feedback on courses, assessments, and learning experiences.

Useful information

Mahara

Mahara, known as MyPortfolio at Warwick, is a personal electronic portfolio available to all students and staff. It provides a flexible online space to collect, organise, reflect on, and showcase your learning and development throughout your academic and professional journey.

Mahara supports feedback in a teaching context by enabling staff to review and respond to student work presented through ePortfolios. Students can curate artefacts, reflections, and evidence of learning, which tutors can then comment on directly within pages or collections, providing formative, contextualised feedback. Features such as inline comments, annotated feedback, and peer review options encourage dialogue and reflective practice, while the ability to track revisions over time helps to monitor student development and provide iterative guidance aligned to learning outcomes.

Useful information

About
Guides

Vevox

Vevox is Warwick鈥檚 centrally supported audience engagement tool, used to make teaching more interactive through live polling, quizzes, Q&A and surveys. It is easy to use in online, in鈥憄erson, and hybrid settings, and students can take part from any device without needing an account.

Vevox can be used in teaching to capture immediate, interactive feedback from students during live sessions or asynchronously. Through polls, quizzes, and Q&A features, teachers can gauge understanding, gather opinions, and identify areas of confusion in real time. Anonymous response options encourage honest input, while post-session analytics provide insights into engagement and comprehension, supporting reflective teaching practice and continuous improvement of course delivery.

About
Guides

Echo360

Echo360, known at Warwick as EchoVideo, is the University鈥檚 lecture capture and video learning platform. It provides students with access to recorded lectures, interactive video tools, and a personal media library for uploading their own video content. Recordings are captured on campus and made available through Moodle.

Recordings can support timely and meaningful feedback by enabling staff to create personalised video feedback and helping students revisit recordings to reflect on and act upon feedback received.

Students can revisit content, take notes, view transcripts, and engage with video鈥慴ased activities. Staff can create additional recordings using Universal Capture, edit existing videos, and manage media through the EchoVideo library.

Useful information

About
Guides

Padlet

Padlet is an online collaborative noticeboard and digital canvas used at Warwick to support interactive learning, discussion, and idea-sharing. It allows staff and students to post text, images, videos, links, and other media in real time, with contributions anonymous by default to encourage participation.

Warwick provides an institutional Padlet licence, giving staff access to enhanced features, templates, and sharing options beyond the free version. Padlet can support both live collaboration and independent study and is simple to embed into Moodle or share via link or QR code.

Padlet can be used as a flexible, collaborative space for gathering and delivering feedback in teaching. Academics can create boards where students post ideas, answers or responses to prompts, allowing tutors to provide quick, visible feedback through comments, reactions, or multimedia responses.

Useful information

About
Guides

Rapidmooc

Rapidmooc is Warwick鈥檚 self鈥憇ervice video recording studio, designed to make it easy for staff and postgraduate research students to create high鈥憅uality videos, presentations, interviews, and teaching content.

Studios are located across campus and are equipped with professional lighting, cameras, microphones, and a green鈥憇creen setup, allowing you to record polished videos with your slides or other media seamlessly displayed behind or beside you.

Rapidmooc is ideal for creating teaching materials, module introductions, demonstrations, and reflective or interview鈥憇tyle recordings. It can be used to create high-quality, short video content to deliver targeted feedback to students or provides feedforward guidance on common challenges. Teachers can record personalised or cohort-level feedback using features such as green screen, slide integration, or document capture to explain concepts. Videos can be embedded into virtual learning environments like Moodle, shared alongside assignments, or used within teaching sessions to reinforce key points. This approach supports scalable and accessible feedback, allowing students to revisit explanations and integrate guidance into their learning.

Useful information

About and Guides

Booking Calendar

Podcasting

Podcasting is a powerful tool for both creators and listeners. Audio can offer a more personal and engaging experience than text alone, and is particularly effective for reflective tasks, interviews, storytelling, and delivering clear, structured explanations.

Digital Learning and Audio Visual Services have collaborated to set up a podcasting station within our Rapidmooc Studio in Westwood. We can offer support and guidance on scripting, recording techniques, microphones, and accessibility best practice to improve sound quality and learning impact.

Podcasting can be used to deliver personalised audio feedback that complements or replaces written comments. By recording short podcasts, teachers can provide detailed explanations of strengths, areas for improvement and guidance in a more conversational and engaging tone. Podcasts can be tailored to individuals or shared with a whole cohort to address common themes, helping students feel more connected to feedback while supporting accessibility and flexibility. Recordings can be embedded in platforms like Moodle or shared via links, allowing students to revisit feedback at their own pace and integrate it into their learning.

Useful information

Qualtrics

Qualtrics is an online survey and data collection platform, available to all staff and students through the University鈥檚 site licence. It enables users to design surveys, distribute them, and analyse responses using a wide range of question types and reporting tools.

The platform supports standard, advanced and specialty question formats, customisable design options, automation workflows, mobile compatibility, and the ability to upload participant lists. It provides a flexible environment for research, feedback, evaluation and engagement activities across the University.

Qualtrics can be used by academics to design and distribute structured surveys that gather detailed feedback from students on modules, teaching approaches, and learning experiences. Advanced question types and logic allow for tailored, meaningful data collection, while anonymity options encourage honest responses. The platform鈥檚 analytics and reporting tools can help to interpret trends, identify areas for improvement, and inform evidence-based enhancements to teaching, assessment, and curriculum design.

Features include:

A full suite of survey question types, including multiple choice, text entry, rank order, matrix tables, sliders and specialist formats such as heat maps.
Customisable look and feel, mobile鈥憆eady design and QR code access.
Participant upload options and workflows for automation.
Online reporting tools for viewing, analysing and sharing results.

Useful information

About

Research and case studies

Explore research and case studies that demonstrate how feedback can be used effectively to enhance teaching and learning, supported by evidence and real-world examples.

Overview

Feedback is a fundamental factor in improving student achievement, narrowing the gap between a student's current performance and desired learning outcomes.(Kay & Bahula 2020, Morris, Perry & Wardle 2021) There is a broad academic shift away from "transmission-oriented" models, where students are passive recipients, toward a socio-constructivist paradigm that views feedback as a socially-constructed dialogue designed to foster self-regulation (Winstone, Bourne et al, 2020). Within this framework, digital technologies such as Learning Management Systems (LMS), video-based feedback, and e-learning platforms are increasingly accepted as essential for providing timely, legible, and detailed information that can reach diverse student populations (Kay & Bahula 2020, Herout, 2024). Furthermore, digital self-assessment tools like online quizzes and progress-tracking apps are widely regarded as effective means to increase student engagement and foster learning autonomy (Herout 2024).

However, significant debate remains regarding the actual effectiveness and implementation of various technological modes, with researchers noting that the evidence base for higher education is often "patchy" or limited compared to studies of school-age children (Kay & Bahula 2020, Morris, Perry & Wardle 2021). For instance, while video feedback is often preferred by students for its social presence and depth, debate continues over its "linear" nature, which can make it difficult for students to navigate or skim during revisions (Kay & Bahula 2020). Similarly, though meta-analyses suggest online peer feedback can be more effective than offline variants due to the benefits of anonymity and time-independence, some scholars argue that the lack of synchronous interaction may cause students to lose the vital "feedback dialogue" necessary for deep learning (Jongsma, Scholten et al. 2022).

A major point of contention involves the "invisibility of engagement" in digital spaces; specifically, the tendency for students to "check the grade and log out" because the LMS often separates grades from feedback files, discouraging further scrutiny of instructor comments (Winstone, Bourne et al, 2020).

Finally, the emerging use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide formative feedback offers revolutionary scalability, yet academics debate the degree to which students trust automated corrections compared to human instructors (Ranelli 2021).

Useful guides

Education Policy and Quality guidance on Marking, Moderation & Feedback
Warwick Assessment System guidance on Marking and Entering Feedback
information and guides on the Microsoft apps available
Our Moodle guide on Activity types
MoodleDocs guidance on the
Student Module Feedback Policy
LinkedIn Learning -

天美传媒

What is feedback?

Why should I consider using digital tools in my feedback?

Time saving rubrics

Feedback format

Gathering feedback

Scan for fast feedback

How can I use digital tools to generate and gather feedback?

Digital Learning tools

Research and case studies

Useful guides