Rhodes 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 partnered with Dutch-based company FeedbackFruits towards the end of 2024, and the pilot, funded by a Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Infrastructure grant, commenced this year.
FeedbackFruits is an assessment and feedback tool suite that supports lectures to create engaging assessment and learning activities in RUconnected (online student portal) for their students. FeedbackFruits is currently used by 200+ leading higher education institutions throughout the world. The Centre for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Learning (老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网) hosted onboarding sessions presented by FeedbackFruits colleagues Grace Wachter and Mike Whittaker at the end of January. Thirty-five lecturers registered to attend sessions presented over the two days. The sessions focused on peer assessment and feedback, reimagining assessment in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), activating student engagement with blended learning, and crafting learning journeys and leveraging analytics.
The onboarding sessions ignited inspiration among lecturers, some of whom shared their reflections on the sessions and how they plan to use some of the tools and pedagogical approaches in their courses. Dr Wetsi Poka from the Department of Mathematics shared that these sessions were an ‘eye-opener’ and that they demonstrated "how powerful well-organised feedback is to the teacher and the student in their learning journey". He recommends FeedbackFruits to fellow lecturers, saying it should ‘be on the menu of every lecturer's tools’. Dr Poka shared that he plans to use it to engage his maths students through weekly peer review tasks to reinforce learning and help him identify knowledge gaps.
Advocate Shuaib Rahim in the Faculty of Law has many ideas, particularly for his third-year Company Law courses. Adv. Rahim has made use of group projects and sees the ability for groups to share feedback with groups as a way to expand on students’ learning. He also sees the interactive document as a way to facilitate supported reading of key cases and other materials.
Department of Management lecturer Dr Alyssa Williams shared that she could immediately envision integrating these activities into her assessments as the various tools and approaches were demonstrated. She said that providing feedback to almost 500 students is currently a manual and time-consuming process. She sees significant value in using the Automated Feedback tool to assist students with grammar and structure. At the same time, the AI Feedback Coach could help tutors deliver rich, constructive feedback to students. Dr Williams was particularly excited about the interactive document tool, recognising its potential to actively engage students with learning materials as part of her flipped classroom approach. A standout moment for Dr Williams was the last day's final session, where she collaborated with Wachter and Whittaker on an activity from her course. Reflecting on the experience, she noted, "I saw firsthand how investing a bit of time at the beginning of the process can set the tone for a smoother, more effective academic year".
Bachelor of Education Foundation Phase lecturer Angi Jones said, "I am embracing technology this year!" She shared that, "The two mornings I spent with the FeedbackFruits team really opened my eyes to the possibilities this program has for me and my students - I will be embracing the technology and embedding it into my lectures from the beginning."
Educational Technology Specialist and Senior Lecturer in 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网, Dr Nicola Pallitt, said that the FeedbackFruits pilot came at the right time, supporting institutional commitments to support active blended learning and reimagining assessment in times of generative artificial intelligence. Over the past two years, 老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 colleagues have produced a range of resources to support these areas, from an informative blended learning guide to resources for staff and students related to AI (Student guidelines for AI use, Teaching and Learning with AI, Assessment in the time of AI, and Reimagining Assessment Practices).
老虎机游戏_pt老虎机-平台*官网 and FeedbackFruits colleagues look forward to exploring further opportunities with lecturers who want to integrate these tools into their teaching and learning, supporting students toward a future where technology and education work hand in hand.