Newman joins Sounds Good 2.

I first came across the Sounds Good project when I attended a session that Will Stewart, Bob Rotheram and Martina Doolan ran at the Next Generation Environments Conference at Aston back in April. Newman is a small college which prides itself in the personal attention we are able to give to our students so, if Sounds Good was showing that students valued audio feedback, I was sure our staff would be interested. We are also, like all universities, concerned with providing timely feedback and often there is a tension between constructive and comprehensive feedback and the speed at which it can be delivered. Although the first phase of Sounds Good did not suggest that providing audio feedback would reduce the time involved in providing it, it did suggest that with practice and by observing certain ways of working, it could be provided quite quickly. I returned to Newman and spread the word and soon had several keen tutors who wanted to get involved. Bob Rotheram visited us at the end of September and we are now officially on board and I hope bring to the project a diverse range of subjects and students. Joining in the second phase of the project allows us to benefit from the experience gained in the first phase and we can’t wait to start!

Bob Ridge-Stearn
Head of e-Learning, Newman University College, Birmingham.