JAPAN ASSOCIATION FOR LANGUAGE TEACHING JALT2017 • LANGUAGE TEACHING IN A GLOBAL AGE NOVEMBER 17–20, 2017 • IBARAKI, JAPAN 356 Improving Feedback on Academic Writing: Combining Wikis and Screencasts Peter Brereton Rikkyo University Reference Data: Brereton, P. (2018). Improving feedback on academic writing: Combining wikis and screencasts. In P. Clements, A. Krause, & P. Bennett (Eds.), Language teaching in a global age: Shaping the classroom, shaping the world. Tokyo: JALT. Although the importance of feedback in academic writing is undisputed, it can often be lacking in clarity and quality. With the aim of making the feedback process clearer and more rewarding to learners and to build a learning community to encourage interaction and peer feedback, an action research project was carried out with two high-level IELTS preparation classes to combine the use of a class wiki with audio-visual screencasts to provide learners with both a space to share their writing and more meaningful teacher feedback. In this paper, data from said project are used together with previous studies to illustrate the beneits and potential barriers of using these Web 2.0 tools with writing classes. Studies on both tools have shown they are successful in isolation, yet this is the irst known study where the two have been combined to enhance the overall feedback process and ofer opportunities for deeper learning. アカデミックライティングにおけるフィードバックの重要性は明白だが、フィードバックの多くは明確さと質の向上が必要で ある。本研究では、学生にとってより明確で意味のあるフィードバックの提供、また、学生同士のやりとりの中からフィードバッ クが生まれる学習環境の実現を目的とし、学生間でのライティングの共有の場や教師からの有意義なフィードバックの提供を 可能にする「AVスクリーンキャスト」及び「クラスwiki」を併用して、二つの上級レベルのIELTSクラスでアクション・リサーチを実 施した。本稿では、本プロジェクトで収集したデータと以前の研究データを使用し、ライティングのクラスにおいてこのWeb 2.0 ツールを使用する際の利点と予測される問題点を概説する。上記のツールそれぞれ単独の使用効果についての先行研究は 存在するが、本プロジェクトは、フィードバックの課程を総合的に強化し、より深い学習の機会を提供するために上記の両ツー ルを併用した知る限り最初の研究である。 T he importance of feedback in language learning cannot be underestimated; it is clear how much learners value it (Coin et al., 2003) and how powerful its impact on both learner motivation (Hyland & Hyland, 2006) and achievement (Hattie & Timperley, 2007) can be. Yet it is also clear that this impact can just as easily be detrimental as beneicial (Carless, 2006; Lee, 2008), with unclear, inaccessible or indecipherable feedback (Coin et al., 2003; Hattie & Timperley, 2007) leaving learners lacking the support they require to make meaningful progress in their writing. Teachers are generally no more satisied with the process; there is usually no guarantee that learners will take the time to read and attempt to internalise the feedback or act upon it in future tasks; and it can be frustrating to have to repeat the same advice to several learners. With the aim of improving the quality and clarity of teacher feedback, encouraging peer feedback and peer learning, and using teacher time more productively, a small- scale action research project was carried out with two groups of students on IELTS writing preparation courses (see Brereton, 2016). In this study two Web 2.0 tools were used: an online wiki (a “freely expandable collection of interlinked web pages . . .where each page is easily edited by any user” (Leuf & Cunningham, 2001, p. 14), and video screencast software named Jing—”a digital recording of the activity on a computer screen accompanied by voiceover narration” (Alvira, 2016, p. 83). The decision to use a wiki was made as it can function as a platform for learners to share their work with each other. This was done with the aim of changing learners’ perceptions of the writing process: instead of viewing it as a private interaction between teacher and learner, they should view each other’s work as a learning resource and were therefore encouraged each week to read at least two of their peers’ submissions and to use the wiki’s comment function to provide constructive feedback. Teacher feedback was provided using Jing, a free-to-download program that enables video recording of a section of the user’s computer screen along with microphone audio recording in a so-called screencast. When recording screencasts, spoken commentary on NEXT PAGE ⊲ ONLINE FULL SCREEN