The students can definitely get some feedback and guidance regardless of what the assignment may be. So they’re not having to wait for me to do that.
Jan Miller | University of West Alabama, AL
USE CASE
Scaling quality feedback in higher education, teacher preparation
Jan Miller
Director of Competency Based Education and Registered Teacher Apprenticeship
School/District:
University of West Alabama, AL
Grade Level Higher Ed
Jan Miller sat at her desk well past midnight, reading through digital submissions from her teacher education program students. In education, providing meaningful feedback to students is a cornerstone of effective teaching. For Jan, Director of Competency-Based Education and Registered Teacher Apprenticeship at the University of West Alabama, this commitment to quality feedback came with a significant challenge. With over 1,200 online students in their teacher education program, delivering timely, personalized feedback was becoming increasingly difficult.
“Feedback on assignments could take hours or even an entire day to complete, per course,” Jan explains. As someone dedicated to supporting future educators, she knew that delayed feedback meant missed opportunities for growth. Students, particularly adult learners with families to support, need prompt responses to continue their educational journey efficiently.
The feedback bottleneck
The University of West Alabama’s teacher education program serves a diverse student population. From traditional on-campus students to online learners, from competency-based education participants to teacher assistants working toward certification, each group required thoughtful, targeted feedback to develop their teaching skills.
For Jan and her team, this created an impossible equation. “There’s no way that we can give timely, accurate, good feedback to 1,200 students,” she shares. The delay in feedback was especially problematic for adult learners who were balancing education with full-time jobs and family responsibilities. “The sooner they can finish, the more income they can make,” Jan notes, highlighting the real-world impact of educational efficiency.
Despite using Swivl products for recording classroom experiences for 6-7 years, Jan recognized they needed a more robust solution that could scale their ability to provide meaningful guidance while maintaining the personal touch that makes feedback effective.
A new approach to reflection and growth
When Jan discovered M2, Swivl’s intelligent co-teacher with embedded MirrorTalk technology, everything changed. The reflective capabilities immediately caught her attention as a perfect fit for their competency-based program.
“Part of growing as a professional is watching yourself, thinking about why you did what you did, why you made the instructional decisions you did,” Jan explains.
For us to tell students to go back and rewatch something, and then to ask those reflective questions, and now to layer it with AI responses to keep the conversation going – it’s been tremendous.
Jan Miller | University of West Alabama, AL
The impact was immediate. Students in the competency-based program began receiving instant feedback on their work, allowing them to continue their educational journey without waiting days for instructor responses. For Jan, this meant she could focus on providing higher-level guidance rather than spending hours on repetitive feedback.
“For me to set it up for them to get immediate feedback… it’s a time saver for me,” Jan says. “The students can definitely get some feedback and guidance regardless of what the assignment may be. So they’re not having to wait for me to do that.”
A lasting transformation
Today, M2 and MirrorTalk have become essential components of UWA’s approach to teacher preparation. The technology has transformed how Jan and her team support student growth, providing a scalable solution to the feedback challenge while maintaining educational quality.
For students, the immediate feedback means they can progress through their coursework more efficiently, applying insights in real-time rather than waiting for instructor responses. “Online learners don’t like to wait,” Jan notes. “For competency-based to get immediate feedback has been a wonderful thing for the student experience.”
For instructors, M2 has created a more manageable workload without sacrificing educational quality.
It’s very easy to use. The more that you play with it, the easier it gets.
Jan Miller | University of West Alabama, AL
Looking ahead, Jan envisions expanding M2’s use to their K-12 charter school, where teacher candidates can learn to use the technology for assessment and then take those skills into their future classrooms. “We need to teach our candidates how to use this, and then once you get your results, what do you do with it,” she explains. “It really takes assessment to the next level.”
For Jan Miller and the University of West Alabama, M2 isn’t just a technological tool — it’s a partner in their mission to prepare the next generation of educators with the reflection skills and feedback they need to thrive.
Meet M2
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