Emergement themes for data

Jen themes:

• describes experience of m as a student on the msc
  
• describes use of m in the msc
  
• describes how EDC and DFL have different approaches to m
  
• describes how her experience of m as a student informed tutor experience
  
• digital textuality
  
• instability of the digital text
  
• we know that assessment if images is problematic, however text is equally subject to intepretation, unstable, open
  
• when a student goes for an m essay the default position of the essay has been abandoned for a reason - m becomes part of the argument
  
• we have to give different types of feedback on m work. Additional layers have to be interpreted
  
• non-linear approach is less common than you think
  
• linear is very difficult to abandon - maybe reflecting nature of msc student body
  
• students have been disciplined into ways of thinking and practicing about writing
  
• factors promoting: edc/mood/idel blog give people opportunities for low stakes practice
  
• factors promoting: opps for peers and tutor feedback to see what's possible
  
• there's lots of willingness amongst students to try, but this has to come through opportunities to experiment
  
• factors discouraging: students often associate m with artistic ability which discourages some 'non-artsy' people
  
• retraining: no, it's about establishing a set of shared understandings beween students and tutors
  
• dialogue over representation and interpretation
  
• michael example: wanted to be assessed on the video (but the pdf is a very good convetional essay)
  
• michael example: she became immersed in the video
  
• sarah's wiki: more traditional
  
• sarah's wiki: didn't need links or images to be understood - enhancements not core
  
• michael example: maybe he included pdf to be considerate to tutor? or maybe hedging his bets? or maybe didn't trust the validity of the multimodal?
  
• michael example: it's helpful to have a transcript...but not desirable if we're interested in pushing the boundaries of our assessment practices.
  

Sian themes:

• describes involvement with m on msc
  
• mentions m assessment on the mooc
  
• seeing fewer m assessments on IDEL
  
• edc - reasons why conventional work not accepted
  
• mooc - outpouring of creative energy
  
• whole structure of edc shaped my m
  
• we have the scholarly apparatus of print and writing, built over hundreds of years, to judge quality of essay
  
• each digital essay has to be judged on its own terms
  
• assessment becomes interpretation more than measurement
  
• assessor as partnering in  construction of meaning
  
• student-tutor hierarchy - profound implications
  
• students can submit up to 3 extra criteria but generally struggle with this. intended as a chance to explore what works about a particular medium
  
• hierarchy: assessment moment is most obvious example of tutor dominance
  
• tutors are invited to bring their interpretative capacities to bear on digital work
  
• with a digital essay we can't so easily mark according to what we see as the intention of the student
  
• we still need to be requiring and writing essays - the form is too central to scholarship
  
• we need to think of other forms alongside conventional essays
  
• rather than retraining, thinking around ass conventions and accepting there's room for experimentation and 'big thinking'
  
• Factors encouraging: willingness and openness of tutors to enable experimentation
  
• factors encouraging: we need to  learning from colleagues in other disciplines
  
• we need to learn from colleagues in visual disciplines
  
• visual turn in society means teaching at all levels is coming round to idea of visual
  
• factors encouraging: students respond to tutor's course design so it should be designed into the course
  
• describes experience of m as a student
  
• advanced work by me michael, jeremy might put others off - too far ahead of students and tutors
  
• people generally get the thinking and the critical stuff being the advanced presentation of work
  
• Visual: a new ontology of image, not print
  
• we don't have the interpretative frameworks for visual. we have to start anew with image as an assessment mode
  
• as a marker, m makes you work harder. you have to think about what image is doing, compositionally, historically
  
• retraining: academic development rather than training
  
• non-linear can more more difficult to follow without the well developed argument
  
• the form of the essay needs to be allowed to stand as its intellectual content - judge on merits according to its form
  
• form as intellectual content
  
• hypertext example: frustrating - linkage internal
  
• hypertext example: imagery illustrative rather than critical
  
• hypertext example: it's fighting the digital form
  
• hypertext example: basically a written essay with a nod to hypertext
  
• michael example: very, very clever.
  
• michael example: form reflects content
  
• it's possibly easier for ODL-ers to present m because they're immersed in digital space and alt modes of rep
  

Marshall themes:

• descibes m experience as a student - ceramic art - objects and rationale allowed layers of representation
  
• should would feel a bit lost assessing an object with no text
  
• describes use of m on msc
  
• dissertations: high stakes so students go safe
  
• dissertations: guidance is oriented towards text-based work
  
• dissertations: we have fundamental ideas about what research data is
  
• the uni is quite conservative so it's not surprising it impacts on assessment
  
• image and movement (inc dance) can be very powerful modes of communication
  
• visual - big problem is interpretation
  
• texts are less ambiguous/flexible than image
  
• image can be a problem in terms of interpretation
  
• we're trained in writing to argue and persuade - limits the scope of interpretation
  
• offers an example of a hypertext essays with images in a vertical ribbon and links to videos at bottom
  
• example cont. it was hard to see how images were relevant to the text
  
• example cont. the images were a challenge to link to discourse of the text
  
• example cont. the marker's path was observed as she navigated through artefact
  
• example cont. images needed clearer embedding in in linking
  
• example cont. linked videos had no accompanying explanation
  
• contextualising is a key skills in writing or presentation of m materials
  
• need to ground myself in assessment brief and look for criteria nominated by student
  
• embodying what is being discussed - interesting and exciting
  
• hypertext essay: several paths followed through it
  
• michael example: more linear. would watch video at least twice if marking
  
• has a sense of uncertainty about what path to follow in m submissions
  
• just as with an m. assignment, when reading she skips between sections
  
• recognises a sense of pleasure and anticipation when faced with an m assessment - it is fair or am i biased in favour of this work because of its form?
  
• m offers novelty and scope for creativity
  
• feels anxiety about understanding scope, content, path -  this is mixed with pleasure in the exploration
  
• factors encouraging/discouraging: need to be clearly and strongly invited in assessment brief
  
• factors encouraging/discouraging: time - she suspects they take a lot longer to produce
  
• training: valid. tutors may lack experience of tech or digital experiences
  
• training: cultural, attitudinal aspects could be discussed - what's allowed?
  
• training: we're grounded in our experiences as students - if we haven't done m work, we need some rethinking
  
• training: discussion covering course design and moderation
  
• cultural aspects might be most challenging to tutors
  
• factors encouraging/discouraging: if course is presented m, students will feel encouraged to use m
  
• feedback: this could be multimodal. doesn't seem right to give a word doc feedback on an m assignment
  
• being observed during marking made her nervous, v conscious of missing links etc.
  

Christine themes:

• Describes multimodla use on the MSc
  
• Experience of m as a student (on the MSc itself)
  
• Experiences the risk of spending too long on form over content (as a student on the MSc)
  
• There's a danger of spending too much time making it pretty, over the content of argument etc
  
• describes how student experience of m influenced her work as a tutor, including empathy
  
• gives an example of an artefact where form reflected content
  
• there's a danger that the dig env can direct the line taken
  
• the freedom of digital spaces could mean the tutor is a curator
  
• risk  - some students feel this way and are intimidated
  
• gallery - the examples and creativity of other students in general can be intimidating
  
• some students like the feeling of doing something different and creative
  
• some students feel they out to be m, considering the nature of the course
  
• on IDEL students experiment in different spaces on blog which is encouraging
  
• she encourages m in blogs but doesn't want students to add images to text just for the sake of it
  
• genres
  
• examples: both worked
  
• hypertextexample: the displayed features worked
  
• hypertext example: links to large passages of text by other people didn't work - distracting
  
• links to other sources can be distracting
  
• links need to be contextualised
  
• michael example: watching videos takes a long time so glad of transcript
  
• really good m assignments take longer to mark as they draw you in
  
• video takes longer to mark than script so you need to set aside extra marking time
  
• michael example: dual mode of text and visual is useful
  
• as a marker, in some cases you spend a lot of time working out what you're supposed to do as a reader
  
• working out what you're supposed to do and where to begin can be uncomfortable
  
• in many cases there's still an expected beginning. if not the student should say.
  
• navigation can make interpretation difficult so signposts are welcome
  
• offers an example with a shared responsibility for curation
  
• inevitable that tutor does some curation in some m submissions
  
• hierarchy: as along as tutors give grades there's a power imbalance
  
• mooc - some students submitted in own language and couldn't be understood by peers. would image have helped? image understanding could vary across cultures.
  
• as a marker there's a need to identify messages and intentions
  
• she likes m for its inclusivity
  
• tutors are a product of text-based culture
  
• retraining: yes, but by whom?
  
• retraining: maybe it's about awareness of issues?
  
• retraining: maybe retrained by those from other disciplines?
  
• teachers need to think of themselves as learners some times
  
• m is exciting but it can be frightening for people to experience so much change
  
• some people's creativity can make others feel inadequate
  
• it opens up education  and creativity to far more people
  

Rory themes:

• describes his use of m on MSc
  
• dissertations aren't m
  
• risk - students play it safe
  
• tutors influence format of student work through subliminal messages
  
• images can be used to advance narrative, not just illustrate
  
• the text-based nature of the literature has a reinforcing effect
  
• it's hard to break out of the academic traditions of text
  
• m requires tutors to think of equivalences to texts e.g. word count
  
• paradox - the the m assignments on assignment have been on shorter assignments where there's less room to manoeuvre than in dissertation
  
• reproduces a section from the EPS course handbook encouraging non-conventional or experimental form
  
• dissertation - the lit review is text-based which encourages use of text
  
• dissertation conversations tend to be dominated by data and analysis and leave less room for experimental presentation
  
• rory is comfortable with m web assignments as has web, art and cartoon background
  
• video takes a long time to sit through
  
• a video dissertation could be a documentary - but would take a long time to watch
  
• the time associated with m marking is fine now as its less common, but would be a problem if everyone did it
  
• visual vs text - text isn't toppled yet, reflected in dominance of text in journals and even on MSc
  
• images - tends to be someone else's, so only indirecting quality. Different case when its created by student.
  
• it's difficult for tutors to judge image which may unconsciously reinforce status quo
  
• risk for students is that idea might not be fully recognised
  
• if use of image became new normal, academics would need to know more about what they're judging
  
• sound - how to judge that?
  
• markers might have blindspots to different modes - he cites his own - ballet and opera
  
• traditional ways of assessment are the waters we swim in - we were assessed in this way and assess this way (relates to point in other interviews about having completed m work as a student)

Clara themes:

• experience of multimodality as a student (included a bit of multimedia)
  
• i should be thinking of mfl as well as mfa
  
• different use of m on the MSc
  
• dialogue
  
• reasons why m is encouraged on the course
  
• dissertations are not multimodal
  
• risky for students
  
• m doesn't have to be song-and-dance - it could be a Word doc with images
  
• gallery is off putting
  
• tutors have to go through a threshold to understand student dilemma
  
• risky for tutors
  
• factors that encourage and discourage m amongst students
  
• students need a chance to try it out
  
• m prompts tutors to respond with m feedback
  
• mode doesn't matter in relation to quality - its about critical, synthesis, argument
  
• students need a chance to apply criteria over time
  
• visual versus text
  
• dialogue again
  
• tutors retraining
  
• interpreting visual
  
• crisis of interpretation, assessment as a creative crisis
  
• michael's artefact
  
• prefers to read than listen
  
• appreciative of text option in michael's artefact
  
• other artefact - text easy to follow, it flows
  
• prefers to read
  
• i should be spending more time looking at m feedback than just m assessment

Hamish themes:

• experience of m assessment as a student
  
• its about understanding why you use certain devices
  
• experience as a student influenced current approach - we teach as we were taught
  
• m should be used when it is called for, not just for adding colour
  
• he doesn't understand the aesthetic
  
• an image doesn't add anything purely by its presence
  
• if the idea hasn't been communicated clearly i may miss something therefore the student may need to speak down to me
  
• m allows a student to use a juxtaposition of media to make an idea clear
  
• could m not have to go beyond the written word on its own?
  
• he doesn't consciously set m assignments
  
• students are encouraged to use different media if it helps communicate idea, not just for sake of it
  
• seeing past work can be restrictive and demotivating
  
• good examples can be a template which actually constrain
  
• doesn't like the gallery - useful for prospective students but doesn't have pedagogic value for participating students
  
• m might enable people to do what they do well, by selecting the right tools
  
• should m be encouraged, or should it be about enabling it, and not preventing it?
  
• we should be tolerant when people want to take risks and it doesn't come off
  
• high risk summative assessment is not conducive to creativity
  
• people need time and space and experience of making mistakes
  
• students need lots of formative opportunities
  
• students need peer collaboration
  
• he doesn't want to give too much credit for form over function and to be harsh to those who go for a more conventional approach
  
• michael's assignment: video blends form and function very well
  
• other assignment: multimodally grafted onto a linear essay
  
• one might be good but one might be genius - the scale isn't linear
  
• training: co-evolution with students and tutors, not training
  
• who would do the training?
  
• he liked the 'critical incident' approach of the interview
  

Where tutors have experience multimodal assessment as a student, this has influenced their attitude towards multimodality as a tutor. And this includes digital and pre-digital multimodality. This links into another idea expressed by some within interview that tutors can usefully reorient themselves by completing multimodal assessment themselves.