Ross Adamson, Dr Jess Moriarty & Dr Vy Rajapillai University of Brighton July 2013 E-reading between the lines: 21st century literature, digital platforms and literacies

Outline Reflections on initial project How the project has evolved Impact on our shared and individual teaching and research – challenges to traditional academic discourse(?) How this might be connected to wider academy

The first post Aim To foster independent learning through peer feedback. To offer safe spaces to share and feedback on work Participants Undergraduate students on a creative writing module Context Funded by teaching and learning UoB Setting up the online environment How the blog was used Data collection Focus group Online activity

Findings from the first post Real space- Creativity centre: Enabling Creativity Away from the traditional classroom Provided an interesting space to be creative- music, slide shows, lighting Layout and ambiance enabled reflectivity Feedback process Objective Non- threatening space to participate in feedback process Enhance the presentation of the creative piece- reading the work out loud to the class Limitation Lack of control over the space- layout and ambiance Does not address individual preferences- not too dissimilar to classroom in this respect Can be intimidating to present work in this environment Limited time to reflect and respond with feedback to the work that is being read out in class

Findings from the first post Virtual space- Blogs Non- threatening environment to present work Time to reflect on your work before presenting for feedback No time pressure or having to perform in front of peers Complemented and enhanced the feedback process Time to read the work before providing feedback Engaged student participation in the feedback process- almost immediate response to peer feedback Personally, I enjoyed this much more when you read it out- though I'm not sure why.. Looking forward to seeing the rest of it though. Tuesday, 05 th Jan 2:27 PM by Student 2 O.K. That's the first para and the last line gone. Any better? More coming tomorrow Tuesday, 05 th Jan 8:33 PM by Author Maintain the momentum of the activity- writing and feedback

Findings from the first post Virtual space- Blogs (cont..) Developed skills in providing constructive feed This is really good... your description is really realistic and vivid, and as i hate the dentist - it actually made me feel sick! Must be good to give me that reaction! I know what you mean about the third paragraph, but i think it would work whether you scrapped it or not. (Student 1) Displayed peer support to enhance creativity- proposing ideas to enhance the written piece I love this, the short sentences really work. The only bit I thought maybe you could change was the bit about the hands in the pockets? maybe instead of 'You stuck your hands in your pockets. You wore loose jeans; I was always surprised your hands reached your pockets' it could be "You wore loose jeans. You stuck your hands in your pockets; i was always surprised they reached." Other than that its great! (Student 2)

Findings from the first post Virtual space- Blogs (cont..) Enabled students to reflect on and develop their writing skills Limitation Some pieces needed to be read out loud to feel the impact, hence affecting the feedback. Personally, I enjoyed this much more when you read it out- though I'm not sure why.. Posting work on-line for feedback was intimidating – participants tended to be more critical and less constructive with their feedback

Findings from the first post Enabling Creativity Away from the traditional classroom Removed (to some extent) the hierarchy of the workshop environment Focus on students rather than tutor Feedback process Non- threatening space to participate in feedback process Enhance the presentation of the creative piece- reading the work out loud to the class Developed confidence with creative, critical and communication Limitation Still policed by a tutor – good and bad? Can be intimidating to present work in this environment (?)

Driving the second post To investigate how the students used the blogs to enhance their final assessment portfolio Consider ways of incorporating the online feedback process as part of the assessment

And so... Incorporated blogs as an assessment tool for critical engagement with academic papers Aim of this was To capture the learning and meaning making through the use of blogs Description of life online assessment

Life online- using blogs for assessment Detailed discussion demonstrating critical understanding of theories of digital media culture Demonstrating an ability to identify, summarise and evaluate academic sources.

Reflections on life online Tension between traditional expectations of academic writing and the new diary genre ethos of writing a blog post. It challenges traditional academic discourse Referencing/citation conventions Objective vs subjective voice in critical analysis

Reflections on life online E-literacy Tutors Raising issues regarding the perceived legitimacy of incorporating blogs and genres of creative and personal writing in academic work Rethinking academic writing in this environment Recognizing the subjective voice? To what extent….? Learners Raising awareness about academic writing Reflecting on writing across different genre

Conclusion Teachers and learners need to unlearn to learn Tutors need to actively engage with and challenge academic writing conventions Engage with and legitimize the potential for adopting blogs and other styles of writing in academic research Students need guidance and practice in learning to write in and for this hybrid genre

Questions How can we further legitimize personal and creative approaches to academic writing for undergraduate students? Why? Can writing in personalised genres encourage deeper engagement with academic material?

Questions…. Many thanks