Digital literacies as a Postgraduate Attribute?Project methodologyLesley Gourlay & Martin OliverInstitute of Education, University of Londonhttp://diglitpga.jiscinvolve.org

Digital Literacies as a Postgraduate Attribute?

JISC Developing Digital Literacies Programme

http://diglitpga.jiscinvolve.org/

Institute of Education, University of London

Baseline work: iGraduate survey / Focus groups / multimodal journalling in year 1

Intervention studies in year 2:Academic Writing Centre

Learning Technologies Unit

Library

Ethical considerationsThe project was passed by the institutional ethical approval committee; this involved:

Adoption of BERA principles

Informed consent, with assurances of anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw

IncentivesTokens & vouchers for focus groups

iPod for completion of journalling

Specific considerations with visual methodologiesImages / videos should not include identifiable individuals, minors, or scenes which may invade privacy

They should in any way compromise anonymity, confidentiality and the principle of informed consent

Focus groupsA focus group for each course format

In our work, PGCE, MA students, PhD students, Online masters’ students

8-10 students, invited by Students’ Union

Open with a mapping exercise, leading to discussion of what, where and when people study

Choose a small number of open-ended questions

3-4 questions should be plenty for an hour’s discussion

Consider videoing the focus group

Useful if you need to identify individual speakers

Two people running the focus group, one taking notes and monitoring equipment

Examples of maps

Going deeper

Maps as a stimulus for initial one-to-one interviews

Questions to elaborate themes and issues:Where and when do you undertake your study?

What resources do you use in each place?

Are spaces used at particular times, or in regular patterns?

Which spaces do you feel in control of? Where do you feel supported?

Are there spaces where you avoid undertaking certain kinds of work, and why?

Longitudinal, multimodal journalling12 students recruited from the focus groups

3 from each of the four groups (distance students via Skype)

A structured series of interviews, over 9-12 monthsOpening with a digital ‘autobiography’, exploration of current practice, guidance on data generation

Between interviews, students capture images, video and other forms of documentation to explore engagement with technologies for study

Guidance needed for students in terms of ethics and themes

Over the series of interviews, students take greater responsibility for analysis of data, e.g. by producing presentations that curate, structure and theme the images they have created

Example images

Student presentation example

Image and interview excerpt

In my school, I… we had… our staff room was equipped… one, two, three, four, five, six, seven… seven computers now we can use and only one of them attached with a printer. So, actually we’ve got six … students over there, so it’s, kind of, everybody wants to get to that computer where you can use the printer. Yes, so in the end I found actually I can also use the printer from the library in the school.

So, six student teachers tried to use other computer. So, it, kind of, sometimes feels a bit crowded. And when the school staff want to use it, well, okay, it seems like we are the invaders, intruders?

Our interview series overview

Series of interviews, focusing in on issues of interest

Interview 1Discussion of maps, personal histories of technology use for learning

Interview 2Discussion of initial images about places of study

Interview 3Discussion of images about use of specific resources, areas or technologies identified as important in earlier interviews

Interview 4Discussion of images and artefacts about the processes of producing a specific text (e.g. assessed work)

Interpretation and analysis

Initial close reading of data to identify specific themes

Initial vignettes to illustrate important issues

Subsequently, ‘orientations’ named that describe patterns of practice (not types of student, since students show multiple orientations)

Thematic analysis of interview transcripts, supplemented by images and videos

Recurrent topics and issues identified and named

Evidence gathered in relation to each theme (coded in NVivo)

Themes related out to wider theory and practice

Analysis documented and presented in talks, reports and papers

Example themes

Findings are specific; each institution will need to identify issues that reflect its immediate situation

In our data set, the following themes were important:Engagement with texts

Multimodality, accessing resources, managing resources, creating resources (particularly for assessment)

Spaces of studyIncreased student mobility, distributed sites of study (classes, libraries, homes, workplaces, public transport), provision of infrastructures that support this

IdentityManaging boundaries between private, professional and study activities

Implementing this in your context

Visual methodologies can be used on a smaller scale to enhance small-scale research with staff or students

Maps, drawings, photos and videos can also be used as part of staff development

Provide the advantage of being more connected to practice, but can also be metaphorical

Can be memorable and lighthearted, can also elicit emotional reactions and so should be used carefully

Project blog: http://diglitpga.jiscinvolve.org/wp/

Project webpage: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/developingdigitalliteracies/DigLitPGAttribute.aspx

Project contacts:Lesley Gourlay (l.gourlay@ioe.ac.uk)Martin Oliver (m.oliver@ioe.ac.uk)