February 28, 2010

Returning to the questions I asked on February 23, below are my observations:

Can the focus of the camera give an indication of which student is the preferred presenter? 

No clue is given if the interviewer and the camera operator are the same person, however, at 27 seconds into the video, the camera shifts focus from Harrison to Shawn prior to the interviewer asking Shawn, “How about you, is this the first time you’ve used one?” Given the simplicity of the production, this anticipatory movement suggests the interviewer and the operator are the same person.

The main reason why I wrote this question came out of an impression that the interviewer had a preference as to which student he wanted to answer the questions. From the 0:45 second mark of the video, the interviewer/camera operator zoomed into Harrison- and the lower quarter of the SMART board screen- to focus on him and his gestures. Support for the impression that Harrison’s input was more welcomed came at 1:31, when the interviewer asked: “And who used the SMART board the most, the teachers uh or the students?”

From: Wolff-Michael Roth <mroth@uvic.ca>

Date: March 4, 2010 6:04:32 AM PST

To: Brian Untereiner <brianu@uvic.ca>

Subject: Re: EDCI 580 obs

Hi Brian,

I did get it this time. Here a few comments. 

I am looking at the question: "which student is the preferred presenter"

Of course, we would not be able to decide if someone had something in mind. But you can give an answer of what actually happens, and show that there is more attention to one than to another student. Whatever the camera person has in mind, what you look at is the "objective" evidence, the fact, that the camera work places one person more in the foreground than another. 

The camera shift does not necessarily mean that the two are the same, it could be that they have exchanged signals behind the scene, where you don't see it. But they are at least well coordinated, there is an underlying unity in camera work and interviewer so that "if they are not the same person, they work very closely together" . If you were to say something like this, you would not commit to one or the other hypothesis, but you could leave it open until you have further evidence, or you just leave it open. It could be a "collective subject," one or two persons, and if the latter, very good collaboration. Because you cannot see behind the images, you do not know whether there is one or two persons----unless the materials themselves give you evidence. 

Don't focus on "impression". Just analyze using statements and images that nobody can refute. Impressions can be refuted as other people have different impressions. But you want to get your analyses away from that. You want to provide descriptions and theories that are almost irrefutable. Write what they objectively do, which means, you do not attribute stuff to their mind, but you describe what they do, and your description needs to be such that it cannot be refuted by another description. For example, if you were to say that one person challenges another, then this can be refuted, unless there is evidence that the second person treats what the first says as a challenge. Then you are looking at a challenge. If you were to look just at what the first person does, you cannot say whether you are looking at a challenge, that is, at a social event in which one person understands herself to be challenged by another. 

So I suggest that you go right into the transcript and you show how their interaction makes evident something to each other, and thereby also to you.

I hope this helps. I will bring this to class and we talk about in public because I think not only you but others as well will learn from it.

Cheers,

Michael

On 2010-03-02, at 10:42 PM, Brian Untereiner wrote:

Hello Michael, I believe I have it right this time.

Thank you in advance.

Brian<forward.eml>