I had the pleasure of working with some colleagues in the School of Computing and Engineering yesterday from the music technology subject area. I had been invited to work with them on the topic of audio feedback but, in showing them the new audio function in Grademark I also, inadvertently, wound up showing them Grademark itself. They’d simply not come across it before and therefore didn’t know it was available for them to use.

These colleagues have a particularly complex set of assessments to manage and all of them seemed to be crumbling under the administrative weight if keeping track of it all. When I showed them Grademark their eyes lit up and it was clear that, for some of them at least, this was clearly the answer to a whole pile of problems they were facing. I mentioned that I’d been using it for around five years and one of them was amazed to discover it had been around that long.

I’ve been reflecting on this since and it’s been an interesting reminder that the emotions surrounding eMarking are complex and situated. Whenever I go to talk to folks about eMarking, which I inevitably do when I’m talking about EAM, the concern that is always articulated is the widely known fact that many academics are resistant to the idea. In other words, we know that there are people who, even if they are shown how eMarking can work and the benefits are explained it them, will still not want to do it. We all know this, worry about and try to find ways around it. Yesterday reminded me, however, that there are other folks out there who are desperate for eMarking but who haven’t found or been shown an eMarking solution. When they see it they grab it with both hands and run with it.

Getting the message out there is, of course, vital. But more important is what Paul and I refer to as ‘getting the administrative conditions right’ across the institution so that this works for everyone who is ready for it.