Interface modalities that enhance or inhibit lecturers' assessment 'flow' experiences

ABSTRACT Creativity and enjoyment in assessment practices maybe an ironic concept but enabling ‘flow’ through appropriate interface modalities (e.g. keyboard, tablet) could have a vital impact on assessment practices. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze a 9 month virtual ethnography of an online lecturer support forum (150 postings), 27 questionnaire responses (student & lecturer) and a further 5 lecturer in-depth interviews. A ‘flow’ analysis identified two levels of activities; the central activity (i.e. assessment focused & student communication tasks) and the physical interface interaction skills (i.e. task focused & interface modality level skills). A balance (both perceived & actual) between all levels of users’ skills and activity complexity is required to enable creative flow. A discussion is given of the concept of perceived asynchronous collaborative ‘flow’ experiences and personal assessment styles (i.e. interventionist and non-interventionist) and the impact of different modalities on these interactions.