I have used the electronic tma (tutor marked assignment) system since 2005 when they were first used in the Faculty of Health and Social Care, though perhaps they were already in use in other parts of The Open University (OU). I have pretty much always printed out the script, read and annotated it roughly sitting away from my PC (perhaps in a cafe), and then returned to my PC to insert the correspondence tuition in the form of on-script comments (inserted comments and track changes) and the assignment summary (PT3).
I am very keen that students should do the ‘dummy’ tma (tma 00) since in my experience over the years, many students do not get much of the correspondence tuition that the OU values so highly for them. They may just look at their mark, and move on, possibly without realising there is material for them to look at in the form of written feedback on their script, and to accompany it. Or there may be some reason that they can’t see comments. There seems particular potential for this when they submit in rich text file (.rtf) format, as opposed to a simple Word document (.doc). However, I still after 7 years am not quite clear on the situation here.
Most people read the assignment from the screen, and comment directly on to the screen. I certainly spend a lot on paper, and in particular on ink (about £500 a year at the last count, and most of my printing is presently of tma’s – I make matters worse by printing out my comments and PT3s as well, because I find that gives me an overview of what I have done). Most people would think I was mad, I am sure, if they knew I was doing this; but I find this is the way I can do the job, and I find commenting and marking tma’s quite a tricky task.
I was organising a holiday in Zambia recently, when I was offered some assignment marking that I wanted to accept. I worked out that most of the commitment could be done on my return, but was aware there might be some responsibility to answer questions from colleagues. So, I tried to think how to manage access. In the end I took my iPad with me, having happily discovered from a student about Pages, which enables reading Word type documents. And, actually, the way things worked out, I took advantage of getting on with some of the marking while away, downloading, and then doing everything on-screen, since I had no choice. So, I read, though with a paper marking scheme to make notes on, and then wrote my comments and outcome results to organise and send in when I got back.
It was OK as it turned out. I needed to focus quite hard to do this, but actually felt quite positive, and that I had turned a corner. However, I happened to chat with an OU graduate student who I met on my travels (about my age) and she was emphatic about preferring paper like I had been.
So, now that I’m back, I’ve gone back to the more laborious, ink-costly way of doing things, because I actually feel more comfortable with it. However, I do at least know now that I have some option for using the other method if need be, most likely if I’m away another time.
Am I the only one? – What do others think? [sensitive answers only, please, ed].
© Catherine Scanlon August 2012