Day 3, Melbourne

Today was day 3 of my stint at the ICCR (the International Centre for Classroom Research) my hosts at Melbourne University. The ICCR is based in a converted row of terraced houses on Barry Street, clasped in the encircling arms of the mighty and modern ICT department. The historic nature of the houses means my office is blessed with both plaster work cornices and an impressive iron and marble fireplace. My office is also equipped with an iMac, a social science standard out here. Something of a culture shock in itself.

Shortly before leaving for Australia, I attempted my first international remote interview with a participant in New York. We Skyped whilst attempting to apply Techinline (a web based remote deskyop viewer) and Camtasia (to capture onscreen and audio activity), only to fall at the first hurdle as Techinline imploded at the thought of a Mac to PC view. Fortunately my participant was understanding about it and even helped me bottom out some alternative approaches. All the same, I’ve discovered my data collection strategy is allergic to Macs, just as I realise that Macs rule some of the large swathes of international academic territory I was hoping to glimpse. Techinline hope to have Mac compatibility within the next 6-9 months, but I’ll be investigating alternatives in the meantime. Reviews here as this progresses.