“Working in the area of EMCA research, we value the importance of our EMCA community, not only for the academic rigour and validity of our analysis, but also for the stimulating and insightful discussions sharing our data brings. At a time where coming together to participate in such fruitful discussions is challenging, the DMCA conference is to be commended for offering opportunities for likeminded people to connect across physical borders and time-zones. As workshop facilitators, the DMCA digital platform afforded a great opportunity for us to connect with the wonderful work of early childhood researchers who are at various stages in their careers and discuss the challenges as well as the benefits of using conversation analysis in early childhood research. The smooth running of the conference by the conference organisers was a real highlight for us, where the organisation made us feel supported and connected to the committee throughout the process. We thank everyone involved for their wonderful work behind the scenes and participants for sharing your wonderful ideas and insights and very much look forward to the next one!”
Amanda Bateman and Amelia Church
Workshop on Applied Conversation Analysis for Early Childhood Education
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“The workshop on Virtual Consultation was an immense joy to facilitate. We were a group of 10-12 researchers in various stages of our career and from at least six different countries. We focused on two kinds of virtual consultation using video in different ways: first, single post-surgery video consultations with a surgeon behind a desk in the hospital and patients plus often a companion at home. And second, a remote rehabilitation program with data consisting of short, home-recorded videos of young infants with a motor disability doing exercises with their parent and therapists commenting on these videos in written messages. The main interest was in how the interaction (not only in the video but also between videos and messages) was observably interrelated with the technology/modality. We worked on the data in break out rooms, inviting active participation from everyone. After the second break-out session we collaboratively worked up the analysis of what is (made) visible and how highly affects the interaction including the professionals’ descriptive expertise and the parents’ therapeutic skills. This means that virtual consultation is so much more than a poor, confined version of face-to-face interaction. Reaching this conclusion together really sparked the revelational sensation that collaborative analysis may invoke – I could feel it despite remoteness! Ana Christina Ostermann was an amazingly engaged and inspiring chairperson, adding substantial depth to the discussion. Thank you so much Ana and workshop participants for your valuable contributions and thank you DMCA organizers for making these kinds of virtual encounters between CA-scholars possible!”
Wyke Stommel
Workshop on Virtual Consultations
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“DMCA was a fantastic experience. It was great to feel connected internationally to other conversation analysts, even if it was not all at the same time. It was interesting to hear from colleagues across Asia and Oceania as we can sometimes be a bit isolated in our bubbles, particularly those of us that don’t work in more traditional departments for CA. I really enjoyed listening to the keynotes and being able to listen to any of them, not just the stream I attended. I actually played catch-up and listened to some of them post-DMCA too. As a workshop facilitator, I learnt a lot from those within the workshop. I enjoyed sharing my experiences of collaboration within a particular non-CA field, but it was also valuable to hear what challenges those in other fields may face when working within such collaborations. I’d love to have DMCA every year to hear about the great work by higher degree and early career researchers as well as attend workshops and listen to keynotes.”
Sarah White
Workshop on First Vibes then Duty: Engaging Novices in Conversation Analysis
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“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Digital Meeting for Conversation Analysis (DMCA) for inviting me to host a workshop on Doing Conversation Analytic Classroom Interaction Research. This was my first experience of hosting a four-hour long workshop and with the DMCA’s great organization, it became one of the most memorable academic events of my life. It was truly an honour to meet and interact with budding researchers from different corners of the world, sharing our experiences and insights on doing classroom interaction research. Even before the actual event, DMCA offered us the opportunity to attend a session on how to organize virtual workshops, which greatly enhanced my skills in designing a successful workshop. As a result of all the preparations, I hosted my workshop, which was long enough to engage participants in hands-on activities and I believe it offered insights into their research agendas. I really hope the participants made the most of it and I can honestly state that it was gratifying to share my research experiences and to receive participants’ valuable contributions. In conclusion, DMCA has definitely set a commendable model of providing a platform that is accessible and beneficial to EMCA scholars, particularly those at the early stages of their careers. I am deeply grateful for this wonderful opportunity and would like to extend my sincere thanks to DMCA for their exceptional organization and support.”
Nilüfer Can Daşkın
Hacettepe University, Türkiye
Workshop on Doing Conversation Analytic Classroom Interaction Research
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