A Multimodal Framework for Computer Mediated Learning: The Reshaping of Curriculum Knowledge and Learning

writing (and its movement across screens) emphasises different aspects of the image
on the screen. A block of writing may be placed above the head of a character to
indicate who is thinking, or along side them to indicate talking, or along the bottom
of the screen to visually unite the characters and visually indicate dialogue.

At times a block of writing changes the screen image fundamentally. For example, in
some of the CD-ROM screens the block of writing serves to conceal a character, to
emphasise a particular part of the character’s body, or to hide the object of an actor’s
gaze (changing their gaze from a transactional reaction to a non-transactional one).

The interaction between the visual and the written element on screen in the ‘Novel as
CD-ROM’ is also used to emphasise the actor, and visually marks the intensity of a
moment - through persistence on screen. At times, for instance, an image is arranged
on screen to create a visual mood (interpersonal meaning) and rhythm (textual
meaning). The image of George and Lennie shown in figure 4.4, for example, persists
across three screens, in each one the position of the block of writing differs. In the
first screen, the block of writing sits above George’s head as he talks to Lennie about
what he could do if he left him. In this way the block of writing is visually positioned
to represent the thoughts of George. In the second screen the character Lennie is
visually obliterated by the block of writing containing George’s angry talk of leaving:
visually this serves to foreground George. In the third screen, as George’s anger
subsides, the block of writing is placed on the screen in a position that makes both
George and Lennie visible. That is, the block of writing visually ‘unites’ the two
characters. The writing focuses on the thoughts, worries, and dreams of George. The
images carry the ‘emotion’ of a moment while the writing carries an explanation for
the response. The image and writing ‘attend to’ separate aspects of the narrative.
Mode is used to emphasise George’s isolation and lack of power. At times image and
writing appear to ‘belong’ to the two characters differently: Lennie is more frequently
represented as expressing himself visually and George more often through writing.

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