1. Multimodality and the Screen
In this chapter I set out the aims of the thesis, the research questions that it addresses
and the themes that it develops. These themes are discussed in relation to the
literature on technology-mediated learning in order to place the arguments developed
in the thesis in context.
The Purpose of the Thesis
In this thesis I turn a multimodal lens on technology-mediated learning in the school
classroom. In other words I analyse the representational and communicative modes
that technology-mediated learning makes available to students in the school
classroom including still image, movement, speech, sound-effect, and writing. In
order to do this I focus on three specific computer applications - two CD-ROMs, and
a computer programming application. Two aims inform the thesis. The first and
central aim of the thesis is to provide a better theoretical understanding of the
relationship on the one hand between the multimodal meaning making resources
made available by technology, and school knowledge, learning and notions of literacy
on the other. The second aim of the thesis is to contribute to the development of
multimodal theory through its application to technology-mediated learning. It
attempts to achieve this by providing a better understanding of the multimodal
resources offered by computer applications. This, I argue, is central to realising the
potential of new technology for learning. I examine the multimodal character of
technology-mediated learning through the detailed analysis of three examples.
Drawing on video and observational data of instances of technology-mediated
learning in school English, Mathematics, and Science I examine how such
multimodal representations reshape school knowledge.
17