logic of the compositional meaning space is altered. The previous seemingly
unalterably fixed uni-directionality of the written text (‘the page’) in the ‘West’ is
altered to multiple directionality, which disturbs the logic of the 'line' as a
textual∕written entity. The same visual transformation is apparent in relation to
elements such as the paragraph, which might be ‘transformed’ into a ‘box of text’ on
screen. The use of scroll bars on the computer screen further disrupts the notion of
page (Agarwal-Hollands and Andrews, 2001). In short, the screen as a site, both
historically and materially, offers different potentials for language (writing and
speech) and other ‘non-linguistic’ modes than the page. As a consequence of this
writing and speech have come to have (to be given) different ‘values’ and meaning
making potentials on screen than they have on the printed page.
Alongside the multimodal domain of the screen, as students work with computer
applications they watch the screen, gesture at elements on the screen, move the
mouse, and press the keyboard, and there is little or no talk involved. This suggests
that educational researchers, perhaps more than ever, need to look beyond language
to understand learning. The de-centring of language in this way has important
implications for literacy that are discussed later in this chapter.
The Interaction of Modes on Screen
The multiple combinations of modal resources that are possible on screen, the
relations that these configure between modes through their arrangement and the
semantic function of links between screens and elements are an important part of the
construction of meaning. The configuration of modes on screen, the functional
specialisation and functional load of modes in texts offer different meanings, and
different filters for the understanding of a text. The ways in which modes are
configured on screen also offer potentials for student engagement with computer texts
such as the points of entry into a text, the possible paths through a text and the
potential for them to re-make a text. Modes offer different ways into representation
and focus on different aspects of its meaning. Alternatively the relationship
283