distinct ways. In this sense the thesis serves two compatible aims. On the one hand it
provides a ‘test-case’ for the development of a language of description of multimodality.
On the other hand the thesis is a specific empirically based investigation of how the
facilities of the screen as opposed to the facilities of the page (or of the classroom more
widely) configure multimodal representational and communication forms in particular
ways, to (re)shape curriculum knowledge, and possibilities for learning. By analysing
instances of technology-mediated learning I show how the facilities of the medium, its
particular multimodal character, interactivity, structure and hyperlinks, and the screen as
a site of display, shape the multimodal representation of curriculum knowledge and the
practices of teachers and students differently than other technologies.
In this thesis I offer a coherent statement of the theoretical framework for multimodal
analysis of sign making and learning, with particular reference to technology-mediated
learning. Other research, as noted in Chapters One to Three, has focused on the resources
and affordances of specific modes specifically action, visual communication, gaze, and
writing in order to identify and classify the meaning making potentials of specific modes.
Where research has looked at more than one mode this research has focused primarily on
the relationship between word and image, and has tended to be suggestive rather than
empirically based. In contrast I have examined modes as part of a multimodal ensemble
and examined specific instances of technology-mediated learning. In doing so, I have
moved beyond the resources offered by separate modes to examine how modes interact
and interconnect in the process of meaning making. The analysis of these modes in the
domain of the screen has examined the specific ways in which a range of modes are
bought into relation to one another via the facilities of the medium of new technologies.
In addition to providing a coherent theoretical framework for multimodal analysis, the
thesis offers a clear framework and demonstration of how to analyse technology-
mediated learning from this perspective. The method is outlined in Chapter two, and
demonstrated through the analysis of the three illustrative case-study examples described
in Chapters Four, Five, and Six.
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