Clarification of terms
Where a theory is an emergent one, as is the case with multimodality, the application of
the theory can contribute to its development in useful ways. Through my use of
multimodality and social semiotics in this thesis I have discussed and applied the
theoretical terms to empirical data and in doing so I have articulated them in ways that
are relevant to the screen and learning. In the process I have clarified some of these terms
and the ways in which they relate to one another in the context of technology-mediated
learning. Further I have begun to make links between the concepts within social semiotic
theory, multimodality and neo-Vygotskian theories of learning, in particular the role of
mode in semiotic mediation and the social forces that underpin this mediation.
As discussed in the previous chapter this thesis suggests that there is a need to re-
conceptualise the term ‘literacy’ as a multimodal process. I show that in the domain of
the screen, in which language is beginning to be de-centred and image and other modes
are increasingly foregrounded, the traditional conceptions of learning and ‘literacy’ as
entirely language based are inadequate. For the purposes of this thesis I take a pragmatic
and rhetorical stance by acknowledging that in the domain of the screen mediation and
communication are realised through a wide range of modes. I therefore claim ‘literacy’ as
a term for describing the work of students with these resources. The theoretical
perspective put forward here enables two things to be brought into focus simultaneously:
the multimodal interaction of students and teachers with the resources of the screen, and
the mediational means that computer applications make available; and it permits these to
be theorised in relation to curriculum knowledge, literacy and learning. It is from this
position that I argue that ‘literacy’ in the context of technology-mediated learning is
multimodal. At the same time throughout the thesis I recognise the importance of
attending to the specificity of linguistic, visual and other modes and their specific
affordances in order to theorise how different modes contribute to the construction of
curriculum knowledge and learning.
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