3. Towards a Multimodal Analysis
Introduction
In this chapter I describe how the theoretical concepts introduced in the previous
chapter are operationalised in the analysis of instances of technology-mediated
learning in the thesis. I discuss how I combine a range of approaches to explore the
role of different modes in order to look beyond language: first, focusing on the modes
individually, then the semiotic resources that each mode makes available to the
students in the classroom, and finally examining the interaction of modes. I then go
on to describe the semiotic resources that each of the modes I analyse in the thesis
makes available and how these resources realise the ‘meta-functions’ discussed in
Chapter Two. For the purpose of this thesis the term ‘mode; is used to refer to an
organised set of semiotic resources that realise the ‘meta-functions’ to some degree.
The modes that I discuss in the chapter and throughout the thesis more generally
include image, colour, speech, and sound-effect, movement and gesture, and gaze.
The way in which the interaction of these modes contributes to meaning making and
the dimensions that I use to explore this interaction is also discussed. The facilities of
the medium of the computer contribute to the character of technology-mediated
learning. For this reason I discuss how I engage with these facilities within the thesis,
including the range of modes available, the potential for interactivity, the role of
structure and hyperlinks in making meaning, and the screen as a site of display as
compared with the page. Drawing on the theoretical discussion of ‘sign’ and
‘learning’ in the previous chapter I discuss how I operationalise the concept of the
motivated sign within the thesis. The chapter concludes with an overview of the data,
the processes of data collection, and the methodological issues of sampling and
transcription.
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