A Multimodal Framework for Computer Mediated Learning: The Reshaping of Curriculum Knowledge and Learning

up interview conducted with one of the students about their game provided another
source of data. The third set of data (discussed in Chapter Six) focuses on a double
science lesson with year Seven students (aged 11- 12) working with the CD-ROM
Multimedia Science School. The lesson is on the topic ‘states of matter’ and my
analysis examines the ways in which the multimodal resources of the screen reshape
the curriculum entities ‘states of matter’ and ‘particles’. During the lesson the
students work first on individual computers, and then with the CD-ROM as displayed
on an interactive whiteboard. Video recordings of the lesson form the main data for
the chapter, along with the students completed worksheets and the lesson plans
designed by the teacher.

Data Collection

A multimodal approach to learning requires a method of data collection that
facilitates a focus on all modes in the classroom. Video recording offers a method for
recording classroom interaction given the speed and complexity of recording gesture,
body posture, talk, and the use of image etc. in the classroom (Lomax and Casey,
1998). It also enables repeated viewing of the data and provides a record from which
all the modes can be transcribed. Two video cameras were used. One camera focused
on the interaction between students, the computer, and the teacher. The second
camera was set up to capture the data displayed on the computer screen.

Heath (Heath and Luff, 1993; Heath et. al., 2002) suggests that the most effective use
of video recording as a method of data collection is to set up the cameras to record
phenomena and for the researcher to leave as this lessens the impact of the research
on the phenomena being studied. This was unsuccessful in the classroom for two
reasons. First the demands on the teacher within the lesson meant that they could not
be relied upon to turn on and operate the CameraZmicrophone. Second students and
teachers constantly shift position in ways that make it impossible for a static camera
to capture the activity of the classroom and the contents of a screen in the detail
required for the analysis. For these reasons I operated the cameras in the classroom. It

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