Exploring multimodal texts in three educational text environments
Submitted by:
Sofia Jusslin
Abstract:
The text environment’s appearance varies depending on who you are, where you are and what you do. Furthermore, the text environments are often associated with reading and writing; more specifically literacy. Since literacy consists of more than only the technical ability to read and write, it needs to be supplemented with concepts of multimodality in order to describe our contemporary communication (Kress 2003; Lankshear & Knobel 2011). The use of different modes offers several opportunities when writing a text and is a pedagogical tool when it comes to students’ learning and their ability to work with multimodal texts in educational contexts. Students use different modes when writing, because of various reasons. Some writing assignments demand the use of several modes, while others do not. The aim of this ongoing study is to interpret and identify what kind of modes students use when writing texts in different text environments, in order to gain a deeper understanding of how modes shape the text environment. The data consist of 273 texts that are written by 5th graders in three schools in Sweden and Finland. These students attend classes with Swedish as a first (L1) or second language (L2) in a Swedish school in Sweden, a Swedish school in Finland or a Swedish immersion school in Finland. Using concepts from social semiotic theory, the data are analyzed with a qualitative content analysis, using a mixed strategy that is part concept-driven and part data-driven. Preliminary results indicate that in addition to written text, students use images, colors, typography, layout and 3D-objects to, for instance, add meaning to the text or to decorate it. Modes can also be used as visual learning techniques.
References:
Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the New Media Age. London: Routledge.
Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2011). New Literacies: Changing Knowledge and Classroom Learning. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.