ERIC Number: EJ991528
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1085-5300
EISSN: N/A
21st Century Literacies in Teacher Education: Investigating Multimodal Texts in the Context of an Online Graduate-Level Literacy and Technology Course
Karchmer-Klein, Rachel; Shinas, Valerie Harlow
Research in the Schools, v19 n1 p60-74 Spr 2012
This study investigated the modes, semiotic resources, and intersemiotic relationships present in the design of multimodal electronic texts. The participants comprised 10 women and 2 men, who were enrolled in a graduate-level course focused on multimodality and who used a virtual poster tool to respond to a classroom assignment. Content analysis of the virtual posters and constant comparison analysis of case narratives revealed three important findings. First, the web tool used to develop the virtual posters influenced the participants' responses by confining space, encouraging participants to shift away from words and rely upon video, images, and hyperlinks to convey information. Second, although participants incorporated numerous modes, many times the resources were not relevant to overall meaning, disrupting readers' comprehension of their responses. Third, given the impact of reading path on the comprehension of multimodal texts, participants who incorporated textual features to help guide their readers were more successful at creating unified multimodal responses. The authors discuss these findings in detail and discuss important lessons learned from the study. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Content Analysis, Teacher Education Programs, Investigations, Literacy, Technology Education, Semiotics, Intermode Differences, Reader Text Relationship, Reading Assignments, Multimedia Instruction, Multimedia Materials, Reading Comprehension, Technology Uses in Education, Web 2.0 Technologies, Online Courses, Instructional Effectiveness
Mid-South Educational Research Association (MSERA). Web site: http://www.msera.org/rits.htm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A