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Multimodal literacy development in CSCL

The concept of Multimodal literacy

Multimodal literacy is the way processes of literacy - reading, writing, talking, listening and viewing - are occurring within and around new communication media. (Kress & Jewitt, 2003; Pahl & Rowsell, 2005; Walsh, 2008) It refers to meaning-making that occurs through the reading, viewing, understanding, responding to and producing and interacting with multimedia and digital texts. (Walsh, 2010)

Literature review on multi-modal literacy in CSCL Online forums offer numerous advantages for both teacher and students for collaborative learning online. Discussion forums provide a wider platform to exchange information and ideas, to develop writing and reading skills, critical thinking skills. (Jill Margerison, 2013) A collaborative online forum can also help students learn about the unique challenges of online communication, especially the need for clarity and the dangers of sarcasm. (Susan Martens-Baker, 2009) For the teacher, they offer a flexible platform from which to educate in a participatory culture, where teachers and students can interact with each other and create new knowledge. (Jill Margerison, 2013) Video games were designed as a learning tool engaged learners who advance through experimentation, critical thinking and practice in the virtual world. (Abrams, 2009) Video games in CSCL can promote positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face promotive interaction, social skills, and group processing abilities in the ELA classroom. Through interactions in the virtual world, learners have the opportunities to establish their presence, identity and create meanings for their lives. Digital storytelling refers to integrating a variety of means, such as images, audio, video, graphics and diagram to personal narratives and crafts. Four skill competencies: reading, writing, speaking, and listening would be enhanced by producing digital products. (Brenner, 2014) Students have a greater sense of autonomy, agency through the digital storytelling in CSCL.
 * Online forum
 * Video games
 * Multimodal composition in digital storytelling: podcast, video/ audio crafts

The implication for classroom teaching Online forums provide opportunities for young people to engage in the self-exposition as they practice digital literacies and hone the skill of movement across multiple literacies, languages and subject positions. Meanwhile, identity is a constellation of the multiple communities. It is also important to emphasize the potentially harmful cultural discourses that occur within young people's consumption. (Kim, 2015) Through capitalizing on students’ gaming experiences by recognizing how they apply to the subject at hand, teachers can highlight the benefits of virtual learning environments and draw upon students’ gaming experiences to understand their application of virtual learning across curricula. Educators need to choose the appropriate game for the particular subject to endorse their instruction and promote collaboration among students. Multimodal composition: podcast, audio, video crafts in digital storytelling Students who engage in collaborative learning for creating digital production show the characteristics of leadership. Moreover, students would gain the experience of collaboration and expand their skill of the multimodal literacy. In addition, digital composition provides a meaningful tool for teachers to assess. (Brenner, 2014)
 * Online-forum
 * Videogame

Applications for ELLs

Multimodal literacy can facilitate English learners’ literacy learning. It has provided opportunities for English learners to expand the interpretation of texts. (Ajayi, 2009) Specifically, English language learners can increase their language ability through computer-collaborative learning. The multimodality platforms provide students, especially ELLs with an anxiety-free zone to collaborate with their peers in a virtual world in order to make meanings together. Technology self-efficacy increases ELLs’ level of independence and reduces their level of anxiety. (Mellati, Zangoei & Khademi, 2015) ELLs will have more motivation and self-confident while participating in online group projects to make contributions and share knowledge with their peers. As a result of collaborative learning, ELLs would expand their vocabulary, gain advanced and more academic grammars.

References:

Sandra S. Abrams. (2009). A gaming frame of mind: digital contexts and academic implications. Educational Media International, 46(4), 335-347, DOI: 10.1080/09523980903387480

Johnson DW, Johnson RT. (1994). Learning together. In: Sharan S, editor. Handbook of cooperative learning methods. Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

N. Padilla Zea et al. (2009). Design of educational multiplayer videogames: A vision from collaborative learning. Advances in Engineering Software, 40, 1251–1260.

Walsh, M. (2010). Multimodal literacy: What does it mean for classroom practice? Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 33(3), 211-239.

Ajayi, L. (2009). English as a Second Language Learners’ Exploration of Multimodal Texts in a Junior High School. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(7), 585–595. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.7.4

Brenner, K. (2014). Digital Stories: A 21st-Century Communication Tool for the English Language Classroom. English Teaching Forum, 52(1), 22–29. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1029170

Brown, J., Bryan, J., & Brown, T. (2005). Twenty-First Century Literacy and Technology in K-8 Classrooms. Innovate: Journal of Online Education, 1(3). Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/107300/

Jung, Y., Kim, Y., Lee, H., Cathey, R., Carver, J., & Skalicky, S. (2017). Learner perception of multimodal synchronous computer-mediated communication in foreign language classrooms. Language Teaching Research, 1362168817731910. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817731910

Mellati, M., Zangoei, A., & Khademi, M. (2015). Technology integration: EFL learners’ level of anxiety and their performance in writing tests. International Journal of Social Sciences & Education, 5, 240-252.

Kim, G. (2015). Transcultural Digital Literacies: Cross-Border Connections and Self-Representations in an Online Forum. Reading Research Quarterly, 51(2), 199-219.

Camarero, C., Rodríguez, J. & José, R. S.(2012). "An exploratory study of online forums as a collaborative learning tool". Online Information Review, 36(4), 568-586.

Fisher, M. & Baird, D. E. (2005). “Online learning design that fosters student support, self-regulation, and retention”. Campus-Wide Information Systems, 22(2), 88-107.

Margerison, J. (2013). Online Discussion Forums in the classroom: Can the principles of social media benefit literacy and Enhance Engagement with Learning? Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 21(2), 19-28.

Looi, C. K. & Ang, D. (2000). A multimedia-enhanced collaborative learning environment. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 16(1), 2-14.

Martens-Baker, S. (2009). Using online discussion forums in collaborative learning. The English Journal, 98(5), 88-94.

Thomas, M. J. W. (2002). Learning within incoherent structures: the space of online discussion forums. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 18(3), 351-66.