Multimodal Dissertations: Opportunities for Multimodality in Higher Education

multiliteracies, multimodality, higher education, technology, communication, dissertations, graduate education In an era when communication and higher education are rapidly changing, there is much to learn about multimodality and the dissertation. For example, how can multimodality be used to forward an argument or inform research in a dissertation? How is technology changing the format of the dissertation? And how might multimodality and technology change the experience of composing a dissertation? This study addresses dissertations and the problem of understanding how research can be argued, represented, and presented in multimodal ways, and considers the lived curriculum of Ph.D. graduate students. My work addresses the learning needs of contemporary graduate students so that they may present their dissertation in multimodal ways. The research questions explored in this study are: what are the lived experiences of Ph.D. Education graduate students who created multimodal dissertations? What is my lived experience as someone conducting a multimodal Ph.D. dissertation in Education? What do students understand to be the affordances and constraints of multimodal dissertations? What do I understand to be the affordances and constraints of my research process? And what are the implications of promoting multimodal dissertations in the social sciences? In this study, I define a multimodal dissertation as one that employs multiple modes in meaningful ways to communicate research. Using a multiliteracies theoretical framework, this exploratory case study includes five participants who have successfully defended a multimodal dissertation in a Faculty of Education in North America. Data collection methods include a personal journal, interviews, and a multimodal analysis of the participants’ dissertations. The findings reveal my participants’ lived curriculum (the stories they had as individuals, with their scholarly community, and with their dissertation) was very important to the creation of their dissertation. Further, my participants’ multimodal dissertations have resulted in accolades such as winning awards and receiving SSHRC grants; however, these positive experiences have been tempered by challenges such as technical difficulties and institutional requirements. Recommendations for further research include how to best support students who want to use a multimodal format for their dissertation, how supervisors and examiners assess these dissertations, and how the lived experiences of the graduate students currently completing multimodal dissertations impacts their work. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in my field by creating new opportunities for alternative dissertation formats for future graduate students. It also contributes to the literature on multiliteracies and multimodality in higher education and the ways technology and communication are changing how students research, learn, and disseminate their findings

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThis study explores the ways in which ethnographic data might be represented within a hypertext; format. It begins with an analysis of the historical roots of the technology to determine key characteristics that differentiate it from other media. Three characteristics surface through this analysis: multilinearity, multivocality, and multimodality. The current study examines these characteristics from a more critical stance to determine what is possible in practice. To this end, three ethnographic hypertext;s are analyzed to determine strengths and weaknesses. From this analysis, a set of design implications emerge that provides a framework for a case study entitled The Congo Prototype. The Congo Prototype is built from an extensive study of a museum located in Belgium, The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), along with interviews with colonial veterans who served in the Congo up until Independence. This work offers the reader specific techniques that might be incorporated into future works, and at the same time, provides a stand alone ethnographic study of numerous narratives revolving around the Belgian Congo. In the final sections of this dissertation, several suggestions are outlined for future research. It is suggested that practitioners might consider database driven ethnographies as a means of creating a more dynamic reading experience; cross linked studies to achieve a higher degree of multivocality; and integration of a "play around" feature that would allow readers to determine the amount of data that could be viewed in support of specific claims. The study concludes with a brief discussion of some of the intractable issues that cannot be solved through technological means, such as the crisis of representation, the importance of being in the field, and the politics of web publishing

Using Expert Interviews within MODES in Online and Offline Spaces to Extend Comprehensive Literature Review Processes

In this article, we explore a 7-step process for conducting a comprehensive literature review (CLR). Specifically, after describing each of the steps, we explain the importance of expanding the search beyond traditional databases through 5 multimodal tasks that Onwuegbuzie and Frels (2016) refer to as MODES (Media, Observations, Documents, Experts, and Secondary Data), which can be undertaken separately, or which may interact with each other. Then, we highlight and provide an exemplar process for the Experts task, which motivates researchers to identify, to seek out, and to interview 1 or more experts associated with their research question(s). Furthermore, we illustrate the value of conducting the formal or informal expert interviews within online and offline spaces, not only because they provide rich and the most up-to-date information that can be used to inform, to guide, and to expand the CLR process, but also that they can generate relevant information that represent one or more of the other MODES

Specialised Languages and Multimedia. Linguistic and Cross-cultural Issues

none2noThis book collects academic works focusing on scientific and technical discourse and on the ways in which this type of discourse appears in or is shaped by multimedia products. The originality of this book is to be seen in the variety of approaches used and of the specialised languages investigated in relation to multimodal and multimedia genres. Contributions will particularly focus on new multimodal or multimedia forms of specialised discourse (in institutional, academic, technical, scientific, social or popular settings), linguistic features of specialised discourse in multimodal or multimedia genres, the popularisation of specialised knowledge in multimodal or multimedia genres, the impact of multimodality and multimediality on the construction of scientific and technical discourse, the impact of multimodality/multimediality in the practice and teaching of language, the impact of multimodality/multimediality in the practice and teaching of translation, new multimedia modes of knowledge dissemination, the translation/adaptation of scientific discourse in multimedia products. This volume contributes to the theory and practice of multimodal studies and translation, with a specific focus on specialized discourse.Rivista di Classe A - Volume specialeopenManca E., Bianchi F.Manca, E.; Bianchi, F

Articulating Digital Archival Practice Within Writing Program Administration: A Theoretical Framework

Throughout Writing Program Administration scholarship there has been a clear call for archivization and archival work. This dissertation project takes an interdisciplinary approach to digital archival practices for Writing Program Administrators to consider and employ in their home institutions. While I recognize that WPAs are not typically identified as “archivists,” I situate the digital archive within the digital humanities as an interdisciplinary, collaborative project and offer suggestions that lead to recommendations for making an institutional archive. I review archival practice in order to justify the digital archive as an appropriate vehicle for WPAs’ work. Further, I argue that the digital archive must be useable and, therefore, consider other commonly used composition studies archives for their usability. Overall, my dissertation seeks to define digital archival practice for WPAs in order to inspire other educators to take up this meaningful, historical work

Providing Intelligent and Adaptive Support in Concept Map-based Learning Environments

abstract: Concept maps are commonly used knowledge visualization tools and have been shown to have a positive impact on learning. The main drawbacks of concept mapping are the requirement of training, and lack of feedback support. Thus, prior research has attempted to provide support and feedback in concept mapping, such as by developing computer-based concept mapping tools, offering starting templates and navigational supports, as well as providing automated feedback. Although these approaches have achieved promising results, there are still challenges that remain to be solved. For example, there is a need to create a concept mapping system that reduces the extraneous effort of editing a concept map while encouraging more cognitively beneficial behaviors. Also, there is little understanding of the cognitive process during concept mapping. What’s more, current feedback mechanisms in concept mapping only focus on the outcome of the map, instead of the learning process. This thesis work strives to solve the fundamental research question: How to leverage computer technologies to intelligently support concept mapping to promote meaningful learning? To approach this research question, I first present an intelligent concept mapping system, MindDot, that supports concept mapping via innovative integration of two features, hyperlink navigation, and expert template. The system reduces the effort of creating and modifying concept maps while encouraging beneficial activities such as comparing related concepts and establishing relationships among them. I then present the comparative strategy metric that modes student learning by evaluating behavioral patterns and learning strategies. Lastly, I develop an adaptive feedback system that provides immediate diagnostic feedback in response to both the key learning behaviors during concept mapping and the correctness and completeness of the created maps. Empirical evaluations indicated that the integrated navigational and template support in MindDot fostered effective learning behaviors and facilitating learning achievements. The comparative strategy model was shown to be highly representative of learning characteristics such as motivation, engagement, misconceptions, and predicted learning results. The feedback tutor also demonstrated positive impacts on supporting learning and assisting the development of effective learning strategies that prepare learners for future learning. This dissertation contributes to the field of supporting concept mapping with designs of technological affordances, a process-based student model, an adaptive feedback tutor, empirical evaluations of these proposed innovations, and implications for future support in concept mapping.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Computer Science 201

Critical Literacy and Identities in World Language Education: Telling Reflective Stories of Digital Storytelling

This paper explores a digital storytelling project in world language education conducted as critical literacy (Janks, 1991; 2000). Digital storytelling here entails the analysis and production of short videos (called digital stories) that tell a storyteller\u27s personally significant experience by digitally combining a voice-over, images, and music. In other words, this study theorizes digital storytelling in a world language as pedagogical opportunities to examine the effects of language in use and to transform their relations to language through the production of and reflection on identity text (Cummins et al., 2005). Two areas of guiding questions were: the design process and the range of identity options that the storytelling and its reflection makes possible. This study took a narrative case study of seven students who participated in a digital storytelling project in a low intermediate college Japanese course in the U.S. where the author was the instructor. The two primary data sources are the participants\u27 digital stories and reflective narratives. Additional data sources include instructional materials and the participants\u27 in-process drafts and reflective writings. Two methods of data analysis were used: inductive content analysis for the recurrent themes and discourse positioning analysis for the interactional achievements (Davies & Harré, 1990; Wortham, 2001). The analysis indicated the purpose-driven use of various resources in different stages of digital storytelling, such as different aspects of the sample stories that matched their personal investment in storytelling. Academic literacy in other languages, meta-linguistic awareness, and media awareness also affected their design processes. They reported the use of iconic and symbolic images with different intents and effects respectively. These multimodal resources afforded multi-sensory engagement. The analysis also indicated the participants\u27 positionings of other characters to create identity positions for their old selves in the digital stories. The participants’ shifting relations to the digital storytelling project were observed in their interview tellings as a series of assigned tasks and an owned project revealing the sense of agency. However, participants had different range of positions, suggesting the need to further consider the multiple layers of discourses that participants engaged. This adds to our understanding of shifting identity affordances

Short and long-term vocabulary learning and retention through multimedia glossing: A mixed methods research

Vocabulary development is significant for mastering a second/foreign language. There are several approaches for vocabulary instruction, including glossing. Glossing is a context-based technique that represents information on target words via definitions, explanations, synonyms, pictures, sounds, and videos. Glossing can also be used electronically through texts, pictures, audios, and video/animations. Studies on different gloss combinations in multimedia learning environments have led investigators to inconclusive findings. The present study examined which mode(s) of gloss presentation (L2 definition, aural, and video/animation) is effective for learners’ short and long-term vocabulary learning and retention. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, 132 intermediate language learners formed one control and three experimental groups. The experimental groups received target words in different glossing modes; the control group received no glossing instruction. ANCOVA and paired samples t-test were used to analyze the pre/post-test data. Learners’ attitudes and perceptions towards glossing modes were also examined through a questionnaire and interviews. The results showed that glossing was significantly more effective than non-glossing strategy for participants’ short-term retention in both productive recall and multiple-choice productive recognition tests; and partially effective for their long-term retention. Additionally, in both vocabulary measurements, L2 definition and video/animation glossing as well as L2 definition and audio glossing were more effective than L2 definition alone for most test sessions; but since L2 definition alone was also effective for few test sessions, the findings cannot be generalized largely. The results of the questionnaire and interviews showed that the participants preferred L2 definition and video/animation glossing over the two other modes