Design and recognition of multimodal texts: Selection of digital tools and modes on the basis of social and material premises?

In recent years, national access to and use of digital tools has increased rapidly in Swedish schools. This article draws upon experiences from a qualitative study conducted in Sweden. This study explored student's use of multimodal texts and how students and their teachers perceive and recognize the multimodal texts produced in project assignments. The empirical material was gathered from six different project assignments at two different secondary schools in Sweden. The data consisted of students' multimodal text productions, participant observation and interviews and the theoretical framework drew on literacy studies and multimodal perspectives on design for learning. Despite the digital tools and the multimodal opportunities provided in the investigated literacy practices, the students mainly used linguistic design for representing knowledge. The students' multimodal texts were shaped by local scopes and educational traditions. The written texts were more recognized by the teachers and students and valued in relation to the practice of assessment and grading. The results reveal a need towards developing teaching and assessment practices so that text production encompasses a pedagogy of multiliteracies.

"The findings presented from this study show that the students mainly used linguistic design for representing knowledge despite the digital opportunities to include for example images and sounds in their representations. The linguistic design was more recognized by the teachers and students and valued in relation to the practice of assessment and grading." (Authors, 303-304)