Serious game to train experts in advanced multimodality

Although the concept has been described for long, multimodality is not systematically used in education and training and some teachers still limit the number of pedagogic approaches they use in the classroom.

The approach used in the project was user centred and evidence based, to ensure consistency of the development with the end users needs.
We have started with a literature analysis and end users survey to define the needs and the specifications of the game.
We have then developed and tested the pedagogical content and the game with end user through an iterative process.
An external Validation Board was also involved in the evaluation of the project progression.
In parallel, dissemination and communication activities were conducted to promote the project and its results outside the consortium, mainly through the organisation of 2 multiplier events in Dresden (Game Based Learning Conference) and in Paris (in collaboration with Paris School of Business) and the participation to several conferences in Europe.

Results and impact attained:
There is an increasing body of evidence, which suggests that multimodality in learning is an active, student-centred approach in which students select the resources mostly relevant to them. This means that students are responsible for organising learning content such as words and images into coherent verbal and visual models, which comprise their mental schemata and conceptual structures.

The essence of multimodality therefore is to provide different types of resources to the student for stimulating learning in meaningful ways within and across disciplines. To this end, multimodality is described as an inter-disciplinary approach drawn from social semiotics with an emphasis on communication and representation as means to meaning making. This is directly relevant to teachers in terms of doing more than simply using current theories of learning to engage students with novel forms of modes and resources of learning.

To achieve this, teachers need to understand how multimodality engender new teaching and learning processes, strategies and methods as well as new roles for the student and the teacher.

Multimodality in today’s classrooms refers to ‘multiple’ modes of representation, with combined elements of print, visual images and design. This transitional shift from print-based education to multimodal education indicates the need to rethink how teaching and learning is conceived, approached and practiced. This is conducive to the way pedagogies, content and technology is designed and utilised for allowing multimodality to take place within contexts and social relations.

The project aims to:
1. Provide a definition of what is multimodality and how to use it for education and training.

2. Create related pedagogic content and integrate it into a gamified digital tool for teachers aimed at increasing multimodality awareness.