Multimodal perspective on contemporary educational argumentation

Caroline Coffin look at different modes and new uses of language to support educational argument in online environments and virtual 3d environments. This was illustrated with various ways that different language styles and representations were used. The overall problem in her view though is that  virtual discussion/argumentation is not often effective. Conferences were analysed (in Excel) to map the agreements and disagreements that arose. The same analysis could bring out student contributions - showing up a form of digital divide between those who engage and those who do not. The lack of overall success may be related to limited challenging that occurs in most conferences. The wording of claims and questions can provide a way to invite others in to the process. The new approach of SecondLife raises further issue through its capacity to emulate face-to-face environments.