FRAMEWORK FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THE DIALOGICAL INTERACTIONS

Taking into consideration the theoretical framework presented before, we will discuss the framework which we constructed in the context of this study in order to analyze the dialogical interactions and generally the moves between the students developed in the pilot study.

The types of dimensions of most interest to us we assume that will be included in the learners discussions in their attempt to resolve the challenges of the interactive part of the game will be different

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and are connected to the English language, collaborative learning, digital game. These three different dimensions will be considered in the present study.

METHODOLOGICAL RESEARCH-PROCEDURE

The main aim of the methodological consideration in this study has been to find a research method that focuses on, and make it able to examine the influence of transmedia storytelling when integrated in a lesson of English as a foreign language. In order to come close to the research questions discussed before, the participating students were given opportunities to consider and interact about global energy politics as well as reflect upon their final decisions regarding the global energy production of different countries.

More specifically, this study took place in an 11^th grade class located in Athens. There was a small number of students because we were interested in the detail in order to draw conclusions for this kind of technology used in learning. In order to collect data we chose to record the moves of students through camstudio. The participatory observation as well as the narrative report students wrote played an important role. We selected this particular class because they did not have any experience with this technology used in learning before. However, they had used digital games and generally computers much to this point.

This study was designed to engage students in scientific matters of energy and to communicate in the English language. Central to this perspective was the comprehension of the complex issues around global energy politics concerning both the causes and the solutions. We selected those students to work in groups in this study because we wanted to interact face to face in order to cope with the common challenges of the game. The students had to complete several tasks from a worksheet given meanwhile as well as after playing in the platform. Clearly, the students after familiarized with the platform, should discuss face to face, express their ideas and explain their moves in order to resolve the challenges of the interactive game.

RESULTS

One important aim of this study is to analyze and describe in what ways this transmedia storytelling platform influences learners of English as a foreign language to be involved in dialogical interactions so as to develop communicative skills in English in order to resolve important challenges. This means that the aim is to describe to what extent are the different media able to help foreign learners of English to create notions about global energy politics as well as to engage students to cooperate in English.

The analysis revealed that the students, to a considerable extent, in the initial phase of this study communicated a lot with each other in order to find out the topic that was presented in the platform.

What is more important to highlight in this point is that learners were able to communicate sufficiently in the English language using either scientific concepts on the basis of a relevant scientific language used the platform or everyday words. At the same time they managed to improve their communicative skills, since they correlated properly the questions with the answers, comprehended, expressed their opinion, mostly expressed different opinion after the interaction as well as created meanings in the English language concerning the concepts of the game.

On many occasions learners communicated in order to share their ideas and personal views regarding the changes in the variable values they thought appropriate to lead to the solution of the challenges. It furthermore became obvious that some students chose also to communicate during the film-animation as well as during the documentary regarding information that drew their attention as well as before completing several tasks in a worksheet given. This indicates that the information presented in the game led learners to interact with each other.

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At the same time the analysis also showed that learners were able to use certain scientific concepts presented in the platform in a relevant and concise way. Most of the students as far as the digital platform is concerned, seemed to appreciate this game, since they characterized it as interesting, entertaining and full of motives and useful information. As also evidenced they did not confront any problem regarding the screen interface and the function of the platform. More specifically regarding the interactive game (Figure 3), students navigated and defined the challenge, analyzed the data presented, the requested, options, selected, changed the values of the options, decided and completed the changes, analyzed the results and reviewed. Based on the observation, we noticed that learners took advantage not only the film and the animation but also the documentary (Figure 4) as far as the multiple representations of the platform are concerned. On the other hand, students most of the times skipped the mini-games included in the film after spending some time trying to manage them.

Figure 3. Interactive game

Figure 4. Documentary

A final observation notes that learners focused mostly on the challenges of the interactive game of the platform. Our observations concerning the promotion of collaborative learning through this platform suggest that students’ dialogical interactions mostly included information, justification, request for evaluation, research, answer, evaluation, after-statement, agreement.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the analysis suggest that the interactive game was the tool of the platform that challenged learners the most in order to interact and communicate in English. More specifically, this tool led to the expression of various opinions concerning science concepts in a contextualized and complex problem solving situation making the discussion creative. Another important implication is that even though interactive game caused most of the interactions between the learners, the feedback messages made learners acquire more information about the scientific concepts presented in the game. This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that the film and the animation (Figure 5) caused the excitement of the learners and made the procedure more creative and interesting as well as helped learners acquire information

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about global energy politics. Additionally, the results display that documentary was exploited less by the learners, although some information was taken by that. In fact, the integration of transmedia storytelling created learning conditions of English as a foreign language similar to those of the target country.

Overall, we argue that the use of the multiple platform Collapsus contributed to the effective interactions as well as exchanges of opinions between the members of the groups which were crucial for resolving the challenges and subsequently for developing and improving their communicative skills in the English language. Concretely, the students of our study communicated face to face in order to ask questions, express agreement or disagreement and discuss the changes of the values that were given to the variables to resolve the challenges. We also contend that the opinions expressed were influenced by the interaction of the learners. The research observations indicated that the game created an intense learning situation, where students themselves communicated not only during the process of resolving the challenges but also while completing the tasks about the global energy politics. Their dialogical interactions resulted in the creation of notions with the scientific concepts presented in the interactive game.

Figure 5. Film/Animation DISCUSSION

As a final conclusion of this study, we argue that transmedia storytelling actually can contribute to create meaningful learning situations in English classrooms concerning science and can constitute important means that may facilitate learners to promote effectively the involved abilities presented above as well as make students use of scientific concepts of the platform explicit. We also contend that in this framework the vast majority of students used for this study developed their ability to ask appropriate questions and respond properly. This statement resulted in the development of communicative skills in English. Furthermore, they attempted and managed to discuss possible choices about global energy politics, investigate their moves, the consequences of those choices and draw conclusions using a technology-based learning environment. However, one implication for future studies in this field could be to use e-learning tools in order to analyze and describe how students actually act, how they apply scientific content in action using e-learning tools rather face to face.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Collapsus: VRPO digital, Submarine channel

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Z. Smyrnaiou Lecturer

Didactic Science

Educational Technology Lab, School of Philosophy Department of Pedagogy

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Greece

Email: zsmyrnaiou@ppp.uoa.gr E. Tsouma

Student

Educational Technology Lab, School of Philosophy Department of Pedagogy

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Panepistimioupoli, Ilissia, 15784

Greece

Email: tsouma_e@hotmail.com

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