Impact on the knowledge construction process of multimedia online interactions in audio-graphic conferencing systems: the case of adult distance learners of French

Online researchers suggest that synchronous audio-graphic corm encing systems provide different mediational tools that create different mediated educa nal interactions that support the collaborative process of meaning construction, However, the existing literature does not indicate whether the quality of multimodal online interactions as well as the affordances of the use of the synchronous medium can effectively enh ce this process. This thesis brings together two lines of research. The thesis develops a methodological framework for the presentation and analysis of multimodal online interactions that draws on socio-constructivist understanding that the process of meaning construction is social and individual. The second is concerned with the analysis of online multimodal discussions; it examines the interrelationship between the different tools of communication and the different affordances of their simultaneous and single use that may hinder or promote the collaborative process of meaning construction. The design of this research focuses on interaction patterns and examines the extent which online discussions, mediated by the different tools of communication, reach high levels of collaborative meaning construction.This study assumes the knowledge construction process to be empirically observable through analysing online interactions and students' perceptions of the learning experiences. It examines, through interviews, questionnaires and video recordings of online tutorials, the quality of online learning experiences of two different UK Open University tutorial groups learning French. Results show that: participants make different multimodal choices which lead to the creation of different patterns of multi modal interactions and on line exchanges that affect differently participants' engagement in the collaborative meaning construction process; the single and the simultaneous use of the different tools of communication create different affordances for participants to perform different interactive and communicative roles; the multi modal competencies of students and tutors, the tutors' styles and task design play an important role in supporting the collaborative meaning construction process