Profiles
Angela Thomas
Angela Thomas
Senior Lecturer in English
Room A225d, Building A, Newnham Campus
Angela Thomas is a senior lecturer of English in the Faculty of Education. Angela's research and teaching is focussed on children's literature. She has published three books and a number book chapters and journal articles, and has been a Chief Investigator on an ARC grant with linkage partner The Australian Children's Television Foundation. Angela has won teaching and research awards, and has been an invited keynote speaker in the UK, US, Singapore, and Australia. Angela has produced several creative works, one of which was Virtual Macbeth, an island in Second Life which allows interactive exploration of Shakespeare's play.
Biography
Before joining the University of Tasmania, Angela was a teacher in various primary and secondary classroom contexts. She worked as a senior research officer on an ARC grant at the University of Western Sydney, and has also worked as a lecturer/senior lecturer at the University of Wollongong and the University of Sydney. She has been a visiting scholar at the University of New England and Griffith University.
Career summary
Qualifications
- PhD (2004) 'Literacy and identity in online communities' Charles Darwin University, Australia
- GradCert Childrens Lit (2015) Deakin University, Australia
- MEd (1992) University of Tasmania, Australia
- BEd (1986) University of Tasmania, Australia
Memberships
Professional practice
Angela is a member of several professional organisations, including ACLAR (Australasian Children's Literature Association for Research), IRSCL (International Research Society for Children's Literature), CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia), ASFLA (Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association).
Administrative expertise
Angela has had admin roles of: Unit Co-ordinator, Honours Co-ordinator, Post-Graduate Coursework Co-ordinator, English Teaching and Learning Convenor. She has also been a Chief Investigator on a number of internal and external research grants.
Teaching
Children’s Literature, English, Linguistics, Language, Literacy, Critical Literacy, Multimodal Discourse Analysis.
Teaching responsibility
ESH310 Critical Approaches to English
ESM715 Exploring Children's Literature K-12
ESG775 Changing English
Research Invitations
Angela has presented her research as a keynote speaker at a number of International and National conferences, including: UKLA (UK Literacy Association) and ASFLA (Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association.
View more on Dr Angela Thomas in WARP
Expertise
- Children's literature
- Critical multimodal discourse analysis
- Feminine subjectivities
- Fan fiction
- Critical literacy
Research Themes
Angela's research aligns to the University's theme of Creativity, Culture and Society. Her research interests centre around children's literature and children's creation of literature, particularly multimodal literature such as picture books, graphic novels, film and digital literature. Her research interests encompass three central areas. The first area of interest is the critical multimodal discourse analysis of children's literature. This research addresses such questions as how cultural and societal shifts over time impact narrative and story, and the ways in which pedagogy can take into account these shifts.
The second area of interest is critical feminist post-structural theory and how it applies to girl's subjectivities, both real and as depicted in fiction. This research addresses questions such as how girl's bodies are constructed particularly in terms of issues such as eating disorders, body image and violence. The third area of interest is the discursive and social practices, particularly in and around virtual spaces, where young people celebrate, re-create and transform story and literature such as fan fiction, machinima and role-playing. This research addresses questions such as how young people are using digital spaces to transform, resist and counter traditional ideologies. These research areas are all concerned with how findings can lead to social change, starting with the ways that literature and creating literature can be explored in classroom contexts as well as in young people's out of school communities.
Awards
UTAS research merit award |
Current projects
Angela has three current research projects. The first involves a comparative analysis of texts which have multiple adaptations and transformations (such as novel, graphic novel, film etc.) and the investigation of the ways in which discourses within a single narrative world alter across these transformations. A particular focus of this is retold fairy tales. The second project underway is an investigation of girl's responses to literature which explores aspects of femininity, the body, and body image. The third research project is a study of teacher's experiences of teaching about Literature and place.
Fields of Research
- English and Literacy Curriculum and Pedagogy (excl. LOTE, ESL and TESOL) (130204)
- Computer-Human Interaction (080602)
- Language in Culture and Society (Sociolinguistics) (200405)
- Computer Gaming and Animation (190202)
- Education Systems (130199)
- Educational Technology and Computing (130306)
- Learning Sciences (130309)
- Higher Education (130103)
- Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History) (210303)
- Sociology of Education (160809)
- Curriculum and Pedagogy (130299)
- Curriculum and Pedagogy Theory and Development (130202)
- Geospatial Information Systems (090903)
- Creative Arts, Media and Communication Curriculum and Pedagogy (130201)
Research Objectives
- Pedagogy (930201)
- Education and Training Systems (930599)
- Learner and Learning Achievement (930101)
- Syllabus and Curriculum Development (930302)
- Curriculum (930399)
- The Media (950204)
- Languages and Literature (950203)
- Learner and Learning Processes (930102)
- Teaching and Instruction Technologies (930203)
- Learner Development (930103)
- Languages and Literacy (950202)
- Expanding Knowledge in History and Archaeology (970121)
- Expanding Knowledge in Education (970113)
- Computer Software and Services (890299)
- Teacher and Instructor Development (930202)
- Application Tools and System Utilities (890202)
- Application Software Packages (excl. Computer Games) (890201)
Publications
Total publications
37
Journal Article
(10 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Thomas A, 'Enhancing understandings of the literary element of character using elements from Systemic Functional Linguistics', English in Australia, 51, (2) pp. 20-31. ISSN 0155-2147 (2016) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2015 | Thomas DP, Thomas AA, Moltow DT, 'Evaluative stance in high achieving Year 3 persuasive texts', Linguistics and Education: An International Research Journal, 30 pp. 26-41. ISSN 0898-5898 (2015) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1016/j.linged.2015.03.003 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 1Web of Science - 1 Co-authors: Thomas DP; Moltow DT | |
| 2012 | Thomas Angela, 'Children's writing goes 3D: a case study of one primary school's journey into multimodal authoring', Learning, Media & Technology, 37, (1) pp. 77-93. ISSN 1743-9884 (2012) [Refereed Article] DOI: 10.1080/17439884.2011.560160 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 6Web of Science - 5 | |
| 2011 | Thomas Angela, 'Towards a Transformative Digital Literacies Pedagogy', Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 6, (1-2) pp. 89-101. ISSN 1891-943X (2011) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2006 | Thomas AA, ''MSN was the next big thing after Beanie Babies': Children's virtual experiences as an interface to their everyday lives', E-Learning and Digital Media, 3, (2) pp. 126-142. ISSN 2042-7530 (2006) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2006 | Thomas AA, 'Fan fiction online: Engagement, critical response and affective play through writing', Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 29, (3) pp. 226-239. ISSN 1038-1562 (2006) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2005 | Thomas AA, 'Children Online: Learning in a virtual community of practice', E-Learning and Digital Media, 2, (1) pp. 27-38. ISSN 2042-7530 (2005) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2004 | Thomas AA, 'Digital literacies of the cybergirl', E-Learning and Digital Media, 1, (3) pp. 358-382. ISSN 2042-7530 (2004) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2004 | Unsworth L, Thomas AA, Bush R, 'The role of images and image-text relations in group 'basic skills tests' of literacy for children in the primary school years', Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 27, (1) pp. 1-14. ISSN 1038-1562 (2004) [Refereed Article] | |
| 1998 | Dudfield AA, 'Cyberliteracies: Implications for education', On-Call Journal (Australia), 12, (3) pp. 25-34. ISSN 1034-571X (1998) [Refereed Article] |
Book
(2 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Thomas AA, 'Youth Online: Identity and literacy in the digital age', Peter Lang, New York, pp. 245. ISBN 9781433100338 (2007) [Authored Research Book] | |
| 2005 | Unsworth L, Thomas AA, Simpson A, Asha J, 'Children's literature and computer-based teaching', McGraw-Hill, Berkshire, pp. 152. ISBN 0335216366 (2005) [Authored Research Book] |
Chapter in Book
(16 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Harman K, Thomas A, 'Transporting Visitors into Tasmania's Convict Past', Tourism in Tasmania, Forty South Publishing Pty Ltd, CS Ooi and A Hardy (ed), Hobart, pp. 125-136. ISBN 9780648675761 (2019) [Research Book Chapter] Co-authors: Harman K | |
| 2018 | Thomas A, Corbett M, 'Ways of Working in the Interpretive Tradition', Structuring the Thesis: Matching Method, Paradigm, Theories and Findings, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd, D Kember, M Corbett (ed), Singapore, pp. 171-182. ISBN 978-981-13-0510-8 (2018) [Research Book Chapter] DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-0511-5_17 [eCite] [Details] Co-authors: Corbett M | |
| 2014 | Chinthammit W, Thomas Angela, 'Augmented reality in the English classroom', English Teaching and New Literacies Pedagogy: Interpreting and Authoring Digital Multimedia Narratives, Peter Lang, L Unsworth, A Thomas (ed), New York, pp. 213-232. ISBN 978-1-4331-1907-1 (2014) [Research Book Chapter] Co-authors: Chinthammit W | |
| 2014 | Thomas A, 'Digital Fiction', English Teaching and New Literacies Pedagogy: Interpreting and Authoring Digital Multimedia Narratives, Peter Lang, L Unsworth & A Thomas (ed), New York, pp. 39-62. ISBN 978-1-4331-1907-1 (2014) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2014 | Thomas A, 'Using contemporary picture books to explore the concept of intermodal complementarity', English Teaching and New Literacies Pedagogy: Interpreting and Authoring Digital Multimedia Narratives, Peter Lang, L Unsworth & A Thomas (ed), New York, pp. 23-38. ISBN 978-1-4331-1907-1 (2014) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2014 | Thomas A, 'Points of difference: Intermodal complementarity and social critical literacy in children's multimodal texts', Critical multimodal studies of popular discourse, Routledge, E Djonov & S Zhao (ed), New York, pp. 217-232. ISBN 978-0-415-62471-8 (2014) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2014 | Thomas A, Ely-Harper K, Richards K, 'Virtual Macbeth: Using virtual worlds to explore literary texts', English Teaching and New Literacies Pedagogy, Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., L Unsworth & A Thomas (ed), New York, pp. 233-258. ISBN 978-1-4331-1907-1 (2014) [Other Book Chapter] | |
| 2014 | Thomas A, White J, Lippis R, 'Teaching inanimate Alice', English teaching and new literacies pedagogy, Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., L Unsworth & A Thomas (ed), New York, pp. 173-190. ISBN 978-1-4331-1907-1 (2014) [Other Book Chapter] | |
| 2014 | Thomas DP, Thomas Angela, Moltow DT, 'Engaged young writers: Dialogic choices beyond NAPLAN', The Future of Educational Research, Sense Publishers, N. Fitzallen, S. Fan & R. Reaburn (ed), Netherlands, pp. 301-315. ISBN 978-94-6209-512-0 (2014) [Research Book Chapter] Co-authors: Thomas DP; Moltow DT | |
| 2012 | Thomas D, Thomas A, Fluck A, 'Enhancing pedagogy with mLearning', Technologies for enhancing pedagogy, engagement and empowerment in education: Creating learning-friendly environments, IGI Global, T Le and Q Le (ed), Hershey, PA, pp. 1-11. ISBN 978-1-61350-074-3 (2012) [Research Book Chapter] DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-074-3 [eCite] [Details] Co-authors: Thomas D; Fluck A | |
| 2011 | Paltridge Brian, Thomas Angela, Liu J, 'Genre, performance and Sex and the City', Telecinematic Discourse. Approaches to the language of films and television series, John Benjamins Publishing Company, R Piazza, M Bednarek, M Roddi (ed), Amsterdam, pp. 249-262. ISBN 978-90-272-5615-7 (2011) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2011 | Thomas AA, 'Community, culture, and citizenship in cyberspace', Handbook of research on new literacies, Routledge, Coiro, J; Knobel, M; Lankshear, C & Leu, D (ed), London, pp. 671-698. ISBN 0805856528 (2011) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2010 | Thomas AA, Tufano N, 'Stop-motion animation', DIY Media: Creating sharing and learning with new technologies, Peter Lang, Knobel, M & Lankshear, C (ed), New York, pp. 161 - 184. ISBN 9781433106354 (2010) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2008 | Thomas AA, 'Machinima: Composing 3D multimedia narratives', New literacies and the English curriculum, Continuum, Unsworth, L (ed), London, pp. 167- 185. ISBN 9780826499455 (2008) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2007 | Thomas AA, 'Blurring and breaking through the boundaries of narrative, literacy and identity in adolescent fan fiction', A new literacies sampler, Peter Lang, Knobel, M & Lankshear, C (ed), New York, pp. 137-166. ISBN 9780820495231 (2007) [Research Book Chapter] | |
| 2006 | Thomas AA, 'Fictional Blogs', Uses of Blogs, Peter Lang, Bruns, A & Jacobs, J (ed), New York, pp. 199-210. ISBN 0820481246 (2006) [Research Book Chapter] |
Conference Publication
(8 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Thomas A, To V, 'Othering or inclusion? Teacher practice around Asian voices and identities in literature', ALEA National Conference, July 9 - 12, Melbourne (2019) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: To V | |
| 2018 | Huynh NT, Thomas A, To VT, 'East Meets West? Identifying points of contestation when mediating understandings about Eastern picturebooks with children', 9th International Conference on Multimodality, 15-17 August 2018, University of Southern Denmark (2018) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Huynh NT; To VT | |
| 2018 | To VT, Thomas D, Thomas A, 'Grammatical metaphor for persuasion: A study of NAPLAN texts', ASFLA 2018, 26 - 28 September 2018, Adelaide, South Australia (2018) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: To VT; Thomas D | |
| 2016 | Thomas A, Thomas DP, To VT, 'The metaphors we teach by: A Cumulative and cohesive design for Bachelor of Education English education units', Program, Australian Systemic Functional Linguistics Association Conference, 27-29 September 2016, Sydney, Australia, pp. 39. (2016) [Conference Extract] Co-authors: Thomas DP; To VT | |
| 2012 | Chinthammit W, Thomas Angela, 'iFiction: mobile technology, new media, mixed reality and literary creativity in English teaching', IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality 2012 - Arts, Media and Humanities Proceedings, 5-8 November 2012, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, pp. 39-46. ISBN 978-1-4673-4664-1 (2012) [Refereed Conference Paper] DOI: 10.1109/ISMAR-AMH.2012.6483987 [eCite] [Details] Citations: Scopus - 3 Co-authors: Chinthammit W | |
| 2012 | Thomas D, Thomas A, ''I rest my case': Linguistic resources used by successful young writers of persuasive texts', To Boldly Proceed: Proceedings of the 39th International Systemic Functional Congress, 16-20 July 2012, Sydney, Australia, pp. 69-74. ISBN 978-0-646-58257-3 (2012) [Refereed Conference Paper] Co-authors: Thomas D | |
| 2011 | Gregory B, Gregory S, Wood D, Masters Y, Hillier M, et al., 'How are Australian higher education institutions contributing to change through innovative teaching and learning in virtual worlds?', Ascilite 2011: Changing Demands, Changing Directions - Proceedings, 4-7 December 2011, Hobart Tasmania, pp. 475-490. ISBN 978-1-86295-644-5 (2011) [Refereed Conference Paper] Co-authors: Fluck A | |
| 2010 | Gregory S, Lee M, Ellis A, Gregory B, Wood D, et al., 'Australian higher education institutions transforming the future of teaching and learning through 3D virtual worlds', Curriculum, technology & transformation for an unknown future: Ascilite 2010, December 5 - 8 2010, Sydney, NSW, Australia, pp. 399-415. ISBN 978-1-74272-016-6 (2010) [Refereed Conference Paper] |
Major Creative Work
(1 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Thomas AA, Ely-Harper K, Richards K, 'Foul Whisperings, Strange Matters', Linden Research, Inc., 945 Battery Street, San Francisco, CA 94111 (2008) [Recorded Creative Work] |
Grants & Funding
Literature Board, Australian Council for the Arts - $40,000
What if? Virtual Shakespeare (Stage 1)
Co-recipient of grant which developed a Second Life treatment of Shakespeare's Macbeth.
ARC Linkage Grant - $195,000
Teaching effective 3D authoring in the middle school years: Multimedia grammatical design and multimedia authoring pedagogy.
Joint Chief Investigator on an ARC Linkage grant with Professor Len Unsworth from the University of New England and linkage partner, The Australian Children's Television Foundation.
Research into Scholarship of Teaching Scheme grant - $3000
Literature and Place
Co-recipient of grant with colleague Jo Jones
University of Tasmania Research Enhancement Grant - $45,000
Augmented reality and new dimensions of experience with literature and multimodal authoring: mobile technology, new media and literary creativity in English teaching.
Co-recipient of grant with colleague from Human Interface with Technology Lab (HITLab Australia), Faculty of Computing and Information Systems
University of Sydney TIES grant - $52,000
Innovative teaching in virtual worlds
Co-recipient of a large teaching improvement grant exploring cross-faculty linkages to teaching in a virtual world.
University of Sydney SESQUI ARC grant: $10,500
Children and Electronic GamesChildren and Electronic Games
University of Sydney Teaching Improvement Fund grant: $15,000
ELLIE: Electronic Literature and Literacies in International Education
Funding Summary
Number of grants
4
Total funding
Projects
- Description
- This project will involve conducting research into the use of AR in education, which is still in its infancy, with little known about its applications for children. There is a dearth of practice-based research into AR being used for literacy development with the aim of advancing language and literacy goals in Australia. The slow uptake is possibly due to the lack of teachers competencies in understanding what AR is and what educational affordances it offers. Therefore, this research project will involve teachers as co-designers in developing pedagogy for using AR to make strong pedagogical connections between the language and literacy strands based on the Australian Curriculum: English. It draws on teachers professional knowledge and practice to advance emerging pedagogy for teaching language and literacy in the primary school contexts. Driven by the changing culture of language and literacy landscape, the study aims to address the following research questions:1.What competencies are necessary for Australian primary school teachers to use AR in language and literacy teaching?2.What are the features of AR apps that promote the content descriptions in the language and literacy strands in the Australian Curriculum: English across the stages/year levels in primary schools? 3.How can teachers use AR to pedagogically connect language and literacy outcomes?
- Funding
- Primary English Teaching Association Australia ($74,910)
- Scheme
- Research Grant
- Administered By
- Western Sydney University
- Research Team
- Thomas AA
- Period
- 2019 - 2021
- Description
- The built environments within which the 12,500 female convicts transported to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) in the nineteenth century were incarcerated have largely been destroyed, often leaving nothing more than barely discernible traces of foundations. The purpose of the app will be to reinscribe the stories of the 832 Ross Female Factory women back into this barren locale. Our app will link richly-detailed archival records with place, acting as a prototype for a new digital approach to the interpretation of Tasmanian convict sites and convict history more generally. This project will situate Tasmania at the cutting edge of historical interpretation while simultaneously creating the necessary pedagogical tools to enable the wider public to engage with our local and regional aspects of the global story of forced penal migration, punishment, reproduction and settlement.
- Funding
- University of Tasmania ($13,118)
- Scheme
- Grant - CALE Hothouse Alignment Scheme
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Thomas AA; Zarmati LFC; Harman KE; Clarke RGH; Hall KP; Keating MJ
- Year
- 2018
- Funding
- University of Tasmania ($35,000)
- Scheme
- Grant-Research Enhancement (REGS)
- Administered By
- University of Tasmania
- Research Team
- Thomas AA; Chinthammit W
- Year
- 2012
- Funding
- Australian Research Council ($195,000)
- Scheme
- Grant-Linkage Projects Round 1
- Administered By
- University of New England
- Research Team
- Unsworth L; Thomas AA
- Period
- 2008 - 2011
- Grant Reference
- LP0883563
Research Supervision
Current
8
Completed
2
Current
| Degree | Title | Commenced |
|---|---|---|
| PhD | Cosmopolitanism, Global Citizenship and International-mindedness: Exploring the articulations of global citizenship education in International Baccalaureate curriculum international schools | 2015 |
| PhD | The Impact of the Representation of Sexuality, Violence and Death in Childrens Literature on its Readers | 2016 |
| PhD | Exploring Vietnamese Customs and Traditions through Children's Literature | 2017 |
| PhD | A Genre-Based Approach to Teaching English as a Foreign Language in a Vietnamese Secondary School Context | 2017 |
| PhD | The Archipelagic State and the Continent State: A comparative analysis of Indonesian and Australian folktales | 2019 |
| PhD | Manipulating the Media Mania: Adapting media tools as literary pathfinders among children | 2019 |
| PhD | Scissors and Matches: A Creative Work based on the life of convict and entrepreneur Maria Lord | 2019 |
| PhD | An Examination of English Textbooks Used in Vietnamese Government Schools | 2019 |
Completed
| Degree | Title | Completed |
|---|---|---|
| PhD | I am a YouTuber A netnographic approach to profiling teen use of YouTube Candidate: Sun Hee Jang | 2015 |
| PhD | Writing for change: Persuasion across the school years Candidate: Damon Peter Thomas | 2015 |