Multimodal Literacies: An Introduction

As we move into the twenty-first century, literacy is no longer being defined as simply one's ability to communicate by means of reading, writing, and speaking.  Traditional forms of communicating one's thoughts are moving further and further away from your basic paper/pencil product.  The large majority of society now have computers in the home and cell phones with unlimited texting, both complete with Internet access.  Messages can be created and sent in a matter of minutes, if not seconds, at the occurrence of every new life event; birth of a child, marriage proposal, etc.  Pictures can be shared with friends and family via text and social media instantaneously.  We no longer have to write letters and mail them or develop pictures and then have to wait until the next face-to face encounter to share them.

The benefits of multimodal reading and writing are limitless for students.  With access to an unlimited amount of information at their fingertips and a little guidance of a teacher, students can search and find art, music, video, and drama to ignite new ideas and engage them in the creation of imaginative products that incorporates different modes.  The thought of being able, as a teacher, to allow students to learn the way they do best (seeing, hearing, moving, doing, singing... ) is exciting. 

Multimodal Literacies: An Introduction by Jennifer Sanders and Peggy Albers reviewed different projects that teachers had done in their own classrooms.  As a second grade teacher, the Games-Play Project intrigued me the most.  As I understand it, an artist, and architect, and teachers examined drawings created by students as they made plans for a new playground that incorporated games that they liked to play.  I find this interesting because the teacher would be able to learn much about the students.

The main challenge for me as a second grade teacher is coming up with ideas to incorporate multimodal activities that I think will truly leave an impression with the students.  Which activities will actually make a difference?  Sometimes I think that I make it much harder than it should be. 

Multimodal Learning Through Media:  What the Research Says

Print Culture

Friday, May 25, 2012

Print culture is anything that is printed, whether it is text or visual.  As I teach second grade, I think of the written text in textbooks accompanied by pictures, graphs, charts, etc.  Anything on the page that aids in student understanding is considered print culture. 

Print culture, compared to oral culture or scribal culture, has great benefits.  The invention of the printing press allowed for mass production of important documents, whereas oral and scribal limited the number of copies that could be produced.  The information on documents could be saved and not loose meaning due to word of mouth and transcription errors.  The impact on society has been profound; books, newspapers, magazine, and now the World Wide Web.  Different printed documents even aided in our attained freedom.

The surge of technology on our society is taking print culture to the next level.  I have heard it said that "the world is shrinking."  We have an overwhelming amount of print in the form of information and knowledge at our fingertips.  We have social networks that afford us the ability to keep in touch with friends and family that live thousands of miles away.  And the implications for learning in schools are phenomenal.   We have learning games, dictionaries, facts, visuals, and different cultures at the simple push of a button.

Textual Lineage #3

Friday, May 25, 2012


Song: Star Spangle Banner written by Francis Scott Key

"Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

I have heard this song hundreds, if not thousands, of times during my lifetime, and this line still evokes such emotion.  My grandfather and husband are both veterans for United States military.  My husband was activated during Desert Storm three days before our one year anniversary and was gone for a year.  I always think of what our troops have done, and continue to do, for our country every time I hear this song. 

Textual Lineage #2

Thursday, May 24, 2012

"Some people try to hide the fact
that children shelter there;
Ours boasts it quite openly...
the signs are everywhere,
For smears are on the windows,
little smudges on the door;
I should apologize I guess,
for toys strewn on the floor,
But I sat down and with the children
and played, laughed and read,
And if the doorbell doesn't shine,
their eyes will shine instead,
For when I'm forced to choose
the one job or the other,
It's good to be a housewife
but I'd rather be a mother."


This poem kept me grounded as a stay home mom.  All the days when I would get discourage about a somewhat messy house, I just read this.

Textual Lineage #1

Thursday, May 24, 2012

"As High as the Cooing Dove"  by Matthew Epperly

No one on earth can fly, as high as the cooing dove,

Next to the blazing sun, close to the ones you love.

The bright sky above, the earth is its foe,

Blue all alighting, green down below.

Its wings are glowing, from the heavenly light,

Flying next the sun, although it is fiery and bright.

Slowly it falls, it slowly descends, 

Here our flight, so mournfully ends.

When I was in undergraduate school, I had was studying poetry in my Literature class.  My son, who was in fifth grade at the time, was sitting at the table with me while I was working, and he was asking me questions about what I was doing.  Some time passed when he asked if he could please use my laptop.  He carried it over to the sofa and began working quietly.  He asked me how to spell alighting and mournfully.  My curiosity peeked and I asked him what he was doing, and he nonchalantly told me that he was writing a poem, and proceeded to tell me that I couldn't read it until it was finished. 

When I finally got to read the finished product, I was amazed at what I read.  To me, it was the most beautiful piece of writing that I had ever read.  We printed it off and sent a copy to his grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  His great-grandfather agreed that it was a piece of art, framed it, and hung it on his wall.  He passed away on May 22, 2009 and the poem was read during his funeral service.  I will never forget it, and neither will my Matt.  

Introduction

I am a graduate student who lives around the Clarksburg, West Virginia area and I teach Second Grade at West Milford Elementary School.  With the recent push to integrate technology into the classroom, I am hoping that EDUC 6809 will help to get my creative juices flowing.  The problem is, when it comes to technology, I'm fresh out of ideas.  As a non-traditional student, I grew up in an age with minimal technology.  I actually took a typing class on a type writer.  My first experience with a computer was when I was a Junior in high school.  And again it was minimal when it comes to computer technology.  My hope is to be able to help lead my students into the media age.  I just need a little help.

What is literacy?  Wow.  To me, literacy has several components.  First, it is the ability to decode, blend, and finally read and interact with a written text to construct meaning.  Then it is the ability to organize thoughts, use learned skills and write a coherent piece for others to read.  In the scenario, there is a level of communication between the reader and writer. As we move into the 21st Century, literacy may take on another meaning altogether.  In "A New Literacy: Making Connections in Electronic Environments," we may get a vision of what that new meaning may look like.