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