I have always felt deeply drawn to multimodal and digital forms of composition, despite lacking the language to describe them and the tools to use them for so many years. In the back of class, I was always the kid scribbling & doodling, cocreating, asking too many questions, and seeing if I could get away with writing a song instead of the assigned paragraph. I hand-designed the presentations, Prezis, and Google Slides happily-- no themes for me. Always drawn to the tactile. Always looking for something else to do once I was done, someone else to collaborate with, somewhere else to go. Multitasking. Multimodal literacies "draw on [these] semiotic resources, such as visual, aural, gestural, and spatial," deepening the interaction that a student like me has with the content they are learning, and utilizing skills that may be pushed to the wayside in favor of the 5-paragraph essay (DeJaynes & Curmi-Hall, 2020). A lot has changed about my understanding of this from the last time I took this class (2023 ---> 2026)
Despite my affinities, I haven't always had access to the digital tools or tech skills needed for strictly digital design. Now I always reach for the word multimodal before I jump to digital. That might be because my school didn't have the resources for personal Chromebooks (let alone computers!) or because I always felt similarly boxed in by a digital interface as I did by lined paper. Either way, it took me a long time to develop digital composition skills valued by online participatory subcultures, despite being defined by Jenkins as having "relatively low barriers to artistic expression and engagement [and] strong support for creating and sharing" (Jenkins, 2006). It is hard to just say 'digital' without leaving myself out. Instead, I understand multimodal (and digital) composition to be a contemporary platform for sharing countercultural narratives that reinforce agency, community, and uplift the voice(s) of the creator(s). Digital composition is creating in your own format with the intention of speaking with your audience, not just to them. Thankfully, I was often able to digitize and share my 'analog' work, leading to not only a higher rate of dissemination but also valuable social interactions.
New media literacies are essential for navigating life in the 21st century. Growing up at the beating heart of a diverse school district where my community members and I faced high rates of poverty and a multitude of other intersecting barriers to developing standardized English literacy (language acquisition, access to transportation, stability, etc.), shaped my appreciation for new media practices and the autonomy and agency they can foster. Now, as a high school English teacher, I understand more than ever the importance of the conscious development of 21st-century skills, which "build on foundations of traditional literacy, research skills... and critical analysis skills" necessary for navigating life beyond the institution of schooling (Jenkins 2006). My online participation is highlighted through 3 of the skills that Jenkins outlines: PLAY, PERFORMANCE, and APPROPRIATION.
Lots of young people see the power of (and yearn for) diverse forms of expression, too. They want to cocreate and develop COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE, they are interested in PERFORMING by adopting identities for deeper discovery, and they want to PLAY with new concepts. Last year, for example, a group of talented students and I, alongside Art Teacher Keeley Macgreggor, started a Creative Club, which acted as an open studio after-school space for middle and high-schoolers, aiming to connect creative writers and visual artists. Having a physical and online collaborative space where students were promoted to share their art, give feedback, and build connections between students of varying skillsets and affinities strengthened the community of artists, learners, and civic engagement at this school. This hybrid space empowered students to represent their perspectives, share their niche, and dig into their interests.
In my classes, I have utilized many digital and multimodal assessments, including, but not limited to:
- Book Trailer
- Zines
- Infographics
- Digital Presentations
- Poetry Portfolios
- One-Pagers
- Dramatization/ Skits
- Blogs/ Biographical Blog
- Collages
- Graphic Annotations
- Posters/Advertisement
- Murals/ Painting
Pictured below: My old CURRINS547 blog PFP vs. my new one. How times have changed.
Hi Greta! I really enjoyed your post about online literacy engagement. I thought you brought up super good points about access to digital spaces and how some students have different experiences and definitions surrounding the word "multimodal" because of lack of/restriction to online access. It's important to keep in mind all different types of lived experiences in definitions, especially when discussing digital literacies, which I view as kind of a broader term for literacy in general. While literacy can be digital, it can also be physical, or audial, or oral, or visual, etc., etc. I also think it's super cool that you were able to make a Creative Club at your school where students could express themselves in different ways. These spaces are so important for students to develop not only their artistic/writing identity, but their personal identity as well. Art is how we communicate with the world, especially topics that are difficult or personal to us. And finding community through similar passions gives us a place where we not only feel like we belong, but are heard. What are some of your favorite things that your students have made? I think it'd be so cool to see some of those things, if you're willing to share. I look forward to hearing more from you!
ReplyDeleteHey Isabel! One of my favorite (and most daring) projects that Creative Club took on was a collaboration between UW-Greenbay's Bookworm Gardens -- a sculptural art garden in Sheboygan, and Kao Kalia Yang, a renowned Hmong author. Her Hmong identity was especially important in her work and to our students, as the 98% of my students at the Hmong American Peace Academy shared her family's history of displacement and immigration into the United States, which we read about in class through her memoir The Latehomecomer. In preparation for her visit and live reading, Creative Club researched, designed, and hand-painted a 4-panel installation depicting a traditional Hmong story cloth/ quilt, or Paj Ntaub. Through the shifting of seasons, locations, and culture, students displayed their history on their own terms. It was so rewarding to facilitate.
Deletei-spy the final 4 panel peice in my literacy collage, or for more info: https://www.bookwormgardens.org/readers-roundup
Greta, it's so good to have you back and to see your relationship with the multimodal expand and deepen. I so appreciate and see in your work how the wider range of expression made possible through multimodality deepens your connection to the learning and the thinking. Your deep dives into dance and the body as forms of multimodal expression further push this approach. I look forward to seeing where these questions take you this time around.
ReplyDelete