Week 3 Journal Post

            This week I read about multimodal pedagogies and remixing.  For this blog post, I’m going to discuss multimodal pedagogies.  According to Vasudevan, Dejaynes, and Schmier (2013), multimodal composing, “refers to more than bringing together separate modes of expression, such as sound or image, in the production of a text” (p. 24).  In addition to the juxtaposition of modes of expression, multimodal composing also includes the various tools required to merge those modes, as well as the physical spaces in which the composing occurs (pp. 24-25).

            My favorite example of multimodal composing appears in the description of Mr. Cardenas’ New Media Journalism classroom (Vasudevan, Dejaynes, & Schmier 2013, p. 26).  The class reconstructs the learning environment and turns it into a workspace consisting of a conference table and thirty-five Emac computers.  Working as reporters, the students utilize various forms of media (cameras, audio recording, .pdf files, podcasts) in order to bring their learning experiences into their own realities.  This environment allows the students to engage in and create community: “Rosy was one such student whose podcast documented the exceptional artwork of a student at the school” (p. 27).  It also allows the students to engage in forms of social action: “The space allowed her [a student] to critique the circumstances in her school, and design a multimodal text, which articulated what she saw as a grave injustice [referring to a lack of experienced teachers” (p. 28).

            From my experience with urban youth, many students still view the classroom as a boring space disconnected from their own worlds.  I do believe that utilizing media in the classroom, and reconstructing the space itself, are two ways to alter this perception.  The students described in this journalism class were genuinely engaged in learning, and were developing skills that will certainly be applicable to the 21^st century.

            The reading inspired me to rethink a project I’ll be implementing in my classroom.  This year I’m teaching a course for incoming students that allows them to engage with the mission of our school.  One aspect of the course involves having them investigate aspects of a culture that they identify with.  I’ve decided to have them create a cultural blog that utilizes multimodal composing and teaches some basic literacy skills (creating the blog, creating links, inserting images).  I’m looking forward to this, and I always try to incorporate technology (right now the students are editing personal narratives in Google docs), however, I know I will face serious obstacles in implementing the project.  Wi-Fi has been inconsistent throughout the school year, and my laptop cart has yet to have its software updated.  I also casually explained to a few students what we would be doing next, and many had no clue what a blog was.  Thus, I’ll face two realities that I know many teachers in urban settings can relate to: inconsistent—if not lack of—technology, and extremely low levels of digital literacy.  However, if the school Wi-Fi is down, it may be the perfect opportunity to have students get into their phones and bring their own technology across school borders. 

Works Cited

Vasudevan, L., Dejaynes, T., & Schmier, S. (2013). Multimodal Pedagogies: Playing, Teaching and Learning with Adolescents’ Digital Literacies. In Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (Eds.) A New Literacies Reader. (pp. 23-37). New York, NY: Peter Lang.