1. Copy and paste a quote from the reading that causes you to have a strong reaction (agreement, disagreement, confusion...) and explain your reaction.
"Rather than assessing individual modes in a multimodal work, I suggest an assessment strategy that focuses on the effectiveness with which modes such as image, text, and sound are brought together or, literally, composed" (Sorapure, n.d., p. 2).
This statement elicited a strong reaction of agreement because the ways students learn and are assessed are rapidly changing, but the methods used are still old and do not consider medias in the ways they are used today. I also thought that this quote was interesting in the fact that Sorapure suggested using images, texts, and sounds as the educational product. For so long, only hard copy evidence (essay, reports, worksheets) were used to evaluate a student's understanding of the content/lesson. By including new medias such as graphics and sounds, students may show a clearer understanding of the material in a way that makes sense to them instead of a written essay connecting the themes in a novel to real life experiences. As a classroom teacher, I try to be creative with my students and have them complete projects that are not in the norm of usual assessment, but I often find it difficult to assess their projects because every assessment technique that I have learned revolves around checklists, rubrics, and correct answers. I am in favor of finding new assessment methods for these creative educational products because it keeps education fresh and evolving with current trends while also focusing on the goal of learning. When students create images, sounds, and text that shows learning, I think it is much more valuable to the student because it connect their world with school concepts.
2. Have you ever ask students to create a multimodal text? Have you ever created a multimodal text for a school related assignment? Described the assignment. What were the learning goals? How was it assessed? Do you feel the assignment improved comprehension of the content? Why? Why not?
I have never asked students to create a multimodal text. Before this class, I had no idea what it was to be honest. I have created a multimodal project for this course and it was school related. My project was a PowerPoint presentation on the organelles of a plant cell. I tried to create my text so that I could use it with my actual students. As I taught the subject this past year, I saw how hard it was to keep the organelle and its function clear in the student's mind because there were 13 organelles and all of them have different functions. I tried to be clear with the text to connect the function of the organelle to something the students would already know, such as "powerhouse" for the mitochondria. Each slide had a picture to connect the organelle to its function. The learning goals for this multimodal project was to identify plant cell organelles and their functions. My grade was determined with a rubric that had three categories and spots for instructor comments. I feel that the assignment of creating a multimodal text of plant cell organelles increased my awareness and identification of each part and its function. I had to really think about what words I used to describe the organelle, as I was limited to five words a slide. I believe my overall comprehension was increased and I do hope to use the presentation with my students. To go one step further, I've been considering making a multimodal presentation for animal cell organelles as well. I think students would connect to the images and text better than labeling the parts and simply writing the functions of each organelle.
3. Find an multimodal example of metonymy and embed it in your blog. Is it a good or poor example? Why?
For some reason, my blogger will not upload the youtube video so here is the link.
Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuzZBDh8U5w
The song Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss is a metonym because it is connecting whiskey to loss, death, depression, loneliness, and other emotions. It also has a hauntingly eerie quality that also connects those feelings to this song. I think this is a good example because it connects so many emotions, feelings, and thoughts with just one song and the performance/video also connects the person to the emotions and concept.
For some reason, my blogger will not upload the youtube video so here is the link.
Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuzZBDh8U5w
The song Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss is a metonym because it is connecting whiskey to loss, death, depression, loneliness, and other emotions. It also has a hauntingly eerie quality that also connects those feelings to this song. I think this is a good example because it connects so many emotions, feelings, and thoughts with just one song and the performance/video also connects the person to the emotions and concept.
4. Find a multimodal example of metaphor and embed it in your blog. Is it a good or poor example Why?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Scene where Harry's Patronus makes the dementors leave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1TqCGEBdLw
First off, I believe the whole Harry Potter series including the books and movies is great for teaching purposes and connects so many ideas and themes with people of all ages. With that said, this clip of Harry using his patronus charm to save Sirius and himself from the dementors is a great metaphor. First, the dementors represent loss, death, fear, all the bad emotions and thoughts that people experience. With the patronus, it is white which is the opposite color from the black dementors and it represents so many things. Harry's stag patronus connects Harry to his father because his father's patronus charm was also a stag. Next, the white color represents hope, light, and safety. Because Harry's patronus embodies so many of these elements, I believe this is a great example of a metaphor in a visual medium.
5. How does this reading help you think about the use of multimodal text to support writing and learning across content area instruction in school?
This reading helps me think about using multimodal texts to support writing and learning across all content areas because it is a tool that can be used in so many forms. For instance, I used it for a science concept, others used it to show hobbies. I think this tool could be used to do reports about figures in history or other concepts in other content areas. I've been looking for a way to connect students to mathematicians for a biography project and I was just not happy with the results. Most students wrote an essay and couldn't explain why they were researching Einstein or Fibonacci. I also believe that the way a multimodal text can be used with writing can not only be used in projects, but to also enrich the process of learning for the student. They have to be creative and think critically about what words to use and where to place them. The same can be true with the graphics. I hope to include more projects of this nature with my students in the future.
References:
Sorapure, M. (n.d.). Between Modes: Assessing Student New Media Compositions. . Retrieved June 8, 2014, from http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/10.2/coverweb/sorapure/between_modes.pdf
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