Multiple Literacies, New Literacies, and Multimodality

Synthesis:

Hinchman and Sheridan-Thomas Ch. 4
This chapter discusses the importance of studying discourse in order to help adolescents develop 21st-century literacies.  Discourse is "a structure that frames a social or cultural group's habits of interpretation and their related literacies."  Every person has an "identity kit" that defines social expectations and the way he or she interacts with others.  Every person also has a Primary Discourse and a Secondary Discourse.  The Primary Discourse is developed at home and taken into a Secondary Discourse, such as school.  Primary Discourses are learned; Secondary Discourses are acquired.  Often, Primary and Secondary Discourses do not match.  When this occurs, four things can happen: 1) the person assumes the Secondary Discourse, 2) the person rejects the Secondary Discourse, thereby shutting himself out of conversations, 3) the person learns enough about the Secondary Discourse to get by, or 4) the person asserts Primary Discourse literacies into Secondary Discourses and eventually makes changes in the Secondary Discourse itself (called a borderland discourse).  Obviously, the fourth scenario is ideal.  When students are explicitly taught about both discourses, they are then able to choose different literacy practices that are appropriate for different times and settings.  Teachers must be sure to respect a student's Primary Discourse while still teaching metacognitive thinking strategies that help him or her in other discourses.  Through explicit teaching about discourses, students' literacy skills mold them into great communicators, wise citizens, and deep thinkers.  They are able to understand multiple perspectives and value diversity, as well.

Hinchman and Sheridan-Thomas Ch. 16
The authors begin this chapter by highlighting the fact that today's adolescents have never known a world without multimodal ways of communicating.  Hence, teachers must find a way to incorporate all of these modes into the classroom in a way that is meaningful to their students.  The chapter gives a scenario of one teacher, Deborah, and the ways that she does this.  First, she layers multiple texts (digital and traditional) to create meaning for her students.  The authors are quick to point out that while Deborah is teaching CCSS in her class, she is not teaching to the standards.  She takes a new literacies stance that provides many opportunities for guided participation and collaborative learning.  When lessons are designed so that one event is shown across multiple texts, students are more able to see how the mode of the event shows different pieces and perspectives of the same story.  Multiple texts also allow opportunities for problem posing and thinking critically.  When multiple modes are used in the classroom, students are more likely to make personal connections, connections to popular culture, and connections to current events.  Students gain a complex, yet concrete understanding of a subject when multimodality is employed.

Coiro
In this reading, the importance of online reading comprehension is explored.  There are many things that skilled online readers do offline which can be carried over, such as using prior knowledge, making inferences, and monitoring their own comprehension.  However, the ability to navigate the Internet is not the same as being able to comprehend the information on it, so students must explicitly be taught this skill by using five guidelines.  The first guideline is to make explicit the relationships between offline and online reading comprehension strategies,  This includes encouraging students to compare text features and their purposes, providing think-aloud models (or allowing students to construct their own), and embedding strategy lessons into online curriculum.  The second guideline is to honor the literacies that students bring to school with them each day.  It must be recognized that each student has multiple literacy contributions.  Also, students need to be able to engage not only in personal online reading tasks, but academic ones.  And, students must have space to explore multiple text forms.  Guideline 3 states that expectations for new classroom roles/relationships during online projects must be clarified.  When collaborating with peers, students should learn to respect one another's view points.  Teachers should provide explicit instruction while also giving space for peer collaboration.  Guideline 4 suggests providing time for students to develop positive attitudes toward Internet learning and communication.  Student effort should be focused on, as opposed to ability, and online inquiry projects can help, as well.  The fifth guideline discusses using self, peer, and teacher assessments to inform instruction about reading and understanding the internet.  Not only should students be receiving feedback from their teachers, but they must learn to reflect on their own strategy use and create their own reading comprehension goals.  Assessments should be both formal and informal.

Kim and Kamil
As technology has continued to be more prevalent in our world, students are now expected to have a wider range of skills and competencies related to such growth.  Computerized literacy instruction for adolescents is becoming more common and has, in some studies, been shown to help with reading comprehension.  However, many other factors must be considered which can affect learning and implementation.  One common mistake in thinking is that students (and adults) are easily able to process multiple modes of transmitting information, when actually, students need to be taught strategies and methods for doing so.  It can be difficult to understand the meaning of hypertext and complex graphics.  Multiple studies have shown that students perform best when given a high level of guidance on the computer.  Simply providing a variety of options is insufficient for improving reading comprehension.  As far as writing instruction on the computer, results vary.  The most consistent finding is that students need lots of time to interact with computer-based writing instruction.  Students do develop many social skills on the Internet.  Computer-based formats may encourage some shy students to participate more.  Also, the more often students are able to interact with the computer, the greater the improvements in their attitudes toward it.  Having access to computers at school and at home reduces student anxiety.  Furthermore, boys typically display a more positive attitude toward technology than girls.  All in all, computer instruction can be effective when students are provided with structured guidelines to help them navigate multimedia successfully.  

Responses

Text-to-Text
Many of our readings in this class have focused on the advent of technology and how best to use it in the classroom.  One thing that all of the readings have in common is that, as teachers, we cannot afford to simply avoid and/or ignore technology any longer.  Not only can new literacies be motivating to students, but they can also improve reading comprehension and writing skills if used appropriately.

Text-to-Self
Honestly, technology scares me at times.  I really related to the part in the Kim and Kamil reading which talked about how boys are commonly more motivated by technology and multiple/new literacies than are girls.  However, these readings reiterated to me the importance of continuing to find ways to include technology in my classroom.  I do think that I need more instruction and training for knowing how to do so.  Sometimes I feel like people are always saying, "Use technology in your classroom!" and expecting us to do it but then not providing training or tangible ways for us to make it effective.

Text-to-World
As technology continues to become more prevalent across the globe, students must know how to interact with it in order to be successful in their future professional work and daily communications with others.  While parents do play a role in providing access to and instruction about technology, teachers ultimately are responsible for creating technologically literate students.  The more opportunities my students have to interact with technology in my classroom, the more successful they are likely to be when they leave it.  

Questions

1.  Do you explicitly teach your students about Primary and Secondary Discourses?  If so, what does this look like in your classroom?  If not, please elaborate.

2.  Elementary teachers- how do you use multiple literacies in your classrooms?  I do use my Intelligent Classroom whiteboard pretty frequently, but I'm always looking for new, engaging ideas!