Engaging the mobile generation using diverse and authentic multiliteracies.

Let's take a look at:

How multiliteracies consider authenticity, choice, making connections, diversity and social justice and how literacy practices impact on how teachers engage the mobile generation.

Why use multiliteracies?

We all know that different students learn in different ways. So it make sense that multiliteracies can help foster these different ways of learning by giving students the opportunity to learn in ways that work well for them.

 By giving students the opportunity to work with different forms of media they can develop a sense of provenance and to improve their skills in identifying what is reliable, authentic information and what isn't.

Negotiating and Planning for Diversity in a Multiliterate World.

How can they be helpful?

By using more than one form of media, students will learn how to make connections between what they read, what they see, what they hear and how all this interacts with their own world. This is a vital part of developing critical literacy skills. Teachers are then able to design suitable opportunities for students to apply their new knowledge in ways that impact upon their own personal experiences (Taylor, Bernhard, Garg & Cummins, 2008, p. 274). BUT, it's important not to use technology just for the sake of using technology. Teachers need to be sure that the media used has a defined purpose as well.

 
Are multiliteracies suitable for use in diverse classrooms? 

Definitely, that's the beauty of multiliteracies. With so many different possibilities and different forms of media to experiment with, there's always some form of media or text that the student will have an interest in and actually WANT to get involved in. The combination of multimodal elements and critical literacy means that students who have a lot of experience in oral and visual modes can apply their knowledge in a classroom context (Pahl & Rowsell, 2005, p. 130).

The increase in technological advances and cultural diversity in schools means that new ways of defining literacy are vital for empowering students and that their cultural capital should be drawn on when constructing these new and multimodal literacy activities (Cumming-Potvin, 2009). These alternate forms of literacy allow greater opportunities for students to get 'a fair go' in their lessons; the massive range of media options available to them means that less students will be at a disadvantage and that MORE students will be able to learn from each other's methods.


What are these 'new' literacies? How do they differ to 'old' literacies??

New literacies are digital literacies; online, messaging, sms, phones and computers. New literacies combine letters, symbols, colours, sounds and graphics to extend language and the ways we communicate (New Literacies & Classroom Practice, n.d.). Traditional literacy is essentially print based, using books, or other print media. As the technological world gets bigger and bigger and more and more people using digital media, it makes sense that forms of digital media and communication have become accepted as types of literacy. We've all heard of people who are or aren't 'computer literate', this shows that many people consider the use of technology a form of literacy without even realising it!

How can they be used to keep students interested?

Most students would be pretty keen to try anything their teacher suggested if it involved using computers or other technology. There are so many ways a teacher can include the use of digital media in their lessons: blogs, video production, documentaries, creating and maintaining websites, or even critiquing their favourite websites, which brings into play their knowledge of the semiotic systems. These new forms of technology are so embedded in children's worlds that it seems foolish NOT to include them in some way!

Comic created by Rachel Povey using Toondoo. (2013)

Also, the use of new literacies can be combined with more traditional forms, or used as a comparison, like comparing a film analysis with the more traditional book review. This way, if a teacher feels more inclined to use traditional literacies they can do so, while remaining fairly confident their students will stay engaged!
 

For more information on multiliteracies, click the links below:

What's so different about multiliteracies?

A pedagogy of multiliteracies: designing social futures.

 A glossary of multiliteracy terms.

References:

Cumming-Potvin, W. (2009). Social justice, pedagogy and multiliteracies: developing communities of practice for teacher education. Australian journal of teacher education, 34(3), 82-99. Retrieved from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol34/iss3/4  

Negotiating and planning for diversity in a multiliterate world. Uploaded April 15, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nreco4U1MC8 

New literacies and classroom practice. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.newliteracies.com.au/what-are-new-literacies?/

Pahl, K. & Rowsell, J. (2005).  Literacy and education: understanding the new literacy studies in the classroom. London: Sage Publications.

Schwarzer, D., Haywood, A., Lorenzen, C. (2003) Fostering multiliteracy in a linguistically diverse classroom. Retrieved from Google Scholar.

Taylor, L., Bernhard, J., Garg, S. & Cummins, J. (2008). Affirming plural belonging: building on students’ family-based cultural and linguistic capital through multiliteracies pedagogy. Journal of early childhood literacy, 8(3), 269-294. DOI: 10.1177/1468798408096481

 

Images Retrieved from:

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http://martin-thoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/testing_cartoon.jpg 

http://www.toondoo.com/MyToondoo.toon

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