In our tasks on Mode-Bending, Laura Ulrich’s post was an exploratory and interactive musical cacophony compared to my design of an artistic reflection on the backpack as a container of knowledge. Embedded in each post are relationships with the objects, relating to the principles of constructivism and the New London Group on multiliteracies.

“In a pedagogy of multiliteracies, all forms of representation, including language, should be regarded as dynamic processes of transformation rather than processes of reproduction. That is, meaning makers are not simply replicators of representational conventions. Their meaning-making resources may be found in representational objects, patterned in familiar and thus recognizable ways. However, these objects are reworked. Meaning makers do not simply use what they have been given: they are fully makers and remakers of signs and transformers of meaning” (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009, pg. 175).

The representations we created contrast in the self-organization of information. Laura’s relationship to the objects connect with memories of her childhood and travels, or the mood and feelings when interacting with an object. The meanings refer to the present moment and can be played simultaneously or repetitively, symbolizing the interconnection of self with environment and inability to isolate an experience or object from experience and emotion. The intertextual meanings of her work can fit into the layering of identity and the construction of portraying that identity through a digital medium.

We take alternative paths, as I look to contrast traditional and modern approaches to prose and Laura begins her post with the quote signifying her jumping with two feet into the unknown.

“GET IN OVER YOUR HEAD AS OFTEN AND AS JOYFULLY AS POSSIBLE.” –ALEXANDER ISLEY

Certain quotes from the course text are used throughout my post, ‘Diverse Discourse,’ to provide context for the minimalist story and animation as a metaphor for the capacity of objects to encompass feeling, reflection, and meaning. The final quote includes the message that “human knowledge is initially developed not as “general and abstract,” but as embedded in social, cultural, and material contexts” (New London Group, 1996, pg. 82).  The animation and prose demonstrate personal perspective and creative expression. My stylized thoughts on the page give further indication to my vision of structural representation. Laura presented the challenge to toggle between German and English, which I could have engaged with in speaking and writing in French as well as English. The language associated with each container of knowledge, could have been representative of my academic english, Cree beading style and Quebecois decor. Her post has made me venture further into unfamiliar discourse of multimodality and challenging the binaries of language and layers.

Finally, Laura’s work reminded me of serval tools I have used while teaching. Incredibox and Chrome Music Lab  are two resources I did not think to use for this audio task, as like many of my peers, I found it challenging to imagine a task only using audio. If I were to compare our audio tracks, the agency of the viewer is completely transformed in Laura’s work, whereas mine follows a linear progression of an audio visual piece. What would a representation of your audio piece look like in one of the Chrome Music Lab extensions?

References:

Bill Cope & Mary Kalantzis (2009) “Multiliteracies”: New Literacies, New Learning, Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4:3, 164-195, DOI: 10.1080/15544800903076044

The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review 66(1), 60-92.