Reflection
In redesigning task 1: what’s in my bag, I wanted to embrace ‘multiliteracies’ as introduced by the New London Group (1996) which accounts for the cultural and linguistic diversity of globalization and broad forms of representation via multimedia technologies. In comparison to the original task which consisted of a picture and text, I incorporated the interactive elements into the image as well as hyperlinks that take the viewer/reader to another medium. For example, the video button on the book redirects to a YouTube video of the book review. Although the video is in Korean, it comes with a subtitle option in many languages and the comment section allows for further discussion if the reader chooses to engage. The contact button beside the book takes the viewer to an Instagram page of the book’s illustrator called Worry Lines if they are interested in learning more about the illustrator’s work. The audio button on the AirPods provides a recording of a part of the text from the original task. It could have also been used to record podcasts (verbal/oral discourse) or hyperlink to Spotify playlists.
As I am reflecting on the redesigned product, my first thought was that it may not be intuitive to use for those who are not familiar with digital interactive mediums. There are no clear “written” instructions up front that direct the reader/viewer. The interactive buttons are in a picture/emoji format, which as we have learned in previous weeks, may not mean the same thing for those from other cultures, generations and with different experiences. It may also not be as user-friendly/compatible for those with disability (e.g. might not be compatible with a screenreader), which could further widen the digital divide and the inequity gap. On the other hand, this newly redesigned product is more open for the viewer/reader as they are not restricted to following the strict order created by the author and can make connections freely. It also allows access to more information beyond the traditional text, as afforded by the hyperlinks.
I love what you’ve done with this assignment! The multiliteracy idea, interactive … this is a cool and meaningful way to redesign this assignment. On my own, I created an Animaker video to engage the viewer in an interactive way rather than simply reading. Yours, however, is MORE interactive as it touches on multiliteracies and opens up possibilities for the viewer – where to purchase an item for instance. This is very well done, thank you!
Hey Julia,
Your redesign of the “What’s in My Bag” task is awesome! What a great example of embracing multiliteracies to enhance a learning experience like this one. As soon as I saw the Genially I knew that I should have done the same thing, it was such a good idea. By incorporating those interactive elements you created a more engaging way for viewers to explore the content and for students to complete the assignment. The video reviews, social media links and audio recordings gives so man options catering to many types of learning styles. I took the assignment in a very different direction and just focused on the audio portion of the task and how I could make it enjoyable to listen to rather than to see. THis is a much better representation and redesign. Great work.
Hi Julia,
Thank you for introducing genially to me as I had never heard of it or used it before. This is a great way to use hyperlinks to allow users to interact with the content and further explore areas of interest. Even though it was my first time navigating genially, I had no problems understanding the different emojis and functions. While I agree that it may be confusing for people who are not familiar with digital interactive mediums, I think it was quite user-friendly in the sense that users could simply click around to find out where all the links led to. I can definitely see myself incorporating this in the classroom when I ask students to analyze literary texts and I can provide further support by including links to word definitions or contextual explanations. Your approach was very different from mine because I was focusing on the characteristics of the objects themselves and presenting them in different mediums. I like that you chose to link to the internet and provide more information that could not have been presented through the pictures. I think it’s also really important that you are allowing the user to choose what they want to learn more about. This is another big difference from my approach as I did not incorporate interactivity or autonomy for my users.