When beginning to brainstorm this project, I had a hard time thinking about the redesign process as proposed by the New London Group (1996) and how I could use those principles to redesign my task 1. It was important to recreate the mode of the presentation of information in a way that catered to the content I was proposing (i.e., me demonstrating the items in my bag). Then it hit me! ASMR. I was already pretty familiar with the genre of ASMR video where the ASMR-tist (as they are called) (Keiles, 2019) would present many small items, tapping and scratching them to create a variety of sensory experiences. All I needed to do was recreate this type of video using my own items.
As stated in the video, ASMR is a great example of using a multimodal pattern of meaning making as proposed by the New London Group. This type of video relies heavily on the audio-visual components to create a relaxing space. Many ASMR videos also have a strong linguistic component of soothing narration. Then, due to the focus on materials (and their proximity to the viewer) ASMR lends well to gestural and spatial meaning-making as well. For these reasons, I decided to set out and my very own ASMR experience.
Personally, the most challenging element of this redesign process was overcoming the absolute silliness I felt while recording myself whispering about my various items.
Overall, I think this particular exercise demonstrates the power and limitations of this kind of redesign. That is to say that, while explaining the contents of my bag lends very well to ASMR, there are fewer applications of this genre for other learning activities. Though, perhaps this is an interesting thread to pull!
References
Keiles, J. L. (2019, April 4). How A.S.M.R. Became a Sensation. The New York Times. Retrieved on June 30, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/magazine/how-asmr-videos-became-a-sensation-youtube.html
The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. (Links to an external site.) Harvard Educational Review 66(1), 60-92.