Well, this course has changed the way I think about writing, communication and the technologies we use to facilitate both.
I never thought about the evolution of communication, language or text before and I found there to be many valuable ideas that connect to my life as a student, a trainer, an office-worker, and a technology user.
As we are mentored into office environments and educational institutions we tend to accept whatever communication norms are in place with little consideration for efficiencies, effect, or experimenting with different methods. Like language itself, email has become quite normalized in my office, to the point that we sometimes use it without questioning whether it’s the best method.. I now find myself more conscientious about my communication choices, and with a renewed appreciation for the telephone, infographics and basically anything that’s not an email or a written report .(or a discussion forum!)
This course has made me think a lot about orality too. I’ve always tended to be someone whose more comfortable behind a keyboard, but as I gain experience with meetings and making video recordings I begin to see the value of ensuring proficiency with a variety of modes of representation.
I first read the New London Group’s multi-literacies framework several MET courses ago, and at the time I was skeptical. I thought to myself “Why call it literacy if it’s something different? Why not just call different modes of representation what they are? Why does it all have to be ‘literacy’?” but now I begin to see how it’s connected to the evolution of writing, reading and expression.
I think a huge part of using technology effectively is being bold and confident to experiment. In some ways, this course has given me confidence to take chances because I feel reassured that it’s not frivolous, it’s actually part of a complex evolution of communication. From small “acts of rebellion” like adding a smiley face to an email that I may not have before, to larger considerations around incorporating more audio or video in my presentations and training packages, this course has helped me understand why I learned certain writing conventions in my own schooling and to be more future oriented (but practical- no need to use revolutionary language!) in my thinking around communication, learning and technology.
