Through this poem, I invited my listeners to interpret the items in my bag in their own way and to pick up on clues that tell about myself and what’s in my bag. I chose to use a playful form of audio communication to invite my listeners to reflect on the potential benefits and challenges of using different modes of communication.
Some potential benefits of using audio in playful ways that come to mind are the agency the listener has in how they engage with and connect to the content. They also do not need to be literate to listen to the audio and can still connect to it in their own unique ways. Some potential challenges of using audio in playful ways that come to mind are the open ended nature of it causing confusion rather than connection. Listening to audio may not be as straightforward as reading written text and require existing knowledge in order to read between the lines. In addition, the digital divide was brought up in Dobson and Willinsky’s paper, which is critical to consider when designing appropriate learning spaces (2009).
We are living through an increasingly digitized world and understanding how information can be best transmitted is critical to consider when designing learning spaces. When considering the mode in audio form, it’s important to consider what information should be included and how information should be presented that varies from text in written form. For example, speaking clearly and slowly for listeners would impact their ability to connect to the voice speaking to them. In other words, you tell your story in different ways depending on the audience and the mode of transmission which needs to be considered when designing multimodal learning spaces that provide multiple access points for students. Mode bending is an ongoing process when designing learning spaces and the way information is presented can influence engagement, connection, and overall understanding of the material. When considering educational designs and changing the mode of administration it’s important to consider both the mode as well as the audience and what mode works best for learners (Kress, 2005).
Dobson, T. & Willinsky, J. (2009). Digital Literacy. Cambridge Handbook of Literacy, Retrieved from: https://pkp.sfu.ca/files/Digital%20Literacy.pdf
Kress, G. (2005). Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledge, and learning, Computers and Composition. Vol. 2(1) 5-22.
Hi Georgia! I really like your idea to create a poem — I hadn’t thought of that! I love how the poem allows you to take the audio form further and embed rhythm into it.
Purely out of curiosity, was creating a poem the first idea that popped into your mind, or were there other ideas you considered and decided against?