This post is a general reflection of all the blogs in ETEC 540 66A and how they relate to the objectives of the course. One of the things I appreciate in MET is the experience of online learning while at the same time, learning about best practice for online learning. To be able to do this alongside like-minded MET peers who have pushed my thinking and shown such creativity, intelligence and intense passion has been a game-changer for how I see my career path progressing and how I view the world.
According to UNESCO, literacy is defined as, “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.” To extend that further, the New London Group explores the concept of multiliteracies where, “communication takes place through a variety of modes, including linguistic, visual, audio, gestural, spatial and multimodal.” ETEC 540 blogs serve to explore text from a historical lens which includes new media and modes in the dynamic nature of literacy, communication and technology.
ETEC 540 is structured in an open format where peers view and comment on tasks and blogs of others. This is much different than other MET courses I have taken where the discussions were mostly public and open to all, but assignments and intellectual property were between instructor and student only. This course has propelled my vision of teaching to think about how communication and literacy are presented; not just about the medium or mode, but also the accessibility and open vs closed availability. As well as differentiating instruction, I have been thinking more about differentiating assessment so that students can present in the mode that best fits their needs. This is something I have always done, but it is now expanded to include more new media and modes.
I enjoyed that the course and blogs were a variety of modes/medium, not just reading and after reading. Multimodal (linguistic, visual, aural, gestural and spatial) approaches, such as TED talks and podcasts supported by websites made for a learning experience that felt more organic where connections and reflections came more easily. ETEC 540 walked the walk of multiliteracies and the collection of blogs highlighted the individuality of each student to reflect engagement with the course and text/technology. I found that when a colleague shared using multimodality to prove their point, I had a better understanding and was able to make meaning through personal connections. For example, I could connect with Sasha’s blog because her images of being a teacher-mom with two boys at home and a bag full of snacks! Also, Tyler’s task 12 post and my comment is an example of that. It was a terrific experience to see the different modes in the way peers delivered information. A number of students posted text descriptions with accompanying audio, video, maps, screenshots, memes, gifs, infographics, interactive games and presentations, hyperlinks, etc. in the majority of their posts. To experience the unique angles, sense of humour and personality evolve through the blogs over the term and the way it shaped meaning and conveyed messages was quite interesting.
The blogs themselves are worth examining. There was a wide variety of formats and architectural choices in the way the blogs were designed in order to deliver information. I had no prior experience with WordPress (though it has seemed to be a ‘frumpy’ platform in my head; one that stylistically seemed blah), but I am sure glad that I approached it with an open-mind because I ended up really liking the control of options available in the platform through the dashboard. I enjoyed being able to set up my blog to my taste and personality, and to see that everyone’s blog design showed identity and individuality. It was fun to pick a theme, images, colours, etc. within WP to create a space that would showcase my work. At first I chose the ‘Suits’ theme, but after a week of communicating with the help desk about why words wouldn’t auto-wrap as hyphenated, I abandoned the theme and switched to ‘Twenty Eleven’ theme. This was something that I just could not aesthetically accept…not to mention grammar! I think my blog also provides insight into my personality as I like things uncluttered, linear, and simple. The different blog designs affected how I understood information. At first, I found it difficult to navigate the blogs of others, especially ones that were busy, overly colourful or using formatting that is awkward for my brain (i.e.: centring text, fonts I am not used to reading, backgrounds I found distracting, etc.). I think it is a personal experience in neuroscience of what appeals to one person and is difficult for another to process. Skipping between blogs where everyone was different wasn’t easy for me to adjust to and might have taken away meaning until I got used to it. Like when you read the murder-mystery books are used to the typically vocabulary, flow and patterns of that genre, then you pick up a cookbook and are trying to anticipate when someone will be knocked off to be used in a stew. Using this as a way link to see learning from the perspective of my students in elementary school, there is something to be said for training and consistency. Being pre-taught and exposed to different modes and medium would be helpful for meaning making instead of just throwing kids into the sea of multiplicity. Even communicating with parents could be improved by adding ideas of multimodality. Lots to think about!
A few years ago, I attended a local PD session for teachers making webpages (probably one of the most useful PD sessions I have been to locally). It had lots of information about how people read webpages and how to design effectively. One point that stood out was that information on the right side of the page isn’t paid as much attention as content on the left, especially the top left. And this is not even close to the same as graphics or images which the presenter said people read 25% slower online and skim way more, so this is where ‘breakout of the visual’ comes in handy. I think this is something that was represented in most ETEC 540 blogs and not just in task one or four (bag or potato prints). One thing that this course has made me curious about it the difference between how children learn and refine the practice of reading on a screen versus paper books. Is there a difference in learning (comprehension, fluency, etc.) If anyone has resources, links or information for that….please pass them along!
Montoya, S. (2018) Defining literacy. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization http://gaml.uis.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/4.6.1_07_4.6-defining-literacy.pdf
The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review 66(1), 60-92.