Multimodality Response--Lori Szallai Moyer
Published on Nov 22, 2015
Reading response to Jennifer Rowsell's introduction to "Working with Multimodality: Rethinking Literacy in a Digital Age."
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Multimodality
From the Abstract to the Concrete
Rowsell, Jennifer. (2013) Working with multimodality: Rethinking literacy in a digital age. Taylor and Francis. p. 1-13.
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Modes
Units of expression and representation
Modes are anything that "a person and community treats as able to express and represent meanings" (p. 3).
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Three Functions
- Ideational
- Interpersonal
- Textual
The ideational function "reflects human experience and the goings on in the world" (p. 4).
The interpersonal function exists "when modes enact personal and social experiences" (p. 4).
The textual function is "when modes form and shape meanings" (p. 4).
The interpersonal function exists "when modes enact personal and social experiences" (p. 4).
The textual function is "when modes form and shape meanings" (p. 4).
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How do modes work?
- Through a process of creativity
- Meaning making
- Combination with other modes
Choice is a key component for producers utilizing modes. Personal preference, talent, experience, and inspiration direct the choice of which modes one will use and how one will combine and interweave those modes to make meaning.
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Working together
- Transmodal
- Intermodal
- Intramodal
Transmodal elements "reach across modes" (p.4). In other words, "the sum of all parts is greater than the whole" (p.5).
Intermodal elements are like internal cross references, which are independent but work together to create a whole.
Intramodal elements join together to create a stronger effect.
Intermodal elements are like internal cross references, which are independent but work together to create a whole.
Intramodal elements join together to create a stronger effect.
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Adaptation
- Modes shift all the time
- Editing
- Evaluation
- Completeness
Any creative work goes through multiple adaptations before it is complete. When a producer seeks to create something that communicates meaning to others, he or she constantly engages in a process of editing, re-creating, and change.
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Areas of Design
- Sign and image
- Animation
- Word
- Film
Rowsell interviewed thirty different "producers" who utilized creative processes to make meaning. She categorized the modes that each used as the slides list.
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Areas of Design
- Interface
- Videogames
- Movement
- Textiles
One would be remiss to think that each producer is limited to one particular mode. Most of the producers' creations involved multiple modes, connecting through one of the aforementioned ways.
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Areas of Design
- Sound
- Space
- Material
The producers generally chose a primary mode that hearkened back to his or her childhood preferences. For example, someone who loved video games as a child would me more likely to be a producer making meaning through video games than someone who did not share the childhood interest.
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Six Lessons
- Enduring Childhood Passions
- Most work comes from stories
- Collaboration is important
Rowsell highlights the lessons she learned through her study which include the following:
1. "Almost all of the producers in the research talked about enduring childhood passions" (p. 12).
2. "There are a million ways to tell a story and indeed most of the 30 producers talked about how their work comes from stories and working with multimodality is an act of storytelling" (p. 12)
3. Working with multimodality is not a solitary act, and it relies integrally on collaboration, participatory structures, and communities of practice" (p.12).
1. "Almost all of the producers in the research talked about enduring childhood passions" (p. 12).
2. "There are a million ways to tell a story and indeed most of the 30 producers talked about how their work comes from stories and working with multimodality is an act of storytelling" (p. 12)
3. Working with multimodality is not a solitary act, and it relies integrally on collaboration, participatory structures, and communities of practice" (p.12).
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Six Lessons
- There are no new ideas
- All modes are created equal
- It is the storyteller that matters.
4. "There is no such thing as original material--most texts exhibit traces of former texts" (p. 12).
5. "Process and practices can be generalized and conventions about design and production can be taught and fostered, and...there is equality across modes used in everyday life" (p. 12-13).
6. "Working with multimodality is an entirely human enterprise" (p. 13).
5. "Process and practices can be generalized and conventions about design and production can be taught and fostered, and...there is equality across modes used in everyday life" (p. 12-13).
6. "Working with multimodality is an entirely human enterprise" (p. 13).
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Conclusions
(See Deck Notes)
Making meaning is a creative process that moves from the abstract idea to the concrete creation.
The producer, or the storyteller, is the most important element in the creative process.
When students get stuck and feel that they cannot create, they should be reminded that there is very little original material (Think: all of the millions of versions of Cinderella).
Interaction and collaboration between individuals and modes produces a better creation.
The producer, or the storyteller, is the most important element in the creative process.
When students get stuck and feel that they cannot create, they should be reminded that there is very little original material (Think: all of the millions of versions of Cinderella).
Interaction and collaboration between individuals and modes produces a better creation.
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