Multimodality: Rethinking Literacy

"We are constantly in the flow of multimodality from what to wear, what and when to Tweet, what register to apply to a given situation, when to use caps versus lower case letters; there are so many choices when we communicate." (p.1)

Modes Need to Have Three Functions:

• Interpersonal Functions that speak to an audience
• More immaterial qualities that express ideas, values, beliefs, etc.
• Physical features that materialize these qualities of texts

How Modes Work

• Transmodal
• Intermodal
• Intramodal

Transmodal

Intermodal

Intramodal

Modes shift all of the time.
Modal shifting occurs when modes need to be adjusted, modified, or edited to say something different. (p.5)

Areas of Design

• Linguistic
• Visual
• Audio
• Gestural
• Spatial

What I Learned

• It is important to affirm my students' creative passions
• There are simple ways to incorporate multimodality in the classroom
• Collaborating with people from diverse perspectives pushes one's thinking
• Literacy and communication go hand in hand
• Students must be exposed to different forms of communication