Justification for ELN A2

After careful thought and consideration, I have chosen to present my learning

space through a website design. Using this format has allowed me to fully
capitalise on many aspects of multimodality including the use of; visual
images/representations, sound files, persuasive media and personalised teaching
clips. This approach aims to bring students together through student ownership,
collaborative group work and creativity which will ultimately enhance students
learning experience. Students are provided with multiple ways to complete,
present and submit their work, because of this, the presented learning space is
catering for diversity. Furthermore, after completing multimodality in week three,
I found it extremely enlightening on how I could make use of new literacy's and
technology in my classroom (Pahl,2012). This learning space is therefore, rich in
multimodality and it provides students with a safe and familiar learning
environment.
With students/children begin exposed to different media types as early as a few
months old "as illustrated in the introduction video" it is arguably more important
than ever we teach our students how to interact and completely comprehend
this media. Throughout the presented lesson sequence there are multiple
opportunities presented to further explain and continue to build on "the
relationships between structure and agency in children's media" (Buckingham, &
Sefton-Green, 2003, p. 5). That is, to teach students about, and how to respond
to, persuasive media.
Another point that must be considered is this, we know as teachers that
technology is reshaping the world as we know it. Even the students we teach in
Year 6, will not leave school for at least another five years. Imagine how much
further and fundamentally integrated, technology will be in our lives in another
five years. Hence I refer to the following quote "In the 21st century, it is vital that
all individuals develop the understanding and capability of creatively expressing
their ideas through multiple forms, including multimedia. Beyond the benefits of
media composition and creative expression, the skill sets students develop
through media production are marketable" (Minesota, para 3).
I believe a strength of this lesson sequence is its multimodal approach. As stated
previously, students are able engage, comprehend and reproduce work from this

learning space in multiple ways. Another strength of this approach is it's

continual incorporation of technology, research shows (Foreman & Kelly, 2014, p.
136) that students with a disability, such as Autism, find it easier and are more
likely to engage with the content if they have access to technology such as
ipads, IWB or computers. This lessons greatest strength however, is arguably its
greatest weakness, technology. As all of us are aware technology does not
always function as sometimes intended, if at all. Without technology, internet
access and computer skills conducting this lesson sequence would not be
possible. Despite this design presenting a range of opportunities for students,
there is no escaping its heavy reliance on technology.
Finally, as this subject comes to a close I am able to reflect on a number of topics
that altered my understanding of new literacy concepts, and gave me greater
insight into how I could incorporate them into my teaching. These include
Diversity, 'week 2' Creative space, 'week 12' and Gamification 'week 6'. Despite
my feelings of not being able to do justice to our topic Gamification due to some
difficult group dynamics, I still managed to take away some interesting ideas and
concepts. These include dynamic and adaptive ways of learning, such as time
limits, scours, reward and penalty systems. All of these concepts continue to fall
under the definition of Gamification: "Gamification is the application of applying
typical elements of game playing to other areas of activity."(The Free Dictionary,
n.d. para 1).
In conclusion, it is my belief that this learning space and lesson sequence will
provide students with valuable life skills they will come to rely on. I therefore,
end with a quote from J. Harris "The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors
into windows."