Multimodality DPG

Got Modes?
December 7, 2015

Description
Multimodality is a term that many people may never have heard of, but all have experienced. If
you have ever listened to a song or watched a movie, you have entered into several different
modes. Therefore, multimodality involves the complex interweaving of word, image, gesture,
movement, and sound including speech. These can be combined in different ways and
presented through a range of media. Furthermore, the future of reading and writing is
closely interwoven with the future of digital technologies. With the ever-increasing infusion of
the digital world with our daily lives, learning how to create works that demonstrate and
convey a message is key to the digital citizenship of our students. Supporting students with

reading, analyzing and using modes will enable them to develop literacy skills for today and
the future.

5 Fast Facts
Mode: A unit of expression.
You teach with more modes than you think!
Images/visual supplement and enrich what text offers.
Color can be a subtle, yet powerful way to change meaning.
Movement, both digitally and directly, serves as a mode.

Book Recommendations
50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom
is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to get
started with Google Classroom. It is very practical, and gives a step-by-step guide on all the

basics in Google Classroom, and more. Whether youre looking to add students to an online
classroom, have students learn to communicate using digital citizenship skills through a
stream, or allow students to turn in various Google assignments virtually, this resource is just
what you need to make Google Classroom the new learning tool for you and your students.
Keeler,Alice,andLibbiMiller.
50ThingsYouCanDowithGoogleClassroom.

Working with Multimodality: Rethinking Literacy in a Digital Age

will challenge you to rethink

how you view literacy. Everything from light to sound to space, this book gives insight from
experts in each field and then gives practical takeaways for each mode. The author presents
several case studies from experts who target a mode in their field of work. The book allows
you to gain different perspectives into how each mode can develop and deepen meaning of
what you teach and how students can learn.
Rowsell,Jennifer.
WorkingwithMultimodality:RethinkingLiteracyinaDigitalAge.
London:
Routledge,2013.

Article Recommendations
Ditch that Textbook: 20 Features of a Great Paperless Classroom
, by Matt Miller, offers

insight into how going paperless in a classroom allows for deeper learning to happen with
students. From communication to creation to assessment, he shares his experiences in this
exciting topic in education.
MultimodalLearningThroughMedia

summarizesresearchinpracticalways.Itgives5waysfor
teacherstoadapttheirmethodswiththegoalofincreasingstudentachievement.

"ResearchReview:MultimodalLearningThroughMedia."
Edutopia
.Web.5Dec.2015.
http://www.edutopia.org/multimodallearningteachingmethodsmedia

Twitter Handles
@alicekeeler

Author of
50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom

@jrowsell2

Author of
Working with Multimodality: Rethinking Literacy in a Digital Age

@selfe2

Author of
Literate Lives in the Information Age

@mshagerman

Researcher and Assistant Professor

@edutopia

Information for what works in education

@WeAreLRNG

Redesigns learning for the connected age so that all your have an
opportunity to succeed.

Resources
"ResearchReview:MultimodalLearningThroughMedia."
Edutopia
.Web.5Dec.2015.
http://www.edutopia.org/multimodallearningteachingmethodsmedia

Brumbaugh,K.,Calhoon,E.,Ramsey,M.,Pronovost,R.,&Tucker,C.(2014).
Creating
aGoogleAppsclassroom:Theeducator'scookbook
.HuntingtonBeach,California:
ShellEducation.

DavidD.Lutz."MultimodalLearningStrategiesforAllStudents."
SEENMagazine.
Web.5Dec.
2015.

http://www.seenmagazine.us/articles/articledetail/articleid/1663/multimodallearningstrategies
forallstudents.aspx
Dodge,Bernie,PhD.WebquestHomePage.RetrievedDecember7,2015.
http://webquest.org
Riley,Susan.Web.7Dec.2015
http://educationcloset.com/

Final Thoughts
Working with multimodality will certainly stretch you as a teacher. Utilizing it will sometimes
cause you to feel uncomfortable as you try to use different modes with your students, but it is
all within the mindset to allow for deeper learning for you and for your students. If youre able
and up for exploring these modes within an online space, such as in Google Classroom, then
youll be pushed even farther, but the benefits will surely outweigh the challenges. Students
will be more engaged, and will ultimately be allowed to experience their own learning in their
own ways, and you as a teacher will be inspired by the amazing things your students do!