Future Gazing CHAPTER OBsecrives Resding this chaoter wil llow you to: Discuss the future ofwting and iteray inthe content of increased technology use Unclerstand what mchimod texts are and how thay are becoming more prevalent in witing, Be aware ofthe importance of vauals in diferent genres and text types, n particular in blended narratives Exelain how genres can cro into each other and ceste blended genres, Outline at east one way multimodality can be incorporated into each genre discussed in this book KEY VOCABULARY Blended genres Blended nacatives Multimodal textsSTOP AND THINK Introduction: Technology and multimodality What is the furure of writing? Well, it is becoming clear that technology is playing a more influential role in writing and the teaching of it. Paterson observes that ‘computers bring to us a meant of communicating beyond the walls of a school, « means of connecting to information and people in a way that is new and exciting’ (2005, p. 166). Those words were written ten years ago, and already technology has changed. We have gone beyond computers to more portable computing via tablets and smartphones. Websites ‘and apps are discussed throughout this beok to help provide some ideas for teaching writing, and also to signal where else literacy may bbe headed, It is crucial that teachers ty to stay with or even ahead of the changes in technology, and in tur, changes in literacy to prepare students forthe corresponding advances in writing ‘As discussed in Chapter 2, technology has been blamed for decreasing literacy among students, from poor grammar due to text messaging, to poor handwriting because students type ‘everything. What are your thoughts about technology and literacy? How is technology beneficial or harmful to literacy? ‘What are your beliefs about technology replacing hard copy books or with the writing process? ‘This shit was discussed in Chapter 12, which ison transactional texts. Emmitt and colleagues acknowledge that changes information and communication technologies are leading to significant changes, sn writen text’ (2015, p. 97). One key change isthe emergence of ‘multimodal texts, those that are written with more than one mode— far example, writen text and visuals or videos, or comic formats. With ‘80 many diffrent multimodal texts and forms of technology avaliable to students, they are already exploring ways they can implement this into their own writing, For example, 8 child known to this author, ‘who doesn't view himself as a writer, used the website ‘Storybird’ | (womstorybi com) to ) terete a fn sory whan visas By being avare of tie new firma ang a wn ore The elec of ul ot muti she Rarate ingot npeons {tats Uno, Tona ed at ne hr Cte fm income mening ne eno oom paces ene ce ‘0 prepare children for the reading experier viele "ati knw ot how inl ud ges pth de odes ao the meaning ite ens ha ty ae ena te uy (201, 18) The Austen Croan ACELY io a acknowledges the importance. of multimodal elements; “ Crt shoring mat nrg mowed see sae ‘aia od se ns Inne caer ey persuasive txts us ing nd inguage fetes or lar sudlences, electing print and Pte tothe audionce and purpose, ros is bok . te inporance of matting see ets is been empha The ane psf nan ‘when students are taught how these modes: be ‘aura tein et oom cath st wi sap fa hte 5 oy on = show tenons of tchmony and wing astm work they are then able to—— | CHAPTER 10. ruruRE caziNG 273 ammas, word choice, speling, punctuation and appropiate sremplar for visual literacy a the ‘worth revisiting. This ‘comic’ is an exemplar fr vi ‘multimodal elements for example Mlustrations and diagrams’ iuteations help 0 tell the sory WRITING SAMPLE 14.1 ‘STINK BOMB? COMIC Using multimedia to enhance persuasive texts: Acase study Richard Valentine thought his Grade 6 students were ready to uy IN’ THE see SPPrDECN to Persuasive tons. He knew they had written CLASSROON letters to their parents asking for things (a new phone, nan ‘2me, 0 90 see an Mated movie, and soon, so he encouraged {hem to use even more persuasive techniques. He explained thet by wing programs suchas Movie Maker PowerPoint, oc keynoe they would be able to incorporate mages, music and snore “fects that would svergtbn thei arguments ab wl ploy on the erations oftheir audience even further But lasese of {he usual appeals, he wanted them focused on raf, eerane vers sich a6 refugees, cinate change, mining, and soon te crplined tothe students that they needed to think abour the aucionce they were tying to persuade, whether ibe a pehncion Deets 2 school Ieee, or someone ose. Mr Valentine reminded the nati ‘studsots that the images, music, and sound efectsnesded to be Paniaesh ces the cami elements withthe seuence Teeside ine Sa corpo ws wala he spech bus wed for dave > sice ened now pei fe at hd ae SoS bons or pa a Wels i ne eae inp andshoned thers adnan nning Sas While the story may be short, shool classroom. The ‘and technology skills, but persuasive abilities as well m ul be headed inthe primary oy i, ut = vier witing technology helped Ebony to use different illustrations and fonts 2s ho sas spacing to create the panels, characters, speech bubbles, and fe show the sit in resources F mao coe Th sale twee ns Blended narratives and fer to computer word proves aan ease puting words on the page In showing te 12 blended genres J0 beyond simply putting wore ample connects Blended naroies cue of coms ed ncang sation his tp ee Fd a Msn wihin wing to port he wien ils that show emerging use of appropriate text structure, sentence “Eesofanew genre, Blended narratives, which ves deeper into thee‘Messecdonflustration and text. Zara and Geringer define blended Cerise a ens that combine the features fund in pete books Fomes, and graphic novels. & key component of bended naratves Tee conan naratves tht ae tld through twe aspects on equal ‘Poting the et andthe visuals (ustraions) (2014, p 289) An excelent example ofa blended naraivei Brian Setnick’e The ‘fenton of Big Cobre. In his book the fist forty or 0 pages conten ifisatlon ny Then the writen text begins for afew pages ve ene Essration again take over the storyteling. This is becoming mare SRS mov spoaret in chiens erature, and also moves beyona ipl lustrations to include comic and graphic novel featies, Other Geambles ofblended narrative include Kate DiCarlo’ Te uminated ‘Girone: of Fora and Upases and Lari Kel’ Arne the Donghnar Bowling Alley Beal. Andy Grif an Terry Deston, who feature rongly throughout {hs Books ave Been using ilsrations in their novels for yee However while in the pas the tusratons have been seprte he ‘Remain ex or have stood wonetotel thls own tory the conclusion Of The $2Stry Treehouse shows te iutetionseling the tory win traditional text also present ‘This wil continue to be an important and growing idea that ‘eserves further attention. Is cruil that teachers expose stadene EE ev pero ons fr ons. it sets ned Be soln combed end ieee ee ilaest hea nto gan nen tevin cameron an aunine oes Wie Sverond Bene urate uthvndng en weg efron coma ea Teas nprant oso ir gure can noe ste ce he ne yi ned ene, oar tty ted set is Dok eng Cone, Soe tenth, Nee gee er aie nga vedo athe: hcg. Multimodality, technology, and blended narratives in this book You will have noticed wile reading this book that app and website recommendations are just as frequent as book ones. Is indicative of the influence technology has had that multimodality has also featured meted ona ae,ON strongly In fact, whether stated or not, most writing activities can be tweaked to include technology and other modes of expression, For example, narratives can easily be enhanced using comics, visuals, photographs, maps, or sound effects Table 14.1 liste the various activities and sections within the book that touch upon multimodality, technology and blended genres. ‘TABLE 14.1 LINKS TO NULTIMODALITY, TECHNOLOGY, BLENDED GENRES, AND BLENDED Chapter Tio eat es 66) S:Hmour ITC: Bieding gees to create 3 parody To ° TTC: Usng Bate Sunny singin repress OM BN, researc ey me | Retna owieemtnabinreAeeK/OAT | (86, TW taboos re ested sng echo Ee ior” Smita “on TC: Spicing up book reports (M, T, BG) |: Cont gwen sche eae 047.06 ett _ Jo Pecedual ITC: Devioping tens insvtion wing sil, Aties 2) and 36) Nw ts your! tear 2 (BG) ‘Explanation | TC: Using the aut and cs structs to explore cient ites) HC: Using postcards to prize concion M7) syn a [TTC Contningwarectonl snd pens ing cose sy 0 Posty | MCUsng mai aoe ingens 0 ITC: Using potegaphs errspeson MN ITC: Combing genre Wing arate in fie verse (8G) Mc Afattnodlty ofen ncang eal) BG Blended genres BN: Blended araties ‘Technology 1TC“inthe cstoom stivty Pushing the boundaries ‘Where else might the future lead? A new app /ebook entitled ‘Device 6 may be & window into the future (gee htp://simogo.com/work/ device-6/) Described on its website as A surreal thle in which the ‘written word is your map as wel as your narrator, Device 6 requires ‘eaders/viewers to read a book and play a gume at the same time Following are two reviews: ‘The feta mullayred story unfolds exprty, snd culminates with one ofthe bet fal acts in recent memery fea sgn, comaicte/2013/11/27/dovie-6 reve Device 6 isa metaphysical Ulin which the world x made most entirely rom words. Playing isthe resding 2 book "Acep in thick, the worde veer of in unexpected reo, ‘ater than progressing in one fthon down the page (www thostlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/1 this video-game-could-revolutionize-publishing-ana, rwocing/ 2817650, This game blurs the lin between video games and books With the ver changing world of echnology the future may chide students being ble create their own vdeo game book or writing their ov apps |i elation to websites, you only need to vist Inanimate Alice {svrinarimsteatice.com) to se how multimodal tetscan el asory ‘navery complex yet engaging way. Readers'ofthis‘book’ are exposed {0 text visuals, ustrations technology, music, and sound effects, This {¥Pe of text can overwhelm the senses, yet itis an important format for students to explore and perhaps try to create themselves It is but (one more example of where the future is headed and the citical rele {echnoogy is playngin wring, Using a program such as Movie Maker Students are able to create their own stories in formats similar tothe jones on the Inanimate Alice website. Thus, by incorporating music oF sound effets, they will meet Australian Curriculum ACELT1791 ‘Create texts that adape language features and patterns encountered in literary texts, for example characterisation, rhyme, rhythm, moor ‘music, sound effects and dialogue’IN THE CLASSROOM Tic say seen ‘hm ye, ae | Using Inanimate Alice: A case study i Mr McCarthy was excited to share the inanimate Alice website with his students, He thought it was 2 very innovative approach { telling a story. When showing it to his class he stressed! how {he sound effects impacted bth ther interpretation and mood ofthe story He also had his students pay attention to the muse ‘and how that helped evoke excitement, fer, or happiness ‘Alter the class had viewed the fist chapter’ of the book afew times, Mr McCarthy challenged his students to creat ther own stories thet integrated text, music, sound effects and images, The students used the progeam Movie Maker and worked in ‘70ups of four Mr MeCarthy found that students were creative, Inventive, and very mach engaged in the process, With technology changing so rapidly Table 142 will surely be outdated quickly but exploring jus afew of these forms of wring and technology is well worth the time. TABLE 14.2 THE FUTURE Is NOW; FORMS OF WRITING AND to» [ara mae {See — Set ttn ae © Storyboards | New Maker Twitter Instagram | Meret Gantt) Scion oem | | = | | {ie [emt ae 1 Look at Table 14.2, Which forms of writing and technology are STOP AND oul with? Take aock at two ote that arenew to | INK. you. Think about ways you might be able to use them in the classroom, 2. Blended narratives can rely heavily on the image alone. How {de you think this might not only challenge the reader, but also {he writr/ilustrator when they ereate these types of texts? 3. Think about different ways you could have your students blend genres as wel. Could they tela story using ‘wansactional texts (for example, letters, emails, text messages)? Think about the genres that students could blend {0 create innovative and imaginative texts ‘4. Where do you think the future of writing is headed? How will digital texts influence this? The fture for every gone: Some classroom ideas | The 14 ene how enh he pn eee | ‘chology mtinedlty andlendedgenes Eeownctote [NV THE | rete CLASSROON Humour Humour comes in so many forms and formats tht i ripe with ‘Pportuities to explore ways of creating multimodal humorous texts One ofthe best ways sto use the Comic Maker HD app Students can create comics using pictures they select fom the app, © their own photos from their phone or tablets, thus eliminating ‘the need to draw. The app also provides various backgrounds thet wil help set the mood forthe story. Students (and adit) willbe able to create fun and exciting comics in diferent formats Narratives __Boyou remember choose yourown adventure books? Dig some 1p and show them to your students, Together, determine hes these are planned and stuctured. Then, introduce your catsLLL Se to the online book publishing site Lulu wlulu.com), where for about seven dollars a book, students can publish thelr own books. You can raise the money for publication by holding 2 ‘used-book sale. This activity is suitable for Grade 5 and up. Recounts Familiarise your students with comics. (One option is to read ‘the ‘Barky Bark’ cartoon from the 13-Storey Treehouse to them: it consists of nothing but three pages of small frames of « dog barking. Depending on their seree of humour, your class may find this hysterical) Next, ask them to identify some of their favourite nereatives and recounts they have written throughout the yeor, and to revise their writing so that i includes a comic. It should not simply be a three- or fourpanel com, but should include ot least twelve panels that help tll the story without the original writing, Finally, each student should share their new narratives and recounts. Your students wil be challenged, but the new texts are Hkely to provoke laughter, excitement, oF 3 variety of ther emotions Persuasive Is your school debating a matter that affects all your students? Examples might be whether school unifarms should be worn, ‘or whether homework is necessary. Challenge your students to ‘90 beyond simply creating # persuasive argument about the chosen controversy; instead, heve them create 2 PowerPoint presentation outning their points, including both images and ound, that wll evoke emation and help persuade the principal of thee point of view. Information reports Instead of the usual written format, ask students to present their information reports with diferent presentation formats, such as PowerPoint, Keynote 0: Prez. Emphasise the need to lan their resentation and its sequence to make it as effective {5 possible, and encourage them to implement not ony visuals but hypertinks to websites and videos that would help tenors understand the topic. (In an information report about insects, for ‘example, David Attonborough's websites would be appropriate.) ‘Also remind your students of the importance of knowing their ‘2uclence: this may influence the multimodal formats they choose Put he students reports onto the school website and write about them in the school bog. Procedural With the plthora of cooking shows on television these days, recipes and cooking would be a great way to incorporate Procedural texts into & multimodal format. Students could form ‘ups oF four to film their own ‘cooking show that shows how to create one of their favourite recipes from thote they have written. Some uf these could be straight videos, others could {se moviemaking software such as Movie Maker. A class YouTube channel can be established to showcase their talents. Explanation ‘As mentioned earles there are @ number of great programs thet ‘easily incorporate photos/ilustrations/diagrsms—PowerPoint, Keynote and Prexi to name a few. Students can ceate their own ‘aus and effect presentations using one of these programs. They can select one photograph of the specfc phenomenon or idea (for example, lightning, foods, cyclones) and follow with sides ‘that explain the causes ond effacts, Transactional “Twitter and text messaging are great ways to try and get ideas {227085 using a limited number of characters. Ether format would be interesting to use in order to tall @ story. For example, twostudents could write a story fom altemating perspectives about ‘en adventure they go on. The text type could be tweets, or text messages back and forth. The challenge would be to set the scene and tone using limited words. Poetry One of the most innovative ways to enhance a student's pootry is by providing them the epportuity to include their own voice in the poems they create. VoiceThvead httpsi/voicethresd om) is a great website that can be used to do this, Students can select their faveurite poem of the ones they have writen and create an image for it. They can then record their voice reading their poom. Using VoiceThread, they can link the audio to the Picture and when the teacher or classmate clicks on the image they will hesr the poot reading thelr poor, 1. Think abcut all the diferent apps that have been included! In this book. What are ways you could use themn to help students ceate, present, or publish thei own texts? Think bout the different ways you could encourage students 10 mix gonres and create their own new types of text ‘especialy using diferent forms of technology. Also explore how students will need to think about the audience for their text. 2. Look at thelist of Australian Curriculum objectives at the lend ofthe chapter. There are so many diferent standards that feature technology and multimodal formats. Think ‘bout ways you could address these exemples at cifferent ‘grade levels using technology with strong focus on visuals, CONCLUSION ‘Technology can be integrated into any genre or text type to create multimodal texts, and thisis becoming more anc more prevalent. Teachers need tobe well aware ofthis trend and embrace it, rather than fear and avoid it As educators, we need tobe alert to multimodal ‘ents, and stey abreast ofthe forms and formats of childcen’ Iiterature. We should also bo ‘aware of opportunites to have students blend genres and incorporate visuals into their writing. By doing so, we can help students write right with ext types Australian Cur ACELYI765 Analyse and explain the effect of technological innovations on texts, particdarly media texts ulum links in this chapter: ‘ACELY1700 Plan. rehearse and delve presentations for defined audiences and purposes incorporating accurate and sequenced content and multimodal elements ACELY1704 Pian, craft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and ‘multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, mages and sound appropriate to purpose and auclence ACELTI791 Create texts that adapt language features and pattems encountered in literary texts, for example charactersation, rhyme, rhythm, mood, muse, sound effects and dalogue ACELYI710 Plan, rehearse and oliver presentations, selecting and sequencing _ppropriate content and multimodal elements for defined audiences and purposes, making appropriate choices for modality and emphasis ACELY1661 Create short imaginative and informative texts thet show emerging use of appropriate text structure, sentence-level grammar, word choice, spelling, punctuation and appropriate multimodal elements, for example illustrations and diagrams ACELY1671 Create short imaginative, infarmative and persuasive texts using growing knowiedge of text structures and language features for familar and some less friar audiences selecting print and multimodal elements appropriate to the audience and purpose. 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Serta and Barnett ave crested thet own ‘Golden Book’ but with 8 uniqve tis The story they create called ‘Birthday Son ewyend Bays buruhentarntec Bate Bunny and Moe ke Prima the book fer hie briny he Baro 2o1s) Mie Primary gots decides todo his on novation on text anc creat his oun book elle ‘Bette Bunny. See discussion of ‘hs book and how tous tn your {casr00m in Captor 5. References 2 aol rc: New ype ational Cancers int Sb "Sanna aan py ee Coca ins nd ow Gp 10-0 out obeune One neo Eri Zack M Rares LP, 205 agua ad Leong nrc "ech. th ein Sacha notion te Faranen 08M Cape a cn Wig Cl ACen atone Cae ot Tene ngs Romano, (0G, Blending Gere, Alteing Se. Potsneath, NH: Heinemann UnnyeThma A uh 8200), The timegesandinag etna gp “ae “i na often can ne pray yer slo arene ag Divan oan & Ging: J 2010 Bare: Th ene nd nso neon "Ga afc esa es i