Week 2 - Multiliteracies: beyond text and the written word

This week I delved further engaging with the notion of multimodality in text. Interactive websites including Inanimate Alice displays how we are much more active consumers and producers of text (we are not passive anymore) as it captures the idea of a digital novel and the hand held console, central to the novel, is a contemporary tool of our lifetime. I could visually see all these images that you would have otherwise imagined compared to a storybook which is all about training the imagination. 

The idea of synaesthesia (switching between modes to express meaning) as described by Kalantzis and Cope (2012) is an interesting concept I found particularly relevant to Inanimate Alice. I found that I was engaging with multiple modes at any one time as when I was hearing sounds I was also imagining visuals. Therefore, I think this text is particularly useful in the classroom as it is designed for school students to engage and emphasise the multimodality in text and at the same time broaden their thinking. 

Literacy is about meaning-making. Kalantzis and Cope (2012) allude to the notion that 'semiosis' also known as meaning-making is a dynamic process in which the primary ways in which we make meaning is closely connected.

• Representation: telling yourself
• Communication: telling others
• Interpretation: telling yourself what you think others mean  

In my experience, I naturally tend to think about what I am going to say or write before I communicate it.
What is illiteracy then? Viewing literacy from a mulltiliteracy framework - everyone has a capacity to communicate. People who are blind or visually imparied use braille and their senses including listening, feeling and touching (tactile literacy) as a form of communication illustrating that there is no such thing as being illiterate. We are constantly diverging between modes and different types of text in accordance to our situation.

Literacy as described by Kalantzis and Cope (2012) is a 'technology' and a recent trip to the Gallery of Modern Arts demonstrated this clearly. Along with visual there is an array of multimedia (videos, live presentations, cinema showing films), audio and interactive areas on display to support exhibitons.

Today, it seems as if reading and writing are losing meaning as a result of increasingly technological advancement. I do not even remember all my phone numbers because it is all programmed in my mobile phone! Although it is important to recognise that the digital tools used today encourage forgetfulness to an extent, it enables active learning environments. Incorporating new technologies and strong curriculum focus, GOMA encourages critical thinking and creative expression.

 


Multimedia - audio and interactive area


      

Today in this age we have become more active users of technology. It is inevitable as it is increasingly becoming much more accessible. One of the modes I engage with regularly is audio. Having always been interested in singing (always been involved in music at school) I started a youtube chanel. Below is a clip illustrating how text goes beyond the written word inferring and conveying meaning in other modes. Music is important to me as it provides me with a different way of thinking, accessing and expressing myself.









References
Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2012). Literacies. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.
Pullinger, K., & Joseph, C. (2012). Inanimate Alice. Retrieved from  http://inanimatealice.com/
QAG GOMA. (2013, February 26). APT7 Collection Highlights [Video file]. Retrieved from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkCyikKA9eY&feature=c4-overview&list=UUISqv3TP_9Sl74x4gQuDvmg
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/