Multiple Literacies and Multimodal Texts

This week we explored the potential of multimodal texts and were exposed to new ways of using PowerPoint beyond just a presentation tool. I had the opportunity to create my own multi-modal text, referring to a text that makes use of a variety of mediums to convey a message. This was a valuable experience as many of us are familiar with PowerPoint and so the skills applied here were easily transferable and built upon. Multimodal text via PowerPoint can take many forms, some of which shall be detailed now for reference in my future practice.

First of all, a large picture inserted as the background with a relevant extract of writing can be used as a stimulus for varied learning including discussion and creative writing. This is a great resource for teachers who may also link the sounds that enrich the text. Free sound effects may be obtained online through websites such as ‘grsites.com’ from which sounds can easily be saved as a WAV and inserted into the chosen location such as a PowerPoint or word document for use with the class. Alternatively, an even more interactive approach could be to encourage the children to produce appropriate sound-effects. I have had experience of this during the session, finding it ideally simple and suitable for any age across the primary phase.

In a similar way to using Comic Life which is a great resource for sequencing and producing images in a comic form, PowerPoint may also be used to sequence and add detail to stories such as having images ready with ‘write your text here’ underneath for children to complete. Building on this, I hope to use the Colour Typewriter effect that was shown during the session to essentially create a talking book. This can also be adapted to varying stages by altering the speed to suit the children’s reading ability and children may be supported by being able to see the words clearly. Other features that may enable a more interactive activity could be to record children's own voices or to alter the presentation so that no text is present at first but appears word by word. It is also possible to overcome the obstacle of the typewriter effect not being present on powerpoint versions beyond 2007 through downloading it from online.

A consideration, and something that I shall explore further in next week's blog entry, is the copyright of the author and illustrator. A potential way of overcoming this is to include a reference slide at the end of a presentaion or to get children to draw their own images after being read the story. Taking just 2 or 3 pictures from a storybook may be acceptable in some cases, yet this may not extend to sites such as TES online where resources are shared. Instead, there are sites of royalty-free images and the website Symbaloo may also be of use to organise web-based favourites and preferences. It is also important to consider whether digital use of images from a book are actually adding anything that enriches the experience as the tactile nature of a book may be more suitable. In summary, it it clear that teachers must show consideration for this issue but also apply their common sense.

Futher examples from the session:

• Gruffalo example – There is a part of powerpoint that allows you to type even when in presentation mode. File options custom ribbon, tick ‘developer’, ok, provides a tab called developer. Multi-choice questions, ABC option provides the box to type.
• Children can be allowed to experiment and create their own PowerPoint
• I have also created my own multimodal text, using a jungle background with jungle sound effects as a stimulus for varied learning.