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Multiliteracy encompasses a new modern approach to literacy. The traditional definition of literacy has been widened to include the understanding of all types of visual and printed texts as well as textual connections including audio, spatial and gestural.
It has become evident that the students of today are products of a very different environment and society, therefore new pedagogies must be embraced, understood and put into practice to keep up with this rapidly evolving world; one where communication and literacy takes many forms (Sweeny, 2010). Technology will only enhance and become more prevalent in the future, therefore, as teachers we must incorporate modern ways into our teaching to keep it relevant and meaningful to the students.
As teachers we must embrace information communication technology (ICT), as the concept of literacy is expanding and changing. Communicating ideas, thoughts and information with multimodal texts can be done using a variety of formats, media and experiences, bringing about a more engaging, wholesome approach to both teaching and learning, as demonstrated in the creation of our own multimodal text. Multimodal texts and the concepts behind multiliteracies are effectively bridging the gap between teachers and learners; creating meaningful, relevant and stimulating lessons (Sweeny, 2010). Schools have gone from places full of harsh discipline and the concept of a teacher ‘talking at’ students and the children sitting at desks all day long, to an interactive, practical place of learning with allowance for more creative teaching and learning (Churchill, Ferguson, Godinho, Johnson, Keddie & Letts, 2011).
Introducing more technology and new programs into literacy classes as technologies and resources for classrooms improve, interactive based learning, with an experiential aspect are becoming more and more prevalent, and proving to be more effective for student development and learning. Using the semiotic systems in multimodal texts is essential for us as future teachers to incorporate into our teaching to keep up with our modern world and the different needs of modern day students (Aleven, Stahl, Schworm, Fischer & Wallace, 2003).
Learning should not be memorising answers to achieve high marks on a test to show ‘understanding’, it must be deeper. It must be a true understanding of concepts taught, and the only way of doing this is through multiliteracies, creating active, engaging modes of learning to develop true meaning. Ponsford (2010) explains how giving children opportunities to explore experience and learn will help them to “make sense of our world,” and this is created by developing meaningful connections in their mind, to fit the puzzle pieces together. Without meaningfulness, information is less likely to be retained or have any value or significance in a child’s mind (Sobel, 2008). Anstey and Bull (2004) explain how, for lifelong, meaningful learning to occur, we as teachers must be able to use a range of formats, programs, methods of communication and keep up with societal changes. We must be familiar with, and prepared to use things like videos, photographs, animations, webpages, magazines and the environment and outdoors. The world we live in is rich in opportunity, so we must utilise what we have around us. However, this does not mean that traditional teaching pedagogies and resources must be banned, we must simply learnt to create more meaning, be more engaging and link them to lived experiences for the learners.
As teachers, as Anstey and Bull (2006) explore, we cannot predict the future of literacy, but we can give students basic and meaningful understanding, attitudes and behaviours that empower them to confidently tackle the dynamic future of literacy. There are a number of applications related to spelling and vocabulary which can help to improve student’s skills including: apha writer, C is for cow, Licking letters, Bookworm, chicktionary, and wurdle to name a few. Most of these applications are free and easily accessible. There is also a large number of websites which allow fun and interactive games for children to play.
It has become evident that the students of today are products of a very different environment and society, therefore new pedagogies must be embraced, understood and put into practice to keep up with this rapidly evolving world; one where communication and literacy takes many forms (Sweeny, 2010). Technology will only enhance and become more prevalent in the future, therefore, as teachers we must incorporate modern ways into our teaching to keep it relevant and meaningful to the students.
As teachers we must embrace information communication technology (ICT), as the concept of literacy is expanding and changing. Communicating ideas, thoughts and information with multimodal texts can be done using a variety of formats, media and experiences, bringing about a more engaging, wholesome approach to both teaching and learning, as demonstrated in the creation of our own multimodal text. Multimodal texts and the concepts behind multiliteracies are effectively bridging the gap between teachers and learners; creating meaningful, relevant and stimulating lessons (Sweeny, 2010). Schools have gone from places full of harsh discipline and the concept of a teacher ‘talking at’ students and the children sitting at desks all day long, to an interactive, practical place of learning with allowance for more creative teaching and learning (Churchill, Ferguson, Godinho, Johnson, Keddie & Letts, 2011).
Introducing more technology and new programs into literacy classes as technologies and resources for classrooms improve, interactive based learning, with an experiential aspect are becoming more and more prevalent, and proving to be more effective for student development and learning. Using the semiotic systems in multimodal texts is essential for us as future teachers to incorporate into our teaching to keep up with our modern world and the different needs of modern day students (Aleven, Stahl, Schworm, Fischer & Wallace, 2003).
Learning should not be memorising answers to achieve high marks on a test to show ‘understanding’, it must be deeper. It must be a true understanding of concepts taught, and the only way of doing this is through multiliteracies, creating active, engaging modes of learning to develop true meaning. Ponsford (2010) explains how giving children opportunities to explore experience and learn will help them to “make sense of our world,” and this is created by developing meaningful connections in their mind, to fit the puzzle pieces together. Without meaningfulness, information is less likely to be retained or have any value or significance in a child’s mind (Sobel, 2008). Anstey and Bull (2004) explain how, for lifelong, meaningful learning to occur, we as teachers must be able to use a range of formats, programs, methods of communication and keep up with societal changes. We must be familiar with, and prepared to use things like videos, photographs, animations, webpages, magazines and the environment and outdoors. The world we live in is rich in opportunity, so we must utilise what we have around us. However, this does not mean that traditional teaching pedagogies and resources must be banned, we must simply learnt to create more meaning, be more engaging and link them to lived experiences for the learners.
As teachers, as Anstey and Bull (2006) explore, we cannot predict the future of literacy, but we can give students basic and meaningful understanding, attitudes and behaviours that empower them to confidently tackle the dynamic future of literacy. There are a number of applications related to spelling and vocabulary which can help to improve student’s skills including: apha writer, C is for cow, Licking letters, Bookworm, chicktionary, and wurdle to name a few. Most of these applications are free and easily accessible. There is also a large number of websites which allow fun and interactive games for children to play.