Critique! Design! Engage! Opening New Spaces for Multimodal Experiences

Abstract

We live in a world of digital abundance (O'Brien & Scharber, 2010), offering unique affordances for communicating across communal, cultural, linguistic, and semiotic borders. As William Kist (2005) asked, "Has there ever been a time when we have been more awash in a remarkable torrent of symbols and opportunities for reading and writing them?" We agree implicitly. Our literate world is engulfed by far-reaching social and technological changes that have reduced the efficacy of traditional literacy pedagogy that is focused on language only. Multiliteracies and multimodalities intrinsic to modes of representation are wider than language only, and differ according to culture and context, as well as specific cognitive, cultural, and social effects (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000). Multimodality refers to the mix of two or more modes of representation - linguistic (written words), visual, audio, gestural, and spatial (New London Group, 1996). A good example is the creation of a Facebook profile. In so doing, persons communicate through multimodal practices; they critique and integrate language with images, sounds, and spatial design to create a multimedia text.