Sunday, June 8, 2014

Weekly Reading 3 - Between Modes: Assessing Student New Media Compositions

1. Copy and paste a quote from the reading that causes you to have a strong reaction (agreement, disagreement, confusion…) and explain your reaction.

            “Assessment is very much about context and needs to take into account the particular circumstances of the course, the students, and the teacher, as well as the possibilities afforded by the assignment, the modes, and the medium.”

            I am in agreement with this statement.  My main concern about giving my students a multimodal assignment is being able to critique and assess their work the way I should.  I mean it’s my class I guess I make the rules right?  But I want to be fair and not too harsh.  I know the students I have now haven’t had much exposure to multimodal assignments but are very connected to the multi-media world online.  I feel this is an assignment they would enjoy and get their feet wet.  I would just like to learn more ways to feel confident when assessing their work since I’m an amateur myself with this stuff!

2. Have you ever ask students to create a multimodal text?

            No, I haven’t ever asked my students to create a multimodal text.  Unfortunately, I haven’t been in a full-time position where I had a classroom I could call my own in the last 3 years of substitute teaching.  I taught preschool the year before that and I do not feel that it would have been appropriate to give 3 and 4 year olds a multimodal text assignment.  I am looking forward to this upcoming school year because fingers-crossed since I graduated with my master’s degree this May I hope to have a full-time position this fall.  Then I will have the opportunity to write my own lesson plans and operate my own classroom as a Special Education teacher, and I think it would be great to incorporate a multimodal text assignment in their instruction and learning!

Have you ever created a multimodal text  for a school related assignment? Described the assignment.

            No, I have not ever created a multimodal text for a school related assignment.  The only multimodal presentation I have created is the one we were assigned for this class.  I decided to do it on the game of Chess because I racked my brain and could not think of anything else I could do multi-slides on with only 5 words per slide.  I didn’t get a perfect grade on this assignment so obviously my work and ideas need improvement.

What were the learning goals? How was it assessed? Do you feel the assignment improved you or your student’s comprehension of the content? Why? Why not?

            The goal was to create 10 slides on a topic of our choice with a maximum of 5 words and one image on each slide.  I found it difficult to do in a way because I’m used to creating PowerPoint presentations where I know I can put a lot of information on the slides and I can explain my information when I present it.  This wasn't like that and was a little harder for me to construct.  I’m not positive how likely my student’s would be to retain or comprehend a whole lot of information from the multimodal presentation I created if I were to let them view it.  For one, I know many of them have never played the game of Chess.

  3. Find a multimodal example of metonymy and embed it in your blog. Is it a good or poor example? Why?


            Yes, I think this video is a great example.  It first describes what “metonymy” is for those who aren't up on their techno savvy words!  It also provides examples of how metonymy is used.  Very cute video! 
         




4. Find a multimodal example of metaphor and embed it in your blog. Is it a good or poor example Why?


            I like to incorporate humor in my blogs and working with children on a daily basis you really never know what they are going to say to you or what they think you are talking about.  The video I embedded is metaphors by kids from the Jay Leno show.  I think it is a good example of metaphors because the kids are very honest with their answers when they were asked questions on what they would do in the given situations!



5. How does this reading help you think about the use of multimodal text to support writing and content area instruction in school?


            This reading and assignments makes me realize we can show many different videos and be creative when giving writing assignments rather than sticking to the boring ol’ pencil and paper tradition.  I have enjoyed watching videos and reading about the variety of ways to incorporate multimodal text writing into content area instruction!  I just might be climbing the fence now to the multi-media side, this is exactly what I needed to read and see to help me feel an ease at how I can connect with my students and assign new ways of writing in class!

References


Kid Metaphors – The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPJajZrNGhg on June 5, 2014.

Metonymy.  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL_q_bnE7ck on June 5, 2014.  


Sorapure, Madeleine.  (N.D.)  Between Modes: Assessing Student New Media Compositions.  Retrieved from http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/10.2/coverweb/sorapure/between_modes.pdf  on June 5, 2014.  

3 comments:

  1. How does your thinking about the effects of digital media effects of school-based writing similar of different from that of your peers?

    I agree with you when it comes to fair assessment. I personally really enjoy using rubrics for assessment when I was student teaching. I currently don’t teach either but have to assess my staff on their progress 3 times during the school year. Each assessment I explain the assessment mode so my staff better understands the assessment. I feel explaining each time even if it is the same assessment has helped them better understand why they were graded the way they were.

    How does your thinking about school-based literacy instruction similar of different from that or your peers?

    I think we are very similar in that we both have not had a classroom to ourselves. I also feel like I am starting the climb in fully understanding how to incorporate multimodal text into the classroom/work place.

    If your thinking is similar, use a quote from the text that support your agreement.

    “Yancey warned against using the “frameworks and processes of one medium to
    assign value and to interpret work in a different medium” (90) because by doing so we lose the
    chance to see new values emerging in the new medium.”

    Hopefully when/if we get our own classrooms we will be able to find the proper assessment tools so we can be fair assessors to our students.

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  2. Britney Greer feels that she needs to know more about assessing multimodal assignments to make sure she is fair with her future students. I think she will do fine learning the rules as the kids do. She makes the point that a lot of these assignments and programs are new to the kids as well, so it will be a steep learning curve for everyone involved. My response to this is = It should be fun to explore options and get help from the students along the way. No one expects teachers to be perfect and to always “get it right”, especially when it is new technology. You will get a pat on the back for trying, and will learn what to do, or what not to do next time around. I love this about education! In my class it is frequently about trial and error – in ART class, but I always take what I learned and change it for the better the next time around. If an idea flops with my students, then I get their input and adjust the lesson, or scrap it completely, depending on what it is, so that I don’t repeat the same mistake in the future. I learn almost as much from the kids as the kids learn from me these days, (not completely true) but it is just a reminder to me that my best critics are my students and they can help shape some of the most dynamic lessons in my classroom as long as I get them involved in my ideas as we hash out the problems and find solutions together. This makes for such a wonderful classroom environment of encouragement and support. Try it!!!

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  3. I agree with your quote and the premise that assessment of a multimodal text must be taken into context and that includes not ony the words but the methods with how it is presented. It is not going to be easy for the students to relay their work or for teachers to grade it taking everything into account. In our reading, Yancy "warned against using the frameworks and processes of one medium to assign value and to interpret work in a different medium because by doing so we lose the chance to see new values emerging in the new medium." Finding that consistency is going to be challenging. However, it must be done.

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