Mulitmodal is the use of audio, texts, and/or visuals to convey a point to a certain audience in a creative and educational way. So why is it so important? What roles does it play in the classroom?
Last quarter, I attended a lecture given by an English professor named, Danielle DeVoss in which she talked about multimodal education and digital writing. Inspired by her presentation, I think that multimodal composition allows for, and requires, critical thinking, which is a skill that is often not emphasized in most classroom environments. What I mean by this is that for most classes, I feel that students do not think about assignments or topics learned in class through a new perspective or try to enhance their thought processes. However, through multimodal compositions, I believe that since the concept is more creative, students need to look at the topic through a new lens in order to design a creative outlook for their project.
Another interesting aspect of multimodal compositions is that it requires students to heavily consider the audience they are targeting. That is not to say that for academic essays students do not need to consider audience, but typically for academic essays, students are writing the paper for their professor’s eyes only. But for multimodal proejcts, not everyone will understand or find the topic at hand relevant, which is why it’s important for students to take into account the audience they are trying to reach. Additionally, if the student wanted to target an audience that may not necessarily be familiar with the topic, the student would have to provide adequate and nonbiased context of the topic. If the mutlimodal project was a graphic image, this would be harder to convey, but if the project was a video or informational text graphic, it is easier to accomplish. Furthermore, students would need to consider the rhetorical purpose for their composition. In other words, appeals to pathos, ethos, kairos, and logos should be a part of the project as well because it will evoke emotions within the audience and have them reflect on the project.
I like the idea of multimodal compositions in writing classes because it goes beyond simply conveying a point to someone through academic writing. It goes against academic norms and requires students to think creatively . My favorite part is that it incorporate technology and social media and allows the curriculum to connect with the fast-paced growth of technology. In short, I think multimodal compositions should rise in popularity as the growth of technology increases.
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