CTW, like most English classes, is primarily a writing-based course that focuses on texts and the development of students’ writing abilities. I was surprised, therefore, to learn that our last project of the year was something other than an essay or research paper.
After a week of looking at different examples of multimodal composition projects as well as thinking a lot about what I would like to do for my own project, I can see the important role that such an assignment would play in a writing classroom.
While investigating the exact definition of a multimodal composition, I came across this article, which not only clearly defined what the term meant, but also persuasively advocated as to why such projects should be integrated into our everyday writing curriculum.
Much like the article mentioned, in a world where technology is being increasingly integrated into our everyday lives, it is important to have digital and visual literacy in addition to the ability to read and write. It is important to have such skills because they represent new forms of communication, which ultimately would enable us students to reach larger audiences.
I also feel that these types of projects allow students to exercise their creativity in that they can explore forms of expression other than writing. People may have great ideas but struggle to put them into words. Having the option to use visuals, audio, and other outlets to express these ideas gives the student much more flexibility and room for creativity and freedom. It becomes an assignment that’s enjoyable and that they can identify with, instead of being another banal writing assignment. This isn’t to say that I haven’t enjoyed writing papers. I for one enjoy writing and have seen my writing improve vastly this past year. However, it is nice to be able to explore other forms of communication, such as through an illustrative or digital composition.
I’m excited to see where this project takes me, and hope to have more assignments like these in the future.
Images Cited
http://katereedsenglishsite.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/5/0/11509317/978477382.jpg
http://image.slidesharecdn.com/csu-multimodal-talk-100610085920-phpapp02/95/multimodal-argument-decoded-keynote-speech-5-728.jpg?cb=1276160808