Multimodal response to literary and informational text:

A more engaging approach to ‘writing to read’

Bridget Dalton, University of Colorado-Boulder

Bridget.dalton@colorado.edu

Bronx Public SchoolsJuly 23, 2012

Writing to Read

• Range of strategies• Not copying• Strong support for using writing strategies as a way

of improving comprehension (recent review, Graham & Hebert, 2011)

• Bundle link: students analzye and learn content at the same time they are analyzing author’s craft– Assessment requires that they communicate in writing

(and CSSS assumes technology and media is part of communication)

Why multimedia response?

• We live in a media-saturated, networked world where text is:

– multimodal– interactive– socially produced and distributed

(Cope & Kalantzis, 2006, 2000; Coiro, Knobel, Lankshear, & Leu, 2008; Kress, 2003; New London Group, 1996)

Our students are digital natives

• Students use media and the Internet to – respond to literature – create compositions and fanfiction – connect with others in interest-driven

communities, both outside of school and in classrooms

(Jenkins, 2008; Grisham & Wolsey, 2006; Unsworth,Thomas, Simpson & Asha, 2005)

Multimedia supports literacy, learning, & engagement

• For ALL learners, including students who are not faring well in schools:

– Disengaged– Struggling with academic reading and writing– English language learners

(Alvermann, 2007; Dalton & Proctor, 2008; O’Brien & colleagues, 2001, 2007, 2009)

Universal Design for Learning (Rose & Meyer, 2002)

• Scaffolding • Personalization

• Multiple pathways for diverse learners:– Multiple means of representation– Multiple means of expression– Multiple means of engagement

– To learn more about UDL, visit cast.org

Standards are evolving

• IRA and NCTE highlight the importance of digital literacies and Internet inquiry in position papers and standards (see http://reading.org)

• U.S. Technology Education Plan recently released: Technology is part of the educational reform agenda

• Common Core Standards: Technology and digital literacies are part of the vision of the 21st century learner

Teachers are making it happen

• TPAC (Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge, Mishra & Koehler 2006)

Goals and take-aways

• Connect theory and practice • Be inspired by students and teachers • Take away ideas , strategies, and tools that will help

you:

– Connect texts with media and technology – Bridge social literacies with school literacies– Scaffold the learning experience so that all

students learn and engage (multiple pathways)

7examples of multimedia response

• Multimedia retelling• Voicethread collaborative response• Poem hypertext• Retelling with literary devices• Illustrated letters• Multimedia posters• ‘This I believe’ podcasting

REVENGE

“Come back and help me in the water!!!”said Spider.

After that,Turtle asked Spider if he wanted to come to his house for dinner.Spider eagerly said yes,just like Turtle had planned.Turtle had cooked a delicious meal,but when Spider got there,he couldn’t get to Turtle’s house,which was underwater.

4

Voicethread.com: Free tool for collaborative response

Bundle link

• Students create ppt to show POV of the author– Slide: opening statement– Slide(s): anecdote– Slide: ending statement

– Use color, image, sound, as well as image to communicate the tone and message

– Manipulate point of view – take the opposite stance

Teachers talk about Martina, the Beautiful Cockroach

• Bee’s dashboard & invitation

Visual menu: Choose your path

Making connections

Focusing on process

Response mode choice: oral or written