Teaching with Multimodal Sources

For much of my early teaching career, I did not engage with technology much. When I first started teaching, I taught in a public school that had 2 Mac desktops, and it seemed like a waste to me because what I was going to do with 2 computers and an average of 30 kids in each of my classes? So I left it to the “tech” people to engage students during “computer” class.

When I think about teaching now, I cannot imagine going back to time without some digital tools. Don’t get me wrong — I still want students to use paper texts because I want them to mark and respond to texts. Students report being less distracted with paper text than electronic versions because they are generally better able to resist interruptions from notifications and other temptations on their desktop. Mostly, though, I also try to consider other types of resources to engage students in ways that paper texts do not. I like videos that use visuals well (pictures and graphs usually), and I like students to work on listening skills as they take notes on podcasts. Sound can be so rich in quality.

So for this post, I will share a source and a little context.

I assign students to make a short podcast that generally focuses on their literacy. Typically, this project is a “remix” of an essay and is completed after the final draft of the essay is submitted. So to get students thinking about sound elements and podcast structure in their composition, I ask that they listen to “The Editor” episode of the podcast Criminal. I like this half-hour episode since it focuses on literacy (the topic of their reflective essay). It also has a companion article that includes the letters sent between the people featured in the podcast, including Robin Wood whose literacy narrative is both tragic and powerful. Students are able to experience the narrative in a variety of forms. This allows them to consider the benefits of each mode and medium. They also begin to see the structures that are common to all.