Week 1 - Multimedia and Multiliteracies

When educators discuss literacy and language, and how they will deliver their "product" to the diverse students who occupy the seats in their classrooms the conversation invariably leads to the phrase "multi". Whether it's multimedia, multiliteracies, multimodal or whatever, it means it has to cover a lot of bases to be inclusive and the more senses we can engage the better.

This dilemna is as old as the Tower of Babel. On pg. 217 of the readings is a discussion of literacy, especially the superiority of written language over oral as far as elevating the ability of literate people to progress and acheive "personal and cultural transformation". Yet written language also brings homogenation and destroys ancestral languages. (pg. 217) What we find is that we want it both ways - we want our teaching to be diverse and inclusive and we want everybody to know the same things. So we're hoping that digital technology will somehow deliver this.

Watching the spectacular opening ceremony to the the Beijing 2008 Olympics made me feel like I was part of a world-wide event, similar to how I felt when the new century began at midnight on 01/01/00, and also appreciative of the Chinese. This had elements of being both diverse and communicative to everyone in a language they could understand.

When I walk into Mountain View Market I experience it on multimodal levels. The first thing I always notice is the way the place smells - like good, spicy food. Sometimes there's music or NPR on the loadspeaker, or a din of conversation that's similar to a local coffee shop. The products for sale represent ethnic diversity and come from all over the world, but also they take great pride in their local produce. Recently they redesigned the store so that it's roomier and products are more logically grouped. These multimodal elements are delivered in an organic, actual way. The virtual world of digital technology is entered as you pay for your items. The registers are computerized and connected to a database, the money is transferred electronically with your debit or credit card.

On pg. 14 of the readings it says, "the most important skill students need to learn is to negotiate regional, ethnic, or class-based dialects," and "this is the only hope for averting the catastrophic conflicts about identities and spaces that now seem ever ready to flare up".

This is something I've given a lot of thought and effort to in my own personal life recently. I've begun to think in terms of communication as being from some level of energy. For example, gossip is a low energy form of communication, whereas, speeches that help people believe in their abilities are a high energy. When I am able to communicate, either orally or in writing, at a high level I almost always receive some form of praise or gratitude from the person I'm communicating with. I've been paying particular attention to the agency this gives me in my business and personal life. The higher my level of communication, even when I have to say no, the further it gets me towards the goals I have - like more fulfilling personal relationships and more productive working relationships and access to more knowledge. The exact opposite happens when I resort to low energy levels of communication. Doors close or slam in my face.

While we can't learn every dialect, identity and culture, I believe we can negotiate the world with the universal language of respect and not only avoid flare-ups but create and design more life-enhancing medias.