Multiple Modalities and Remixing
This week's readings were captivating, I learned a lot about multiple modalities and remixing, these concepts which we use everyday. Something that got my attention was the connection between remixing as discussed in the book, remixing as we do it with our students during projects and remixing as for this class. Specifically for this assignment all of us are reading the same material but we also are required to incorporate another study (paper) different from the book. Does it looks like Learning by doing? Is this the " pedagogy of play" also? (Vasudevan, Dejanes & Schmier, 2013) (p. 24)
Loomis (2019) admits that teachers often use remix activities without considering them remixing (p.239). Also, Erstad claims that the concept of remixing is nothing new (p.53). I have seen and done remixing several times without knowing that this mix of strategies was a remix of digital literacy. As a teacher I try to use diverse teaching strategies for my students's different learning abilities. Recently we are using Edpuzzle (a combination of youtube videos and creating questions), Nearpod ( video/google slides and questions), so to make every lesson interactive. Schoology where we use conferences/chatting but also use it as a white board to write for sharing and for taking notes. Another digital tool that helps us is Kami, a platform when students can write/draw and express themselves. This is for everyday teaching.
Then there are Projects, where students can become creative by researching and having many options to choose as how they want to deliver their project. Sometimes they are given the option of creating a video with Animoto, or creating a poster, making a 3D model. As Loomis mentions: "Remix, as both process and product, in a teacher's pedagogical toolbox can be useful in the right contexts and situations. Like every tool, it will not solve every problem, nor will it reach every student. It may, however, be exactly the right project for some students who are learning to read the world. It may be a suitable design for teachers who want to incorporate more student directed projects into their classrooms. It is not one-size-fits-all but can be molded and manipulated to be appropriate in many contexts" ( p. 254).
Projects and remixing as literacy solved another problem, the problem of cheating. From my own experience while everyone had the same topic, I was afraid that my students would have the same information to present. However, research and different information source together with their own creativity gave us knowledge regarding particular issues that were not the same. I agree with the authors when they say: "When educators are more aware of of adolescents' digital literacies and composing repertoires, they can effectively marry instructional goals that children and youth need to meet in order to successfully navigate formalized education with pedagogical agility that affords adolescents multiple ways to construct and represent knowledge." (Vasudevan, Dejanes & Schmier, p.35).
To conclude, the idea of digital literacies and multimodal play goes well together and can be used for the 21 Century scholars and us as their teachers. Also, " As a tool, remix may be used to meet standards that include reading in multiple contexts, speaking, listening, writing, and using technology. Remix is part of US culture, and many students are digital experts."( Loomis, 255).
References:
Erstad, O. (2013). Trajectories of Remixing: Digital Literacies, Media Production and Schooling. In C. Lankshear & M. Knobel (Eds.), A New Literacies Reader: Educational Perspectives (38-56). Peter Lang Publishing.
Loomis, Stephanie J. and Loomis, Stephanie J., "Remixing Pedagogy: How Teachers Experience Remix as a Tool for Teaching English Language Arts." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2019. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss/82
Learning with Adolescents’ Digital Literacies. In C. Lankshear & M. Knobel (Eds.), A New Literacies Reader: Educational Perspectives (23-37). Peter Lang Publishing.
Hi Jasmina, I definitely agree that we have probably done so many remixing activities without even realizing it. I think I've done several projects like that, just without having an official name for it. I have tried Edpuzzle a few times, and I think it's an awesome activity that students can do independently! I used to use Kahoot a lot too, for review games. I could either make one myself or I could let students make their own! I had a few students who actually made them themselves on their own time as a studying method! You can insert pictures, videos, etc and then form questions to go with the media. The kids loved the game-format of it and it provided some friendly competition while we reviewed material. It was also nice because I could get an instant check for understanding, as it immediately tells you how many kids chose which answer. As you quoted, it may not solve every problem or fit every student, but it certainly creates opportunities for students to create something that's theirs, even if they are all working with the same information.
ReplyDeleteHi Jasmina,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your thoughts on this, and absolutely agree that as educators we are likely remixing activities without even realizing it. I think it's important to take some time to reflect back on all we're doing and really analyze it. It seems as though time is always moving so fast, and we always have so much on our plate that the time for this reflection, at least for me, gets shifted to the bottom of the list. However, it is in the reflection that we can find that we are doing these amazing things, like remixing, without even realizing it. In those moments where we feel so defeated it's great to come across articles such as this one that reminds us that we are, in fact, doing so much more than we think we are. Sometimes we read to learn, sometimes we read for encouragement, and sometimes we read for affirmation. I hope you appreciated stumbling upon this little affirmation as much as I did. Thank you again for sharing!