Week 11: Multiliteracies in Classroom

The chosen movie is titled, “Red’s Riding Hoods”. It is based on the popular children’s fairy tale, Red Riding Hood.

One of the reasons for choosing this movie for a lesson is that most if not all students would be familiar with the fairy tale, Red Riding Hood.

The main objectives of the lesson were to highlight to students that gender stereotypes is usually embedded in traditional fairy tales and ways in which the characters were portrayed. Tapping on students’ prior knowledge, the teacher can structure activities that discuss on what they already know about the story and how they feel about it.

To progress to the systematic knowledge, teacher may discuss the features of fractured fairy tales. Teacher could also highlight to students how the Red’s character, particularly her facial expression seems to signal her evil personality. Whereas the wolf’s facial expression is that of a good natured person.

To move to a more critical stance, the teacher may ask students to rewrite the story to make it a less gendered story.

In relation to Singapore’s context, while it may seem ambitious to be able to meet the learning objectives of the lesson, teachers could adapt the lesson structure while modifying part of the lesson to suit her class ability. Teachers could also provide more scaffolding questions to aid students in their understanding especially if students were never exposed to such activities before.

Week 10: Multimodality - Jewitt

According to Jewitt, the affordances of new technologies reconfigure the multimodal aspects of reading and writing in ways that are nearly significant for reading. This mean to say that with the ever changing technology, the way in which information are presented and read will never be fixed instead it will mirror the changes in technology.

As the valued form of literacy of schools is still linguistics, Jewitt claims that schools need to mediate the “in-school” and the “out of school” language. The out-of-school language tends to diverge away from the linguistics aspects of literacy that no longer place the importance of language.

It is interesting to note that the function of written language has instead been “relegated” to function as labels and captions as opposed to the traditional function of language as a mean to disseminate content; termed as decentring writing. The use of written language is being used minimally as seen in the illustration below.

However, the use of written language in games is seen as a sign of identity of the character. More often, the speech by these characters are incomprehensible, however with the inclusion of “voice” “constructs the character as human-like, literate and sociable”(Jewitt).

Apart from that too, Jewitt mentions on the importance of typography in the visualization of word. As writing is seen as a mean to convey information, even if one does not understand the language to make meaning, the placements of vowels for instance have a role to play in meaning making.
Typography, a category of language is use to segregate information. The fonts used seem to suggest the different types of information to be conveyed. For instance, the fonts used below seems to suggest something that is informal or even “childish”.

However, this example shows that the use of the font seems to suggest that the information to be conveyed is something formal and serious (apart from the title that says, formal script).

In summary, there are new and significant ways for reading and literacy. Apart from what had been mentioned earlier, the use of images with linguistic resources allows different readers to have different meaning when reading the text.

Just like the class activity that we did where we have to look at the best and worst sites, it is apparent that the meaning is (re)make by readers through the employment of the different affordances of various modes interacting with one another.

Week 9: Multiliteracies Approaches

After reading the article by Stein and Tan I think that the use of language as a form of meaning making should not be seen as the only way of expression but should go beyond this. Any form of expression of meaning making is inflected with the relations between culture, history, and power that particular communities and institutions have evolved (Stein).

This would mean that all expression as a form of meaning making is specific to culture of the particular community. For instance, in the DUSTY project, the use of slang in the lyrics is specific to the “Black” community and should the meaning of the song should therefore be interpreted from the lens of these people and not from those who have little or no knowledge about the Black culture and community.

In Tan’s article, it was discussed how she see the incorporation of mulitiliteracies as a reconciliation of differences in the education system in Singapore.

While it’s easy to highlight the fallacy of her proposal, however I feel that the incorporation of mulitiliteracies into the curriculum may be beneficial to students here especially to the under achievers. This may provide an alternative platform for these underachievers to “showcase” their potential. Akin to that of the DUSTY project, teachers may try to develop and explore these underachivers’ potential in these areas.

However, one might say that such a project may not add value to these underachivers’ portfolio as the “valued success” is still through the traditional mode of assessment, ie the PSLE for the primary school students. Perhaps, teachers might want to identify ways to incorporate the teaching of content such as grammar and vocabulary through mulitiliteracies. This way, it empower students and allow them to develop a sense of ownership in their learning while the teachers are able to “cover” the syllabus required for the PSLE.

To sum it up, teachers should explore the possibilities of integrating multiliteracies into the curriculum as a strategy to add to teachers’ repertoire.

Week 8: Artifact to explore "true selves"

Think about what multimodal artefact we can get students to create to render them to explore their “true selves”, which are not subjected by the society.

Very often, we are influenced by society to be the person whom the society values. We are coerced to fit into the social “mould” that prevents us to have our own identity. This is inline with Benedict Anderson’s idea where he approaches identity as a sociocognitive construct—one both spatially and temporally inclusive, both enabled and shaped by broader social forces. As teachers we should be conscious of this construct and realized that students tend to conform to the social norms and not let their “true-selves” surface.

However, it is important for us teachers to recognize that every individual is unique and thus we should encourage our students to express themselves freely. Teachers could for instance plan a lesson that allows students to think critically of texts in order to tease out the ideational meanings embedded within. Such an activity will make student more conscious of the ideology around them.

Another way is for teacher to ask students to create artifacts that allow them to explore their true selves. As mentioned earlier, students will tend to conform to the social norm and create something that the teacher values rather than something that identify them. As such teachers may choose to ask students to create an artifact that tap on student’s interest that allows space for expression. For examples, instead of writing compositions and reflections, a teacher may ask students to design graffiti. The project could either be done individually or collaboratively. Graffiti is usually seen as a form of expression that allows students to design, create and interpret freely. In order to explore students’ true selves and not meeting teacher’s expectations, the project has to be made “low-stake”. This would mean that students will not be assessed based on their creation but rather appreciated for what they had designed. I believe this would be an important step to make as it will not put students in a situation where they have to create something based on criteria that will again restrict their exploration of true selves.

Apart from graffiti, perhaps just like the DUSTY project, a teacher could designed a project that require students to write their own song/rap/poetry in order to reflect their own identity. This could be integrated with other subjects such as English (to teach grammar skills), music (to create music) and even art and craft (design props for their video clip). All these will encourage students to “get out of their box” and explore their true identity.

Week 7: Critical Reading in Everyday Life

In this world, where schools are becoming more technologically dependent, it is necessary for students to be able to read websites, which are multimodal in nature. As mentioned by Luke, reading is not a universal skill that only comprises of phonics, phonetics and denotative meaning but it also encompasses the underlying meaning or connotative meaning as well as the social practice that is embedded within the text. Hence, we will be analyzing the main page of a Singapore secondary school website that students need to navigate often in order to participate in the e-resources provided by the school.

Coding competence:
As mentioned by Luke, we need to have adequate knowledge of the alphabet, grapheme phoneme relationships, left-to-right directionality that is necessary for reading. In the case of reading this website, left-to-right and top-to-bottom directionality is necessary to go through all the features available on the website. We need to know the words that are used to represent the links so that they will know where and which links to click on in order to find out further information or to access other associated websites.

Semantic competence:
We have been exposed to a multi array of websites as information source and would have been familiar with the way a website is structured – how to differentiate a link from a text and so forth. It demands us to be able to comprehend the design and layout of the design in order to be able to make decisions on where they should go and read. In navigating this website, we would also need prior knowledge on the different links available such as the asknlearn, acelearn and so forth to make sense of what it would entail and whether it is meaningful to us..

Pragmatic competence:
We need to know the purpose of going to the website and the links that would direct them to their aim. Not only that, there are also certain rules that have been embedded within the website, for example, the quick access have been separated into categories and they have to select the category that is befitting to our position. We also need to know the rules of being able to access the associated websites by ensuring that we have the userid and password to some of the other websites.

Critical competence:
By critical competence, Luke refers to “the development of a meta-language for talking about how texts code cultural ideologies, and how they position readers in subtle and often quite exploitative ways”. Students then need to know how they are constructed as model readers and the power relations that are subtly projected in the text. Based on the images used, it seems that the school is foregrounding the students as its main participants. However, upon closer analysis of the picture, only students belonging to a certain group or CCA – such as the prefects and the band were shown. The news update on the right hand focuses on the School Excellence Award. The use of language in the welcome message also highlights their progress and accomplishment.
What is then the ideology behind these emphases?
One of the ideology could probably be that in order for the school to achieve all this, its students would have to play their part in achieving the best that they possibly can. In a way, the school is painting a picture of the kind of students that it requires for the school to excel.
In terms of power relation, the tagline of the school, “Your potential, Our purpose” gives the impression that students are in power. However, the rest of the website doesn’t really give students much power because they are all decided by the makers of the website or school authorities, except for the visuals that focuses on students.

Approaches

In order to raise awareness of the ideology in the text, we will be drawing on Kress’ (1987) questions that can be used to asked on any text:

1) Why is the topic being written?
2) How is the topic being written about?
3) What other ways of writing about the topic are there?

Firstly, we began the lesson by asking students other ways for the same message to be written in. This will allow students to see that different genres are available to choose from. The teacher will then ask students on the genre of the message in which the author has chosen. Students will then be asked to think of the purpose of the message. The purpose of the text is important, as it will determine the content of the message. It will show how the author has interpreted the topic based on the content of the message.

In order to highlight to students the language used to convey the message, teacher should ask questions to help students understand. The choice of action words, and the positioning of the school in the text are ways in which the author has chosen to send his message across. Students will be able to see that these choices influence the way the message is constructed. By replacing the structure or changing the action words used may not be able to create the same impact.

Once students are aware of the ideology behind the message, get students to rewrite the message in a different genre. Student will then be able to relate to the first question where author has chosen to write in an informative ways instead of other genre such as recount. This will allow students to realize the reason for the author’s choice of genre to convey the message.

Week 6: Literacy and Hybridity

As children began their schooling years, having the “right” language might seem to determine their success in school. Children tend to come from diverse background, and this equate to different register of language in the school environment.

However, the language that these children acquired is dissimilar to the ones used in a typical school context. As the language used in school might be more complex and technical, children who are not socialized into the “schooled” language (dominant discourse) might be put at a disadvantaged as compared to children who have been exposed and socialized into the expected language used in schools. Children who are only exposed to the “home” language (primary discourse), might have difficulties keeping up with the dominant discourse.

Those from the middle class are socialized into various ways of using language of what is expected in different interactional contexts. And because of this, children from the middle class are able to use this skill in the school context.

I agree with the fact that children are “equipped” with various forms of language that might not be congruent to the dominant discourse. And this seems to pose as a major problem in the classroom setting. For instance, a child who is only exposed to the non-standard form of English at home might have problem adjusting to the use of the standard form when in school. Another problem would be when a child who is not familiar with the language used in classroom might face with difficulties when receiving instructions by the teacher.

This I feel is especially true in Singapore’s multicultural context where each classroom might consists of children of different ethnicity and background. These children come to school “armed” with language that may be different from the ones used in school.

However, as a teacher, this should not be seen as convenient way of focusing the attention only to those who are already socialized into the school language. In fact, as a teacher’s responsibility is to create opportunity for learning to take place, the teacher should in fact try to bridge the communication barrier so that learning can take place for all the children in her classroom and not just for the ones who can meet her expectations. As teachers, we should try to bridge these differences by employing the notion of hybridity in our teachings.

For instance, since students bring with them different forms of knowledge to schools, teachers should tap on these and turn it into a more meaningful lesson rather than just to ignore the differences.

Like what I have mentioned during the tutorial earlier, if a teacher encounter “racist” remarks made by students on each other, instead of “punishing” these students for their “ignorance” a teacher could instead translate the incident into a social studies lesson to educate students on the importance of maintaining the delicate balance of Singapore’s harmony.

Week 5 - Futures of Literacy (Modes)

Based on this illustration we can see two materiality of mode in play - logic of time and logic of space.

In the girl’s speech bubble, we can see how the instructions are given in a sequential manner before meaning can be made. The instructions given has to be followed from Step 1 to the next step in a sequence in order for the plane to be successfully constructed.

However, in the boy’s speech bubble, the visual element seems to depict that of a spatial distribution. The construction of the plane model does not follow any sequence and allow the person to choose from where to begin and end.

Since each mode has a functional specialization, it is important to select the best mode in order to optimize meaning making. For example, in most advertisements, the employment of the use of both text and visuals – multimodality, allows the text maker to achieve greater engagement with the reader.

These 2 images show how the different mode of logics are used.

Week 5 - Futures of Literacy (Signs)

Signs - Kress

Signs

Kress mentions that the relation between signifier and signified is always motivated and not arbitrary as what Saussure perceived it to be. I have asked my daughter who is turning three this April to draw for me a car. Below is what she drew.

She explained that the 4 circles are wheels and the 2 lines is the door to the car. According to her, the shapes drawn are a representation of a car – 4 wheels and 2 doors. The reasons for her to choose to draw the wheels and doors are probably due to the fact that she loves to open and close the door of a car and also she likes to draw circles. And Kress further states that the signifier chosen will be apt for the signified and that from the shape of the signifier the reader will form hypothesis about the sign as a whole.

E-Learning: Spider Lily

Spider Lily


I think the flower is a representation of a particular stage in life where a person has reached a stage of contentment with things around him.

White is considered to be the color of perfection and usually have a positive connotation[i]. Indeed when one has reached the peak of his life, he is to be seen as someone who has perfected his life and has managed to accomplish his “tasks” in life successfully and at peace with himself. This reinforces the representation of the flower as “peak of someone’s life. “

The stamen (the stick-like orange part) can be interpreted as the different facets in lives such achievements/ experiences/ aspirations a person. These include having family, career, education etc.

The withered flowers at the background, seems to suggest another stage of life where death is inevitable.

From what had been mentioned so far, I feel that the life cycle of the spider lily, from a bud to a fresh flower and withered one, closely depict that of humans’ too. We start of as a baby, before maturing to an adult and then move on to grow old before death comes.


It is important to note that these interpretations are based on my point of view which has been influenced socially and culturally. This is especially true for the interpretation of the color white. In different culture, white may be interpreted differently.


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[i] http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

Week 4 - Introducing Social Semiotics - van Leeuwen

When we talk about semiotics, the thought of signs comes to mind. However drawing on Halliday’s definition of grammar as a resource for making meaning, semiotics should similarly be seen as a “resource” for communication to take place.

Signs is said to be a union of signifier. This means to say that signs should be an observable form. And together with what it signifies or means it puts meaning to it; the denotation and connotation of the signifier. For instance, when you see tears rolling from someone’s cheek (crying), that can be considered as a sign. And generally, it means that the person is upset or unhappy. If i may use the term, the theoretical semiotic potential. However, the act of crying does not always mean sad. A person could also “cry” when he/she is extremely happy and overwhelmed with emotion or even trying to gain sympathy – actual semiotic potential. So from here we can see that what a sign stands for is not fixed but dependent on the social context for a more accurate interpretation.

With this example, it is apparent that a semiotic resource should not be seen as a preconceived fact rather as an affordance in which its meanings are yet to be discovered. The association of meanings to a signifier will then be dependent on one’s experiences in order to look at it in a different perspective.

Based on the fact that a sign has many semiotic potential, it is interesting to uncover how text maker uses semiotic inventories to make meaning. The use of segregation, separation, integration, overlap, rhyme and contrast and even typography can be employed to create meaning potentials.

The use of the semiotic inventories can be seen at play in movie posters and product advertisements to optimize reader’s engagement to the advertisements.

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For this movie poster, notice the use of similar color, blue, for the movie title to create connection between the top and bottom picture.

Week 3 - Evolution of Literacy seen from my lens!

According to Scribner, literacy should not be seen as an attribute of individual but rather a social achievement where culture plays as important factor in influencing one’s literacy. Literacy is needed for an individual to be socialized into a domain and for interaction to take place.

As literacy is an abstract concept, by using metaphor one hope to be able to allow others to see literacy in a more tangible way. To illustrate this concept, I would see literacy as a bridge. Firstly, since literacy should not be seen as an attribute of individual, indeed it should be seen as a product of social interaction. This means to say that if a person is stranded alone on a deserted island, the need for literacy is redundant as there is no social activity. However, if a person is illiterate and belongs to a social community, he/she might find him/herself alienated from the community due to the breakdown in communication. From here, I see literacy as on of the aspect of bridging communities in a society together. Another aspect of literacy as a bridge is when religion comes to play. As mention by Scribner, religion such as Islam has the Koran written in Arabic. And for someone to be literate in the language of the Koran, one is perceived as being holy and thus is respected by others within the same social group. This too, illustrates the nature of literacy functioning as a bridge that brings two different domains together.

Putting it into perspective in Singapore’s context, literacy here encompasses more than to bridge communication. Literacy here goes beyond the concept of writing and speaking. Literacy has evolved and now digital literacy is a prevalent in the country. Instead of the snail mail that we used to send to our friends, it has been replaced with emails, blogs and even networking websites such as facebook. Literacy now should be seen as a necessity that not only promotes communication but seen as a tool to live. With the evolvement, literacy is now the way of life and not just as a bridge!

Week 2 - Reflection on "A pedegogy of multiliteracies - NLG"

The world is changing fast. What may seem relevant years ago might be obsolete now. The article discusses three aspects in which the changes are taking place.

This is evident in the NLG’s article where working lives now are no longer the same as compared to the Ford era. Workers then were comparable to an industrial production; mindless and repetitive unskilled work. In contrast, workers now are expected to fulfill an array of responsibilities. A worker has to be committed, responsible and also motivated. This results in the worker becoming “multiskilled” and well-rounded to meet the increasing demand of the job.

The article also mentions on the changing of public lives in which differences in a society are acknowledged. This mean to say that civic pluralism is getting recognized now. States should now recognized the variety of ethnic differences which should also include the languages used and not just promoting one culture and a standard language. The roles of schools, the place where ideology can be infused in easily, have changed too. Instead of imposing national standards, the language of the colonizer is assimilated to the people.

Due to the diversification of society, the personal aspect of life has changed too. People’s life who were once private are now publicized due to the exposure by mass media. The increased diversity has made boundaries in the lifeworlds blurred. Even the definition of community has been distorted. These has led to individuals having multilayered lifeworlds.

Having said that, what has these changes got to do with us, teachers? Teachers need to keep themselves abreast of the literacy pedagogy and affect them in their classroom. This could be achieved through the “Designs of meaning”, “Available Designs” and “Redesigned”.

This is important for teachers to understand as it helps in their teaching. For example, during my practicum, I had the opportunity to infuse the use of IT in my teaching. Students were asked to complete and submit a task online. I feel such activities allows different modes of delivery of information that not only provide information for the students but also engage and motivate them into learning.

Week 1 - First Lesson

Dear All,

Welcome to my blog...having a headache trying to sort this blogger out...


...Naz