Reflections on Creating a Multimodal Project

Throughout the process of deciding on questions to ask, putting together the interviews, and looking for common themes, I found a great deal of insight into how constructing multimodal compositions are actually very different from writing. The revision process was more transparent as I literally dragged and clicked to rearrange clips. I thought frequently that in some ways, once I got the hang of the software, that this would be more pleasantly challenging to do than write a paper, and there is a great deal of value in teaching the process.

While trying to create a narrative, grouped by theme or idea, I gained insight into the ways in which this composing process also inserted my point of view. We had agreed to arrange the interview clips together without inserting our own commentary, to let the students speak for themselves, and yet our hand was still very much in the message that was created. One salient example that Nikki pointed out to me when I remarked that none of my students actually talked about race and language in their interviews, was that by juxtaposing them with her students, who were very explicit about race and unspoken rules of code switching, those themes became more apparent in my students' silence.



I think that the iMovie composition process could stand alone as a summative assessment for my students. I also think that once given the time needed to practice with the software so that they have the appropriate skills, they are more like to experience a flow state while working. I had the same feeling as I was working through the new technology, that I was getting better and better at making the program do what I wanted to communicate a message. It was a deeply exploratory and independent learning process and the product was its own reward. I could see this also being very motivating for students who struggle with the traditional writing process. Video editing seems like it might a great access point. In a perfect world we would have the time and technology in class to do a project like this.

However, the visual arranging of pieces could also be done with more traditional compositions, like written text. Anything that brings greater awareness to students about their own ways of thinking will help them become better writers. I also think that it is more practical than Atwell's or Hillock's rigidly structured classrooms, and more democratic. Students could realistically have as much experience with the technology as I do, and I suspect some will have more. Using a tool that we learn together could be a powerful learning/teaching experience for students and disrupt ideas about the teacher as an expert.

I also felt that by publishing our work on the web, even if it was only for fellow classmates—or maybe prospective employers—it changed the way we felt about the finished product. One thing that I appreciated about Atwell was her insistence that students should write with publication in mind, because after all, that is a major purpose of writing. Publishing work on a website that they designed not only meets state standards, it can instill a sense of pride (hopefully not terror) in students about their work.