Blog 5

Multimodal texts are used throughout daily life with the expansion of new technologies. They come in a variety of forms such as blogs, powerpoint, websites, social networking and wikis (Walsh 2010). The use of these in the classroom is widely debated and although much evidence shows they can be an extremely valuable tool for teaching, the confidence of teachers can hinder children’s experiences with these (Dean 2010).
Multimodal literacy combines reading, writing, speaking and listening for children to develop their Literacy skills and technological awareness. As a trainee teacher, my confidence with multimodal texts has been limited until recently because of a lack of experience with a variety of technology myself and to improve this I need to work with technology and the media, rather than against it (Dean 2010). However, from further reading I have been able to recognise simple and exciting ways to engage children and further their Literacy knowledge. The use of multimodal texts also allows children to develop a range of further skills, for example, when reading on screen children have to take into account symbols and scrolling and the different ways of reading than turning the pages (Medwell et al 2012).
Another apparent factor in the use of multimodal texts is the legal requirement for children to be taught reading and writing through a range of ICT based texts (DfES 1999). This can be done through different tools because there is such a wide range of programs and resources available and the internet gives children all of these at their fingertips. Therefore, as a trainee teacher I need to become aware of these resources so children can gain as much as possible from their education in my classroom.

DfES (1999) The National Curriculum DfES: London
Dean, G. 'Rethinking Literacy' in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London: SAGE
Medwell, J., Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2012) Primary English Knowledge and Understanding London: Learning Matters
Walsh, M. (2010) ‘Multimodal literacy: what does it mean for classroom practice?’ Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 33 (3) pp211 – 239 (in reading pack)