Multiliteracy is a shift in looking at literacy being just linked to print and words to include multimedia. With the advent of the pixel and the technologies that afford us the ability to incorporate text, sound, visuals, and movement all into one document, it became clear that literacy was changing. Now it is important not only to be able to describe or explain a concept, but also to demonstrate it in action through video or graphics or sound. The ability of students to pull the resources from the internet and create their own unique representation of synthesized knowledge is what online learning offers us.

Yet with this incredible ability also lies work of learning how to effectively research online, how to use LMS platforms and integrate other technologies such as Google slides or Canvas videos. If the resources seem endless so does the requirements on a teacher in public schools. This type of knowledge production requires a great deal of prep and knowledge on the part of the teacher. The average teacher no longer needs to be versed just in their content area subject, school policies, school grading and attendance systems, but also a vast array of tech tools and online platforms, so that they can facilitate the students’ use of them. “The New London Group (1996) argues that ―to be relevant, learning processes need to recruit, rather than attempt to ignore and erase, the different subjectivities, interests, intentions, commitments, and purposes that students bring to learning” (Rowell et al 18). This implies that incorporating multiliteracies and technology into the delivery of course work is to engage and motivate but this does not necessarily imply that we need to replace the forms of learning that came before but rather elevate or supplement it. This is further supported by Sewell and Denton who suggest that multimodal anchoring combined with traditional literacy activities expands the literacy of the students (Sewell & Denton, 2011). Most people find it easy to see how literacy might be expanded understanding of a concept in science or history with visuals or videos. This is also true for stories, both fiction and non-fiction. It is important to address that literature has two elements in which to expand literacy, reading and writing. I think at times we focus on elements of one more than the other, rather than looking at the incorporation of multimodal elements as an opportunity to expand comprehension and writing abilities simultaneously. An excellent example of using a multimodal approach in conjunction with a traditional literacy approach is seen in Zora, a thesis paper written by my niece Genevieve Anna Tyrrell. It is a multimodal approach to writing nonfiction. Here is an excerpt:

While the conventional classroom might afford students the ability to work in groups or use various materials to produce an assignment, it was not always able to do so with ease or a plethora of resources. This is the magic of online learning the ability to have access to many types of resources that allows a student to create a multimodal work that helps convey meaning more clearly and by default shows how clearly the student understands the topic.

Works Cited

Rowsell, J., Kosnik, C., & Beck, C. (2008). Fostering multiliteracies pedagogy through preservice teacher education. Teaching Education, 18.

Sewell, W., & Denton, S. (2011). Multimodal literacies in the secondary classroom. English Journal, 100(5), 61-65.

Tyrrell, Genevieve, "Zora" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 2970. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2970.