Response to "Thinking about Multimodality"

I really liked this chapter, and thought it went well with last week's reading, which is still on my mind. The authors, Pamela Takayoshi and Cynthia L. Selfe, did a good job addressing all sides of the issue--including laying out the various hesitations and fears that composition teachers might have in regards to incorporating digital and other media. I want to read this book now.

I really liked this quote by Mary Hocks: "A student-centered pedagogy asks students to work within their own cultures and discourses by using experimental forms to learn actively from one another and to engage with the world around them" (5-6). I feel that students now, more than ever, need to engaged on their own terms. There are so many distractions, so many other things that are competing for their attention. There are times in class when I can literally see my students itching to check the internet from their phones, to send a text, or to put in their earplugs. In order for them to write the best papers they are capable of writing, and to think creatively, they have to be engaged.

The structure of this chapter, with its side-boxes and numbers, its subheadings and check marks, worked well for me. It was clear and easy to read, and it laid out all of the pros and cons in a straight forward manner (and many of the cons were things I was thinking about, so it was good to see them addressed so directly). I also liked their suggestions of starting small, with one assignment, and making even that optional. I think this would work well for those teachers who don't feel comfortable with computers and other technology.

I'm also loving that "driveway effect" quote by Hugh Fraser. NPR's This American Life could make me stay in my car forever. It would be amazing to see my students so engaged that they didn't know exactly what time it was, at all times.