RM Winter 2017 FINAL

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Reading Matters
Technology Matters
Reading Matters | Volume 16 • Winter 2016 | |61|
culture that may not prioritize including multimodal lessons that
are a central component of the multiliteracies perspective (Siegel,
2012). Instead, students are doing less designing, called for in the
multiliteracies framework. Applebee and Langer (2013) found in
a study of 20 middle and high schools in five states that only 19%
of assignments represent writing of a paragraph or more. This
limited writing was in response to tasks created for them-students
were filling in blanks or copying notes. When students are using
technology for their writing assignments, it is typically used to
produce a “good copy” of their compositions, rather than as a part
of the composing process (Peterson & McClay, 2012, p. 145).
Need for Multimodal Arguments
I define multimodal arguments as employing the modes
established in the perspective of multiliteracies to make and
support an argument. Of the modes the NLG (1996) discussed,
the visual mode has gained prominence in the literature on
the changing nature of literacy and argument. Kress (2003)
emphasized the importance of the visual mode by explaining
writing may be moving from recent emphasis on the “alphabetic”
back to “its image origins” (p. 73). Specific to argument, researchers
emphasize the need for students to realize and implement images
for argumentative purposes (Birdsell & Groarke, 2004; Newell,
Beach, Smith, & VanDerHeide, 2011). This broadening conception
of argument may be essential for argumentative theory to
integrate the visual nature of our lives, which is intrinsic to digital
technologies (Andrews, 1997; Birdsell & Groarke, 2004; Hocks, 2003;
Howard, 2010, 2011). To provide teachers practical applications of
the concept of multiliteracies, I discuss the following digital tools
that were integrated throughout the composing process to help
high-school students construct multimodal arguments. The final
project of these multimodal arguments was a PSA of each student’s
chosen cause. Thus, I hope that these tools will not only allow
teachers to integrate multiliteracies in the classroom, but also help
them challenge students to use the digital practices they may be
familiar with outside of the classroom in an academic setting for
an authentic social purpose (Bennett, Maton, & Kervin, 2008).
Pre-write with Evernote
Writing process. Hillocks (2010) argued that good argument
writing begins not with writing a thesis statement, but with
examining data that will eventually be used as evidence to
support a claim. To choose and research their topics, students
began this multimodal argument project with five class periods
of research. First, they learned the terms of argument based
upon Toulmin’s model (Smith, Wilhelm, & Fredricksen, 2012;
Toulmin, 1958/2003). Then, students analyzed other PSAs both
for their use of argument and design. One of the principles of a
multiliteracies pedagogy is “overt instruction” in which students
are taught design principles of multiple modes (NLG, 1996, p.
65). Accordingly, we spent time reviewing different PSAs on
multiple websites including the Ad Council (“Our Campaigns,”
2014), the American Heart Association (“Public Service,” 2014),
and The More You Know (2014) website. Students were asked
to review these sites for the content of their argument and for
the modes employed to present this content using questions
based upon Selfe and Selfe’s (2008) discussion of using PSAs
for arguments. Students discussed the different modes used in
these PSAs. For instance, some of the PSAs were print based,
combining words and images whereas other PSAs were videos,
combining gestures, words, images, and sounds. The third step
of the research process was for students to research and choose
their own topic for a PSA. Students researched human rights, local
social issues, and youth websites for social issues to answer the
following questions: (1) Is this topic personally interesting to you?
(2) Will you be able to find enough information—including text,
video, images, etc.—on this topic? (3) How will you take a stance
on this topic? and (4) Is this topic appropriate for your audience?
Tool. During this process of research in pre-writing, the students
used Evernote to collect information about PSAs
and their topic. Evernote is a free web-based application that works
on computers and mobile devices. This application allows students
to collect and comment upon information, similar to note taking,
and stores this information on their account. This information is
synced between devices and can be housed in notebooks made
by the student. We chose Evernote because it is a free application
and a multimodal tool; students can clip images, save whole web
pages, type commentary, and record their own voice. Affordances
of the tool include that any note taken in the application is easily
shared with others by the click of a share button in which the
student sends their note to another student’s email address. The
advantage of this sharing mechanism was that students could work
in groups and easily share ideas with one another. A disadvantage
of using Evernote included ensuring students remembered how
to log onto their student accounts, and recent updates to the
free account version of this software limits downloading and
syncing notes between two devices per student account.
Brainstorm with Glogster EDU
Writing process. After students had chosen a topic and
gathered evidence regarding that topic, they began the process of
brainstorming an initial draft of their arguments. Students were still
collecting information at this point, so this exercise catalyzed their
thinking of how the parts of argument may work together and
what modes might best convey these elements. We wanted this
brainstorming to represent the design process of multiliteracies
rather than a formulaic, linear process of writing to which students
may be accustomed, according to research documenting the
writing commonplace in schools (Applebee and Langer, 2013).
Students gathered pieces of their argument—pictures, text,
songs, and video—that may help them move toward the design
and content of their argument. We asked that they think of the
Glogster EDU online poster as a highly visual summary of their
argument that included parts of the argument, such as claims,
evidence, and warrants. To discuss a model for students’ writing, we
looked together at a poster PSA by the American Heart Association
regarding those affected by stroke (“There are,” 2014). We discussed
as a class the modes used in the PSA-visuals, placement, color, and
text. We also discussed the parts of argument presented in the
poster, where they were positioned, and why they may have been
presented this way. In addition to discussing design and concepts
of argument, we also used this point of the writing process to