Multimodal: Been There, Done That

In my final text for my independent study, Jason Palmeri explores how  "[l]ong before the contemporary multimodal turn, compositionists have been articulating the deep interconnections between seeing and writing -- experimenting with ways that visual composing can help students both generate ideas for and consider revisions of alphabetic texts" (9-10). I wanted to read this book because I was drawn to his idea that today's composing, while there are different tools, is not the first time alphabetic texts have had competition for composing. I (along with many other educators) am leery of the advent of "brand new" theories, and Palmeri shows so well where we have been and how these old paths can and should inform our work today with digital technologies.

The Little Details ...

I am at the stage with my Wordpress site where I am just tweaking things until I go live with it and get feedback and suggestions from my students.  I am looking at two aspects right now to wrap up before deciding I am ready to open it up to my classes in August:

• Making it mobile
• Linking it to our current database system

Design Mind

I have finished reading Robin Williams's design book, and while the prior four posts probably suffice for "enough said" about design, I want to wrap up by saying that Williams has shown me that I seem to have a natural flair for design.  There were a few moments in the prior posts when I had seemed to read her mind.  That continued to the end ...

• I discovered in my contrast post that repetition was my favorite design principle and that I had founded my class site on it.  Well ... "While the same four basic principles I've mentioned over and over in this book (contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity) also apply to web design, repetition is one of the most important for a web site. The other three principles helps pages look good and make sense, but repetition lets your visitors know whether they're still in the same web site" (139). 
• I also mentioned that I chose my theme because I wanted a horizontal navigation bar that was visible without scrolling.  well ... "Don't make visitors scroll to see the navigation links!" (140).

 Thanks for taking this design journey with me.

References
Book image source
Williams, Robin. The  Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice. Third ed. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 2008. Print.

Design Principle #4: Contrast

"Contrast is created when two elements are different" (65).

"[C]reate some contrast ... their eyes will be attracted to certain parts ... as they skim ..." (72).

I am playing a bit of a contrast joke with my color choice for this principle. I chose blue as an accent color last semester on my first Google Sites page. Dr. Rodrigo kindly pointed out that this was not the best choice as most hyperlinks are in blue, so I was risking tricking my readers into thinking my blue words were hyperlinks. Blue therefore is a terrible example of contrast because "[i]f two items are not exactly the same, then make them different. Really different" (65).

Design Principle #3: Repetition

Repetition:

 "Repeat some aspect of the design 

throughout the entire piece" (51).

Repetition is my favorite aspect of design. The ways you can do this overtly or subtly are very fun for me to play with. Repetition is definitely a design aspect with room for pushing the boundaries.

Can digital communication be real communication?

This question has been on my mind for awhile.  I have written about it in myriad ways, from my course readings of Dick, McLuhan, Turkle and Baudrillard to my own personal discomfort with online interactions.  Through all of these posts, one thing remains as tough to solve for me as proving the Reimann Hypothesis: is the nature of digital communication defined foremost by its "digital-ness" or do personal tendencies have a defining role in digital communication?  Let me try to say it better: Are digital communications for extroverted and introverted people equally at risk for being shallow simply because the communication is digital?

Design Principle #2: Alignment

Alignment

Nothing should be placed on the page arbitrarily. 

Every item should have visual connection with something else on the page (33).
 
I am a center-alignment user.  I admit it, and well, I can't deny it anyway because all you have to do is look at the post right below this one to see my center-alignment in action.  But that is about to change!

Design Principle #1: Proximity

Proximity

"Items relating to each other should be grouped close together ...

This helps organize information, reduces clutter, and gives the reader a clear structure" (13).

My Class Homepage

Re-Viewing, Re-Working, Re-Visioning

Thanks to Dr. Rodrigo and her helpful comments, I have just ...

• Asked 2 fellow teachers and 1 former student to give me feedback on the design and navigation of my in-progress Wordpress site.
• Made and embedded a Google Form for adding to the class timeline.  I had no idea I could generate a form from an existing spreadsheet -- that is cool!  And Dr. Rodrigo is right -- the form is a much better interface than a spreadsheet.
• Sadly, I discovered that making this Google form from my spreadsheet broke the timeline on my site.  I have experimented with this and learned that any adjustment to the Google spreadsheet template except deleting rows breaks the timeline in Wordpress.  So this good idea cannot be done, and I have fixed my timeline and re-posted the spreadsheet link.
  
• Fixed my image sources since they were not all linked to the specific webpage where I got them.  I appreciate having Dr. Rodrigo see this mistake -- I thought I had the specific URLs but clearly did not for 2 of my images.  I also added the links to the MLA image sources here.

I also have firmed up my reading plans, having gotten all of my possibilities from ODU's ILL.  Here is my final list.  The first three are the same as my initial list, but the fourth one is new.

Brooding over Baudrillard

This morning's task is to get my head around Jean Baudrillard's The Illusion of the End, my second reading for the summer.  This book is very different from Technologies of Wonder, as Baudrillard is a sociologist and philosopher looking at culture and society versus Delagrange, an academic looking at digital technology specifically.  So, this blog post will have two parts.  First, I am going to lay out my understanding of Baudrillard's philosophy of history, as history is the foundation of The Illusion of the End.  Then, my ultimate goal is to determine how Baudrillard applies to digital media work.

Designing for Collaborative Creation

Today, I focused on making my class site a place where my students are co-creators of our learning and exploration.  This was possible on our ning at a basic level (students creating their own discussions and controlling their personal pages), but there was not much they could do.  I have to admit I did not focus well on maximizing what they could do either.  My new site is going to different because I am designing it that way.  That is a key aspect of true digital design -- looking at what can be done because it is digital versus relying on standard print design principles.  I am not finished with my thinking about this kind of design, but I am pretty pleased with what I accomplished today.

Wild Waters of Wordpress

I dove into the Wordpress.org ocean and am now laying on the shore.  I think I survived, but time will tell as I am still waiting on some things to activate.

Here is what I did today.

Designing for "Wunder"

"English Studies ... still privilege[s] the Word as its preferred mode of 
performance, and linear argument as its preferred form. For this to change, 
more scholars must move beyond critical verbal analysis of visual texts and 
become active architects of intellectually engaged (and engaging) multimediated 
visual rhetoric. Until we and our students see ourselves as producers rather 
than just consumers of visual rhetoric, we are ceding the authority to speak 
and intervene in an increasingly mediated world" (Delagrange 11).

Before I embark on my big creation (a Wordpress site for my AP English class), I wanted to practice being a thoughtful producer of digital design who would make Susan Delagrange proud.

Fun in the Summer Sun ... Intellectual Style

Today is kick-off day ... the Great Summer 2012 Independent Study has begun!  My kids are at a camp each morning this week, my early morning run is done, and here I sit ready to work.  My type-A, organized self jumped right into the pool waters of work by ... making a plan for my work!  (I can see my good friend and fellow planner Jennifer nodding her head and laughing ...)  So, here is my plan ...

Rethinking Arrangement

I have started my reading for my new media independent study, and I will be reflecting on each text here.  So, let me get started with my first text, Susan Delagrange's Technologies of Wonder.

Wrapping Up

DMAC Day 10

Really this is about DMAC Day 9, but I took a break last night instead of writing this blog.  I had dinner from City Barbeque with Krista, her family, and her parents.  We had fun remembering the BBQ we would eat in college, particularly the long waits we were willing to endure for the hush puppies at Bullock's Bar-B-Cue.  (My visual design mind is highly alert BTW after the last 10 days because I really enjoyed seeing the difference between these two BBQ websites.  Bullock's website, looking as it does like it is straight from 1985, captures what that restaurant is all about -- no frills, no desire to be more than one restaurant serving great food, good ol' Southern charm. The rhetoric of new media is deep in me!).  Some margaritas and corn pudding set up a great night's sleep, and now I am back in DMAC reflection and production mode.

Summer Reading ... by the English teacher

DMAC Day 8

I have spent some time thinking about how I can build on what I am learning here at DMAC to craft my independent study for the rest of the summer.  One of my goals for this independent study is to read some of the many texts I have heard about -- with the idea that the summer might be a time when I can choose my academic reading and have the time to actually read.  I may be in delusion about this, but hey, it is good to have goals.  So here is my draft reading list for the summer ...

Cooked Texts

DMAC Day 6

I have spent the last 30 hours (when I was not enjoying the DMAC party or sleeping!) focusing my final project.  The process we have been guided through in this focusing is worth reflecting on in and of itself.

Catching up with my students...

DMAC Day 4
 
At times, I feel funny having discussions about the value of multimodal composition because it seems like an old person's conversation.  My students would immediately tell you that they compose all the time in different modalities, particularly outside of school.  To bring these different modalities into the classroom can only enhance students' understanding of composition as a whole and, as a huge side benefit, make their non-academic composing better.

Remixing like a Semi-Pro

DMAC Day 2

Today was audio production day -- well, half of it was.  Which means I made an audio commercial with four layered tracks in half a day.  That is a steep and really great learning curve.