The Modes

As I started to read Writer/Designer, I thought the text was going to deliver a lot of base-level instruction; the labored breakdown of "multimodal" with the example being the lolcat didn't create the best first impression.

I was struck, however, by a line in the introduction to modes regarding all of the modes typically used in a TV commercial that tied together very nicely with Palmeri's ideas and my own personal teaching philosophy: "Each of these modes plays a role in the advertiser's argument for why you should by its product" (4).

Utilizing different modes within a project can help students convey a lot of different information as well as consider many different angles in the process. This is not only beneficial when combining several meaningful modes into one final product, but Palmeri also highlights Wiener's discussion of "modes of discourse," which asked students to compose under one topic using different modes as different stages in the writing process.

This approach helps students throughout their writing process. It also benefits teachers; its nice to sit in a class and experience 6 short weeks of the ultimate pedagogical technology experience with Cruz, but when we get back to our homes and face the curriculum we know so well (and have likely modeled after the ways we were taught in school), it isn't always easy to integrate all that we've learned. I bet rather frequently, we learn about really cool things, but feel like Chris Traeger in the photo above when it comes time to actually try them out. Heck, I'm the social media guru and I don't use technology NEARLY as much as I'd like to.

So, when we sit down at the end of this summer and get our lives together for our upcoming school year, I think it would behoove us to remember Wiener and W/D. Our handbooks are right. Every mode we address, whether all at once or taking them on step by step to eventually create an even more dimensional alphabetic text, can play a role in an argument or narrative. To quote Palmeri quoting Corbett quoting McLuhan, "media [has] expanded and intensified the human sensoria." We can use these modes in product or process, but when it comes to our writing, they're beneficial--nay, necessary. Using them in the process as Wiener explains, though, could be a very convenient way to help us integrate what we learn into our classroom curriculum and ultimately our philosophy.

The Modes

As I started to read Writer/Designer, I thought the text was going to deliver a lot of base-level instruction; the labored breakdown of "multimodal" with the example being the lolcat didn't create the best first impression.

I was struck, however, by a line in the introduction to modes regarding all of the modes typically used in a TV commercial that tied together very nicely with Palmeri's ideas and my own personal teaching philosophy: "Each of these modes plays a role in the advertiser's argument for why you should by its product" (4).

Utilizing different modes within a project can help students convey a lot of different information as well as consider many different angles in the process. This is not only beneficial when combining several meaningful modes into one final product, but Palmeri also highlights Wiener's discussion of "modes of discourse," which asked students to compose under one topic using different modes as different stages in the writing process.

This approach helps students throughout their writing process. It also benefits teachers; its nice to sit in a class and experience 6 short weeks of the ultimate pedagogical technology experience with Cruz, but when we get back to our homes and face the curriculum we know so well (and have likely modeled after the ways we were taught in school), it isn't always easy to integrate all that we've learned. I bet rather frequently, we learn about really cool things, but feel like Chris Traeger in the photo above when it comes time to actually try them out. Heck, I'm the social media guru and I don't use technology NEARLY as much as I'd like to.

So, when we sit down at the end of this summer and get our lives together for our upcoming school year, I think it would behoove us to remember Wiener and W/D. Our handbooks are right. Every mode we address, whether all at once or taking them on step by step to eventually create an even more dimensional alphabetic text, can play a role in an argument or narrative. To quote Palmeri quoting Corbett quoting McLuhan, "media [has] expanded and intensified the human sensoria." We can use these modes in product or process, but when it comes to our writing, they're beneficial--nay, necessary. Using them in the process as Wiener explains, though, could be a very convenient way to help us integrate what we learn into our classroom curriculum and ultimately our philosophy.