Multi-Modal Literacies: Extra Credit

     So far this semester I've learned a lot about the different ways in which multi-modality can be incorporated into the classroom and I plan on using many of these methods in my own classroom when I become a teacher.  I like the idea of introducing the multigenre autobiography at the beginning of the school year because I think this is a great introduction for a high school class.  I would begin the class by showing my students my own autobiography so they can see the ways in which different texts influenced my life.  It will also allow them to see what I value as a teacher.  I could explain to my students the ways in which historical fiction taught me a lot about the world I live in without even realizing it and how the different movies and TV shows I watched have impacted my thinking as well.  Then, I would like to assign the multigenre autobiography to my own students so they can learn more about themselves as consumers of literature.  I think the most important part of this project is to stress the importance of including texts that had a strong impact or influence on their lives, not just texts they enjoyed.  I think this really does teach the fact that the media does have a strong impact on everyone even though we don't often realize it.  I also think this project teaches students that a text does not necessarily have to be a book, but that movies and TV shows are also valid texts as well.
     In addition to the multigenre autobiography, I would like to include the study of many different texts in my own classroom.  I will mostly focus my classroom around books since I will be a teacher or language arts.  However, I would like to include a unit on the study of films and their influence on our culture.  I think students would really enjoy this and benefit from this.  Finally, I would like to have my students blog for their class. I think blogging is a great way to get students to interact with each other and share their opinions about a specific text or assignment.  It is also an example of the use of internet technology, which is important in this day and age.