This week’s input on multimodality focused on using ActivInspire, a platform which I saw used to great effect during my placement experience.
Used in combination with the Promethean board I saw extensive examples of how this partnership of soft and hardware can be used to both inform and engage. Rather than simply being used as a projection screen for passive observation; the Promethean board allows a multitude of interactivity options across a range of media. This use of media allows multimodality to be utilised across the curriculum, enhancing learning and inclusion for all students.
So what does “Multimodal” mean?
Something can be described as “multimodal” when it combines two or more of the five semiotic systems (see Fig. 1).
In modern society, children are surrounded by multimodal texts. The days of the printed word being the main conveyance of information are long gone and today’s learners are immersed in an ever-increasing combination of modes of communication, many of which are visual and primarily delivered via screen (Jones and Hafner, 2012). As the delivery of information in society has changed then so too must the delivery of information in education. In order for teachers to provide the comprehensive and inclusive education desired by the Scottish Government, they must adapt their practice to include modes of communication with which children are familiar in their day to day lives: “Increasing recognition of the pervasiveness of digital technologies and multimodal experiences in children’s out-of-school lives, therefore, is exposing a need to incorporate such tools within teaching and learning, to enhance current and evolving pedagogic practice.” (Twiner et al, 2010, p212) One particularly effective way of meeting this need in the classroom is via the use of the interactive whiteboard.
Traditionally the classroom has been dominated by the “Blackboard”. Used to convey information to the gathered class this feature has undergone many adaptations from the traditional chalk writing surface, to more environmentally and health friendly wipe-clean whiteboards. In today’s modern classroom the traditional writing surface has been replaced with the “Interactive Whiteboard” (IWB). Modern children are used to interacting with screen-based technologies and more specifically touch screen technologies. The IWB allows these home familiarities to feature in the classroom too. Rather than having to erase the day’s work once the board is full teachers now have the option to save work as they go along, allowing them to refer to it or keep it as a record of achievement. Children can add their own contributions to the board or take charge of their own administrative tasks. IWBs also offer multimodal learning opportunities to children who may struggle to engage with the more traditional modes of education.
ICT has a long history of being used to support children with SEN in mainstream education settings (Beauchamp, 2012). In today’s schools, where inclusion is at the forefront of policy, it is essential that learning is accessible to all. The use of IWBs and associated digital technologies can help to bridge that gap. Students with ASN or who find difficulty engaging in more traditional modes of education such as written text can now be successfully included in learning. In placement experience, I was lucky enough to witness exactly this approach used by a Primary 7 teacher who needed to adapt the learning to meet the needs of two pupils with differing ASN. While most students were able to interact with an activity exploring “Time” using analogue clocks, the students in question benefited from an interactive game on the IWB which was more appropriate to their learning needs. Being able to adapt learning quickly and easily via the features of the IWB allows inclusive education which Education Scotland (2019) has identified as crucially important in ensuring that young people have equitable access to further employment opportunities no matter what barriers to learning they may face. Similarly, the Education Endowment Foundation (2017) recognises the importance of digital technologies in ensuring that all children can develop the metacognitive skills necessary to identify their own educational needs as well as plan strategies to ensure those needs are met.
There is no doubt that the IWB offers today’s teacher a wealth of opportunity to expand their teaching. No longer must they produce the information as they go, they can delve into an endless supply of resources and change them easily as required. IWBs engage pupils and hold their interest (Dunn, 2017) often enabling or expanding discussion. Children are keen to participate as the technology they are interacting with is familiar to them. However, it must also be familiar to the teacher. While schools are keen to be seen to be investing in the latest technologies it is equally important that they have the required infrastructure to ensure that those technologies are being utilised effectively (Duebel, 2010). In classrooms where the IWB is not utilised to full effect, it becomes little more than a projection screen and the teaching which accompanies it reverts to lecture-style input which risks disengaging the students. It is important to remember that technology must always enhance learning. The IWB should be used as a brief introduction or source of reference for learning but should not replace active and interactive learning (Jarvis, 2015).
However…
As with all technology, the potential for it to become little more than an activity in passivity looms in the background if the user is not fully aware of how to interact with it successfully. This was made abundantly clear during my less than successful attempt to use the ActivInspire programme on a computer. It was clear what it was supposed to do but how exactly I was supposed to make it happen was neither straightforward nor intuitive, which was deeply frustrating. I am very aware of my own shortcomings in the field of patience: I disengage rapidly when something doesn’t happen quickly enough. The time it took to try and get to grips with how to operate the ActivInspire software was just too much for me (the same has to be said for Glow)! It was, however, a valuable reflective experience in classroom behaviour.
All of a sudden, I’m a confused tourist again!
And when the student doesn’t understand, things like this happen:
The Health and Safety Executive (2000) identified teaching as one of the top three most stressful professions, with managing pupil behaviour being identified as the most stressful element for both experienced and trainee teachers. I recognise that I am a classic example of a student who participates in low-level disruptive behaviour when they are struggling to complete a task successfully. Don’t know what to do? Just wheel off around the room and have a nosey at what everyone else is doing! I am (and always have been) guilty of exactly the same behaviours seen in the classroom when pupils either do not understand the task at hand or are unable to access resources successfully.
So, my thinking after this week’s session is that while multimodality is unquestionably a great feature in widening access to learning it is imperative that it is accompanied by user-friendly delivery systems. Learning is not enhanced where technology introduces multiple hurdles to complicate things. For learners like me, learning is shut down by the introduction of extra problems, and that way trouble lies.
And finally…
The journey’s been a bit rough this week but all-in-all a good reflective experience. I’ve learnt from the good and the bad and identified areas where I need to focus my own learning. I will take my new-found knowledge and talents forward to tackle next week’s adventure.
As I was not able to achieve very much at all with my own endeavours to work ActivInsipre I will instead reflect on the successful use I saw on Placement in a Primary 3 class, specifically in reference to teaching Place Value. In that circumstance, I consider the appropriate E&O which could be met are:
- MNU 1-01a: “I have investigated how whole numbers are constructed, can understand the importance of zero within the system and can use my knowledge to explain the link between a digit, its place and its value.“
- MTH 1-21a: “Using technology and other methods, I can display data simply, clearly and accurately by creating tables, charts and diagrams, using simple labelling and scale.“
References
- Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to Practice. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
- Duebel, P. (2010) Interactive Whiteboards: Truths and Consequences. [Online] Available: https://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/08/04/Interactive-Whiteboards-Truths-and-Consequences.aspx?Page=4# [Accessed: 24 January 2019].
- Dunn, D. (2017) How to be an Outstanding Primary School Teacher. London: Bloomsbury.
- Education Endowment Foundation. (2017) Metacognition and Self -Regulated Learning Guidance Report. [Online] Available: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Support/Links/Campaigns/Metacognition/EEF_Metacognition_and_self-regulated_learning.pdf [Accessed: 24 January 2019].
- Education Scotland (2019) Curriculum for Excellence. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf [Accessed: 24 January 2019].
- Education Scotland. (2019) Developing creativity, employability and skills. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/what-we-do/Developing%20employability%20and%20skills [Accessed: 24 January 2019].
- Education Scotland. (2019) Embedding digital learning and teaching. [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/what-we-do/Embedding%20Digital%20Learning%20and%20Teaching [Accessed: 24 January 2019].
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE). (2000) The Scale of Occupational Stress: A Further Analysis of the Impact of Demographic Factors and Type of Job, Contract Research Report 311/2000. London: HSE
- Jarvis, M. (2015) Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Classroom: A very practical guide for teachers and lecturers. Oxon: Routledge.
- Jones, R.H. and Hafner, C. A. (2012) Understanding Digital Literacies A Practical Introduction. Oxon: Routledge.
- Scottish Government. (2019) Developing the young workforce: Scotland’s youth employment strategy. [Online] Available: https://www.gov.scot/publications/developing-young-workforce-scotlands-youth-employment-strategy/#res466386 [Accessed: 24 January 2019].
- Twiner, A., Coffin, C., Littleton, K. and Whitelock, D. (2010) Multimodality, orchestration and participation in the context of classroom use of the interactive whiteboard: a discussion. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. Vol 19(2), pp.211-223.
- Zull, J. (2011) From Brain to Mind: Using Neuroscience to Guide Change in Education. Virginia: Stylus Publishing.
