In week 3 of this module we looked at multimodal texts. Walking into this lesson I was confident in my abilities to use any type of technology that I was asked to us. When I read that we were using “ActiveInspire” I was very pleased. Throughout my time in Primary and Secondary school I have used ActiveInspire and I believe I am very proficient at using it.
Multimodality means that, as the teacher you can use many different programmes to put a teaching point across. “The multimodality of technology is another reason to use it, as it allows teachers to present an idea in a variety of different ways to help pupils understand it (Beauchamp, 2012, p.8). This means that as a teacher you can keep every lesson original, which would engage the learners more. For a text to be multimodal it has to have two or more Semiotic systems. There are five semiotic systems in total:
- Linguistic
- Visual
- Audio
- Gestural
- Spatial
As I said before I have used ActiveInspire a lot in my school career and I knew that to create a multimodal text it would be the perfect tool for the job. The task we were set was to create a multimodal slide using ActiveInspire. To ensure that I had a main aim for my slide I looked on the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) website to choose the learning experience and outcome I wanted my pupils to achieve.
MNU 1-09a – I can use money to pay for items and can work out how much change I should receive (Education Scotland).
The task I created using ActiveInspire was set in a store. The slide asked the pupil a question about money and the pupil had to decide how many items they could buy with the money they had. The pupil would then move however many items they believed to be right. The pupil would then move the money to the cashier and take the change they think they should receive from the cashier. This exercise gives instant feedback as the teacher can clearly see whether the child got the right answer. This is also multimodal as it uses the semiotic systems; Linguistic, visual and spatial.
Overall, I feel that ActiveInspire enabled me to make an effective lesson exercise. The exercise only took me around 20 minutes to create, however this may just be because I am confident in using ActiveInspire. As a result, I was able to create more than one slide, this would reinforce the learning to the pupil, making the exercise even more effective. I also feel that the programme was enjoyable to use, and I find that is half the battle when trying to engage pupils. As a result I would definitely use this programme to effectively create multimodal texts when I am a teacher.
References:
Beauchamp, 2012, p.8
https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf
Education Scotland p-47
