Cooper, Lockyer and Brown study classrooms that use a Multiliteracies pedagogy. In this specific study, the students worked on a news media video story. Multiliteracies
recognises that a much broader view of literacy is required as a result of “multiplicity of communication channels and the
increasing cultural and linguistic diversity” (New London Group, 1996, p. 60). This recognises that learners need to be
competent both technologically and socially to address the reciprocity between these aspects of the digital world…This
study brought together elements of a range of previously bounded literacies – technology, information, visual and media literacy – as a defining framework for multiliteracies. (94)
Through the study, the authors discovered the following about a Multiliteracies pedagogy:
- “the implementation of such educational programs is dependent on the access to appropriate digital equipment” (104)
- More traditional analysis activities should be “included in the design of the [texts] to scaffold students understanding.” They should be designed to “provide overt instruction to engage students in transformed practice as they designed and construct…their” texts (104).
- The production of texts enables students a better understanding of the functional and critical literacies of text creation than only analyzing and viewing these kinds of texts (104).
- Students need more explicit instruction in information literacy (105).
- “Literacy education should include the construction of media as well as media analysis… [M]ultiliteracies development is supported through a pedagogy that provides students with the opportunity to become active meaning-makers” (95).
- “Generally, students learned these skills through trial-and-error or through help from other students, their teacher or other teachers with technology expertise in the school” (101).
Key Terms
- Multiliteracies: “able to analyse and construct multi-modal texts” (93); “the ability to comprehend visuals and the ability to communicate effectively through the creation of visual texts” (94)
- Technology-based literacies: “a social practice that involves learners using technology to engage with multimodal texts to construct knowledge in digital and other forms” (94)
- Information literacy: “the ability to recognise the need for information, research, locate, evaluate, synthesise and present information” (94)
- Media-based literacy: “the ability to decode, encode and produce media messages” (95)