Three suggestions for success on multimodal assignments
1) If you don't know exactly how a specific medium works, learn. Most social media and online platforms have extensive troubleshooting guides and many accompanying YouTube tutorials. Let's say, for example, I can't remember how sharing settings work for Prezi. When I google "share a Prezi," voilà:
Similarly, I faced an issue trying to view a Windows Media Player video on my Mac. I quickly learned that I needed a new video player, VHL, which was free and easy to find online. You have knowledgeable communities— and the power of Google— to help you with any issues you face with the new technologies you are using. Be proactive and a problem-solver.
2) Make the most of the chosen medium. Remember that the video you watched on creating multimodal documents asks you to "consider delivery and tools" available to you as you make a text using a specific medium. If you are making a Pinterest board, for instance, you should consider writing interactive captions for the images and links that you pin. If you are using a Tumblr, consider all of the design elements and text options available to you on that platform.
One Spring Session C 102 student created a Tumblr to describe her writing process. She titled the assignment appropriately— she sees her writing process as “messy”— and made great use of Tumblr blog design elements. She bolded the first sentence of each listed step, and accompanied the process with illustrative photos.
3) Remember what your textbook authors say about analyzing visuals critically. It is perfectly acceptable to include a picture of your favorite pen, for instance, when asked to find an image that represents your writing process. If the pen is important to you it can help me visualize you in your moment of inspiration. But also try to think a little outside the box: What kind of other image might capture the emotion of your inspiration, for instance? What kind of tone do you want the image to portray? Consider one 102 student’s description of her writing process:
Her picture selections and sketches are fun, but they’re also meaningful: The mushroom gives us an idea of solitude and quiet, as well as the kind of environment she seeks out when she begins writing (and even a sense of her in that environment). The assembly line of ideas helps us visualize how her brain works as it considers various ideas and makes possible connections, trying them each on for size. The photos enhance the text descriptions of her process, and they also offer us a sense of her whimsical creative energy.
