Multimodal Composition 2011

Here is the text from the AudioBoo invitation to the October 2011 KUWC Workshop

Audioboo

Hello and welcome. You are invited to Beyond Microsoft Word – Creating Multimodal Compositions. You may have noticed that the word composition has traditionally been used for both academic written essays and musical scores. Come to the workshop where we expand this word even further and explore the ideas of the many different digital ways to compose meaning and send messages. Take composition beyond the Word document into an inter-textual learning space.

Multimodal Composition 2011

See you there!

So There: Culture and Language

"So There!" he said after he answered my question. I asked another question; he answered and finished, "So There!" After my third question that resulted in the same finish, I was almost chuckling.

For me the words, "So There" invoke images of third grade bickering children. The words, "so there" were, in my cultural frame of reference, an in your face response to some sort of challenge or accusation. Nice children did not say these words.

However, I was talking to a very nice young man on the phone who was attempting to answer my software ordering questions. He was cordial and positive with each of his answers. But, at the conclusion of each answer were the words "So there!" spoken with great emphasis.

The man with whom I spoke obviously had a very high level of language training. He was from another country, but he had very little accent; he spoke clearly and was pleasant. It seemed like it may have been part of his training.

For him - he was proud of his clear communication and following his training.
For me - I was wondering at the strange response and trying not to giggle or start a third grade fight.

Nuance, connotation, and culture in language create connection, gaps and (apparently) giggles. I am always amazed at the potential to offend, misspeak, and create misunderstanding every time we communicate. But, it does not take someone from another country to create these gaps in communication. People from across the country or across the street can just as easily confuse us. Our life has shaped our language(s).

This instance reminded me of the need to try to always see the other person's point of view and the importance of thinking through a whole conversation, email, or communication before responding.

So there!

Using Minutes to Gain Hours or Writing in the Spaces of Life

There is this idea that writers must spend hours sitting alone to compose and revise a text. There are many famous writers who write about their writing process, and they describe sitting alone at a desk waiting for the muse to come. Now granted, there is a lot to be said scheduling time to write. It is a good plan. If you are a well paid published writer, maybe this is an option for you, but if you have a job, a family, or a life of any kind, sitting alone in the mountain cabin for 6 months to write your novel or academic essay may not be an option today. It is not an option for me at the moment. Don’t get me wrong; I love that pastoral dream, and maybe, one day, I will give to live it. But today, my reality involves, driving my son to school, working a full time job, doing laundry, feeding the dog, and getting the writing done.

The reality is I often write while the dog drools on my foot and my son swims for 20 minutes in the pool before needing an emergency popsicle. If I need a whole hour to myself, I wake up early or edit in the middle of the night while the house sleeps. (I can usually still count on dog drool even at these hours.) I do not want to sound overly dedicated here; I spend a lot of time coming up with reasons not to write. Life is busy and reasons are easy to find.

Writing has to happen while we live. We have to fit it in, or it won’t get done.

We must write within the spaces of our lives, and to use the words of my freshman high school English teacher we must, “use minutes to gain hours” to get our writing done.

Saving the Indian Boy - Capturing our stories

"I pulled an Indian boy out of Tonto creek too."

This line appears at the end of a story about an afternoon in Northern Arizona Boy Scout Camp in my grandfather's autobiography which he wrote when he was 18 years old. There is no other details, just this one line. The story has many details about a prank he played, but only one line about saving a boy's life. When asked about it now, at 86 years old, he shrugs; although, he can tell you with great detail how he had to leave camp early because he caught scarlet fever. He wrote this autobiography in the hull of submarine in World War II when he was 18 because my grandmother asked him to.
The value of writing an autobiography at 18 is he wrote about what was important to him up to that point in his life. If he were writing his autobiography today, he would write about his wife, children, and other large life events. But, we have captured, on paper, beautiful nuggets of life that tell who he was and explain who he is. We all need to tell our stories, but we need to tell them as we go. Capturing our stories, through blogging, journaling, vidoegraphy, throughout our is a gift to ourselves and others. When we value our lives enough to record at least bits and pieces, we embrace ourselves and our lives in whatever form they take. How do you journal?

Writer's Bock or Writer's Choice

Every day that I choose not to write it is harder to return. Lots of things bounce around in my head... I can't do it. It will be hard. What if I have no words that dazzle and amaze... The reality is this: If I do not write, there will be no words. So, I find for me, writer's block is really a writer's choice to not sit down and do the work. Sure there are lots of reasons: I don't know where to start; I feel afraid; I feel confused. . .This list is endless.

Somewhat like this well in the desert, I know that if I can get to the well, the words will poor forth like water.
What do you do to keep writing?

Inward Teacher

You are done. Your project is turned in. . .but. . .are you really done?

Parker J. Palmer (1998) says in his book The Courage to Teach:Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life "The kind of teaching that transforms people does not happen if the student's inward teacher is ignored" (p. 31).

It is my hope that you have connected experiences and skills from this class to your inner (or inward) lives. It is my hope that you have found some nugget of learning or truth that you can take with you. Maybe you learned about yourself and how you deal with deadlines or pressure. Maybe you have learned about your writing process. While this was obviously a writing class, something more lurks behind every learning experience. If we take a few moments and reflect, we can connect to our own inner teacher (our true teacher), listen to him or her, and walk away changed.

If you like, tell me what nuggets you think you may carry with you.

Revising or Reviving the Muse

Has anyone set their paper on fire yet?

At this point in the term, the romance of the paper is likely gone. This is okay. It is just another step in the writing process.

Pat yourself on the back you have been working hard.

Take time this week to take a break and feed your muse. Do those things that inspire you; take a hike; go shopping; sit under a tree and drink lemonade, but do something that rekindles your creative spirit. Then, come back to your paper renewed and refreshed for the final round next week.


Happy writing friends.