Transmediation

The goal of this class is to expand what it means to read a text. We are all a part of an audience for all kinds of messages in the media, art, literature, etc. We want our students to be prepared to live in the age of information where they are constantly presented with ideas, messages, and images that may influence or teach them. We want to give them the skills or analysis and interpretation, but also creation and creativity. By better understanding the various mediums for getting messages across, our students will excel at expressing themselves in society.

Transmediation is the process of translating a work into a different medium. In this day and age, it is rare that people will use one method of communication for their thoughts and ideas. That is why we aim to introduce our students to various methods for expression and reception so that they will be exposed to multiple literacies.

We have completed extensive research to develop our ideas about transmediation and multiple literacies. Here are some excerpts that might help in understanding this class:

“Most people think that text is printed words on a page. However, this is problematic because too many other ‘texts’ without print are meant to be read and interpreted. For example, music, presentations, road signs, videos, and lab demonstrations require students to think, comprehend, and interpret content information.” – Linda Wedwick, et. al., Broadening the Lens of Literacy

“Literacy today is more than reading and writing. Being literate in the 21st century takes the ability to critically access, interpret, and create meaning through multiple forms of expression. Alternate forms of communication—such as art, music, drama, dance, multimedia, digital media, technologies, and film—play a crucial role in helping students cultivate these skills.” – Peggy Albers & Jennifer Sanders, Literacies, the Arts, and Multimodality

“Just as we teach students to be aware of author purpose and text structure in reading, we must also help them identify such organizational structures in viewing and representing ideas through popular and electronic media.” – Valerie A. Stokes, ReadWriteThink.org

“For students reading these texts, the challenge is to navigate among the different genres, understanding them individually as well as exploring the ways that they are connected and interrelated… Students need the opportunity to explore multigenre texts as a part of the process of their reading development to learn and explore the strategies that weave the many different kinds of texts into a single story or idea-especially before they attempt to write multigenre texts of their own.” – Traci Gardner, ReadWriteThink.org