Blog 4 : Multimodal Writing

Jeff Bezemer and Gunther Kress’s “ Writing in Multimodal Texts: A social Semiotic Account of Designs for Learning” analyzed textbooks published between 1930 and 2005.  They observed the mode of images and its role in teaching and learning. They also considered the pros and cons in the design of representation of these textbooks between the above-mentioned times. They, in addition, hashed out the mode of image and sound and their function in multimodal compositions, for example Web-based textbooks. They insinuated that these multimodal compositions are socially and culturally shaped, thus meaning making is socially and culturally based. 

Bezemer and Kress believe that writing is being displaced by image as the central mode for presentation (233).  The point that images can compliment texts in meaning making is to acknowledge an important shift in how textbooks used to be designed in the past and, how there have been paradigm shifts in the present designs of textbooks.  Design here refers to the principles of composition. The compositions of textbooks with pages on Web dealing with the same issues have greater effects when writing is combined with images claim Bezemer and Kress (234).   It is a fact that textbooks creators have understand that the visuals are an important part in meaning making especially to students who are between elementary and secondary levels.

Bezemer and Kress put forward two concepts, which discusses the change in the design of representations, transformation and transduction.  A transformation refers to the changes in mode (235).  Mode is the “socially and culturally shaped resource for making meaning.” Examples of this are images, writing, layout, speech and moving images.  Modes also have modal resources, for example, in writing its syntax or grammar; in images its font type, size color, shape, or icons; speech has loudness, pitch, tone and so on.  Speech and writing share the resources of syntax, grammar and lexis.  Transduction refers to the changes within a mode. It also means the move across modes for example using multimedia as a means of distributing media (235).

It seems that mode and medium, another concept, are similar. They are supposedly considered together but there are subtle differences.  Medium is the material through which meaning becomes available. Thus, computers are a part in the meaning making (238).  Computers, newspapers, billboards, radio and television, to list a few are a part of meaning making. Bezemer and Kress describe the frames available as mediums for example the space on blank sheet of paper or the double page spread in a book (239).

The combining of images and texts is something that was new and trendy at the turn of the 21^st century.  There is a greater shift in the changing modes and media which Bezemer and Kress pointed out in their three examples of Transduction (242-255).  The first example being, the use of an image of a protractor to teach measuring angles in a textbook (242-243). This proved there were losses in specificity that is, missing out on tactile experiences of the actor per se, that is, lining up the protractor (artifact) with the vertex and ensuring that the baseline also lines up without shifting the vertex resulting in an inaccurate measurement.  On the other hand, the change in the modes from action to Moving image and speech utilizes the artifact and action and the use of moving image for the transduction of artifact and action the use of moving image for the transduction of action which enhances learning not really dumbing it down (245).  Thus, learning a topic online or learning a lesson per se on YouTube video may nail a concept faster for a student on the same concept than if one would read a textbook which may or may not use illustrations. The reason being is that meaning making is made more effective through speech and video. In other words, this is considered reconceptualization since “moving meaning material from one context with social organization of participants and its modal ensembles to another with its different organization and modal ensembles”(248).

Anne Frances Wysocki in (awaywithwords: On the Possibilities in Unavailable designs” analyzes connection between modes and media when the presenter makes a deliberate choice their mode of communication in Bezemer and Kress. She explains that meaning is also made in a historical sense, along with the cultural political, social and technological restraints. Thus, medium in Bezemer and Kress is rather a perceived affordance, dependent on the meaning maker’s cultural political, social and technological restraints.  Hence, there is value in understanding space for multimedia composers.  She also went on to show how space in the design is a big deal, grammatical and for meaning purpose. For example “awaywithwords” was a sneaky way of getting her point across, when the space between the words were removed, “a way with words” connotes an entire different meaning. This wasn’t expected. In fact Wysocki’s point is that “what is expected by a particular audience in a particular context but also what they might not expect, what they might not be prepared to see.”  Is this the un-designed?  

The Web has so many mediums that make allowances for what students might learn.  This is the era of visual age, where the visual, has gain importance. However, text will still play an integral role, where both text and visual will aid composition designs. Bezemer and Kress alluded that “ As frames change, new sites of display are created.” The frame is the book, or the material, and the site of display refers to its layout. The author decides on the content and as to whether or not they have communicated what they need to, using the parameters of those frames.   The computer is a medium.  Is the personal computer also a mode? Since, meaning is interconnected with the designer and meaning maker, that is, those who are interacting with the various sites of displays on the Web. 

Nonetheless, here is another examples of how transduction works with other modes of transduction.  The changing social sites may make a content area more interesting.  Its ability to get across meaning, is to, realized the value or purpose of the topic being covered and using visuals including test to convey meaning effectively.