Hess, Mickey. "Composing Multimodal Assignments." Multimodal Composition: Resources for Teachers. Ed. Cynthia L. Selfe. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2007: 29-37. Print.
The author supports open ended assignments for all composing, but especially for multimodal composing as it allows students to be more productive in thinking about the how and why of their projects. Theory, structure and choice, and circulation are the three pedagogical areas that the author says all teachers who compose open ended assignments need to address. He suggests revising and revitalizing theories of composition, and in turn keeping in mind that these multimodal assignments need to function within existing pedagogy. The author examines rhetorical canons as evidence and support for multimodal assignments: allow students to use all available means. The majority of the chapter focuses on a sample assignment that allows for different modalities, group work, exploration and reflection. They also encourage faculty to create their own multimodal compositions in order to offer tips for success. Hess also argues that circulation is necessary in considering assignment design because multimodal assignments allow for a wider range of delivery. At the end of the chapter a to do list is offered that suggests making a timeline, devoting time to the tech side, inviting specialists into the classroom, design with peer response in mind, remind students to incorporate writing in this composing process, and help students engage in research.
I liked the open-ended assignment suggestions as well as the emphasis on using the modalities that best suit what you're trying to say. It felt like a bit of a how to, but like the previous chapter, I think it's something that is necessary at this point in the research/scholarship.
I particularly like the emphasis on this site being a Web 2.0 toolkit.
Catrina, I also found Hess'suggestion for using different modalities to best suit your message interesting. Multimodal composition offers an exciting new space for experimentation in improving the effectiveness and creativity of delivery and to achieve your rhetorical goals. Branscum and Toscano address this idea in Chapter 7 of Multimodal Composition. Their suggestion to foster experimentation, creativity, and flexibility can result in a rich learning environment. The open-ended assignment discussed in Chapter 3 fits into this framework nicely.
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