Creating multimodal texts in the middle years: students using multimodal semiotic design resources to construct and manipulate meaning in their 3D animated narratives

The landmark inclusion of Creating multimodal texts in the English Australian Curriculum (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2010) is timely recognition of multimodal literacy competence as both reading and writing multimodal texts. The ability to use the multimodal semiotic design resources of image, sound, movement and language in various combinations to construct meaning using new communication technologies, enables our students, and indeed us, to operate to capacity in a rapidly changing communication world. What is not yet clear is what theoretical or pedagogic bases are available to support teachers at the level of school, and classroom implementation. What literacy skills and knowledge do students require to competently construct and communicate meaning through the production of quality multimodal work that reflects the investment of time and effort in the process? How can literacy teachers facilitate this? To explore these questions, an Australian Research Council (ARC) project Teaching effective 3D authoring in the middle school years is seeking to develop concepts of multimodal grammatical design to support the structured composition of 3-D animated narratives by middle years students. This presentation presents a snapshot of early findings and case study data from one classroom within the larger study. Examples of student work and teaching resources developed for the project will demonstrate theory and practice working together in the process of introducing multimodal authoring through constructing 3D animated narratives. This begins with a focus on storytelling, creativity, narrative structure and genre leading to teaching scriptwriting for 3D animation. Learning about visual multimodal design elements leads to storyboarding where students can carefully consider possible multimodal design choices to manipulate meaning as they seek the best way to tell their story. Students then use the available multimodal design elements within the software affordances to bring their story to life as a 3D animation including sound. In conclusion, this session will identify some of the findings emerging from this case study to support the development of skilled multimodal authoring in the middle years.