“The Low Bridge to High Benefits: Entry-Level Multimedia, Literacies, and Motivation,” by Daniel Anderson

Anderson, Daniel. “The Low Bridge to High Benefits: Entry-Level Multimedia,
Literacies, and Motivation.” Computers and Composition. 25.1 (2008): 40-60.

Anderson begins by situating the work he is doing with his students within the context of the New London Group’s concept of social design. The idea of social design and multiliteracies  supports the use of multimedia as student text. The gist of this article is that instructors can use minimum, low level (often free) software tools to engage students in creative multimedia projects that require them to write, think and analyze perhaps even more than traditional academic texts would.

The low bridge to high benefits describes the minimal effort required to learn and adapt to readily available software programs (on behalf of both teachers and students) in order to reach a high level of interest and engagement among students. Anderson then discusses examples of student work and student responses to the multimedia projects he assigns. Anderson provides examples of students creating photo collages in response to literature, and how students create playlists to go along with pieces of literature. He specifically discusses the use of the free software program Audacity, but he does not give any details about the software used for the collage projects.

Of particular interest to me is how Anderson lets students produce multimedia texts as a response to literature. Likewise, his article provides a model for the kind of work I am doing and the kind of writing I can do about my use of student-produced multimedia texts. He makes a good point that students can become excited and engaged in their work when given the opportunity to create multimedia texts. It requires little effort to incorporate these strategies into the classroom when using free software applications that are readily available online.