Introduction and how to use this resource

Storytelling in any format is about making meaning. While the essence of the stories we tell may remain the same, the
ways in which we can now share these stories have changed dramatically with the development of digital communication
technologies. Access to simple, easy to use media production tools and resources in conjunction with the potential for
immediate and universal online publication has significant implications for literacy thinking and practice.

This website is an evolving compilation of resources designed to support the development of student multimodal authoring
at all year levels. It features examples of different types of student multimodal compositions to demonstrate the rich
variety of choices available, along with practical resources to support text production.

What does creating multimodal texts mean?

Creating is defined in the Australian Curriculum as ‘the development and/or production of spoken, written or multimodal
texts in print or digital forms’ and is an embedded literacy expectation across all disciplines.

Multimodal is defined in the Australian Curriculum as the strategic use of ‘two or more communication modes‘ to make
meaning, for example, image, gesture, music, spoken language, and written language.

What is a multimodal text?

While the development of multimodal literacy is strongly associated with the growth of digital communication
technologies, multimodal is not synonymous with digital. The choice of media for multimodal text creation is therefore
always an important consideration.

A multimodal text can be paper – such as books, comics, posters.

A multimodal text can be digital – from slide presentations, e-books, blogs, e-posters, web pages, and social media, through
to animation, film and video games.

A multimodal text can be live – a performance or an event.

And, a multimodal text can be transmedia– where the story is told using ‘multiple delivery channels’ through a combination
of media platforms, for example, book, comic, magazine, film, web series, and video game mediums all working as part of
the same story. Transmedia is a contested term and Henry Jenkins is worth reading for more background. Jenkins argues
that transmedia is more than just multiple media platforms, it is about the logical relations between these media
extensions which seek to add something to the story as it moves from one medium to another, not just adaptation or
retelling. Transmedia enables the further development of the story world through each new medium; for example offering
a back story, a prequel, additional ‘episodes’, or further insight into characters and plot elements. (Jenkins, 2011). It also
can require a more complex production process.
Development of multimodal literacy knowledge and skills

To enable our students to effectively design and communicate meaning through such rich and potentially complex texts,
we need to extend their (and along the way, our own) multimodal literacy knowledge and skills. Skilled multimodal
composition requires new literacy design skills and knowledge to enable students to make informed choices within and
across the available communication modes to effectively construct meaning.

Creating a multimodal text, a digital animation, for example, is a complex meaning design process requiring the strategic
orchestration of a combination of modes such as image, movement, sound, spatial design, gesture, and language. The
process of constructing such texts is also truly a cross-disciplinary literacy process, drawing on digital information
technologies and The Arts (media, music, drama, visual arts, design) to bring meaning to life.