Chapter 4: Collaborating on Multimodal Projects

Citation: Pedersen, Anne-Marie and Carolyn Skinner. “Collaborating on Multimodal Projects.” Multimodal Composition: Resources for Teachers. Hampton Press, Cresskill, New Jersey, 2007. 39-47. Print.

 

Reading and Thinking

In reading chapter four, the complexity of multimodal projects and the different levels of skill and sensitivity each individual brings is important.These projects often demand high levels of collaboration and teamwork.Students can benefit from collaborative multimodal projects by supporting and encouraging one another. Collaboration can relieve any frustration or apprehension of learning a new technology. Simply by seeing what other group members bring to the project can inspire other students or spark renewed interest in the project. Those working in groups can provide emotional and intellectual support necessary in working with unfamiliar resources and technologies. Should students reach a high level of frustration due to software problems or even problems with getting the technology to work, this segment of the project can be handed off to another group member so that the frustrated student can then work on another aspect of  the assignment. Communication between group members is important and teachers should encourage an open dialogue between students by encouraging them to use a group online message board or some other means of maintaining contact within the group.