PORTFOLIO:ANNOTATED MULTIMODAL RESOURCES

Joanne Hui, Vicky ChenLLED 361 927

Henry LeeUniversity of British Columbia

July 27, 2018

1. myshakespeare.com

myShakespeare describes itself as an online digital artifact which aims to deliver

"full-text, interactive editions of [Shakespeare's] plays...replac[ing] traditional footnotes

with multimedia resources for the 21st-century student" (myshakespeare.com). The

resource currently features four of Shakespeare's most famous plays: Hamlet, Julius

Caesar, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. Each play is transformed into an interactive

text offering a variety of easy, intuitive, and helpful tools students and teachers can

access as they study Shakespeare's works, and focuses on aspects surrounding

multimodality and reading. These features include:

1. Modern English translation: Users can click to open the modern translation of the lines, scenes, and acts. This makes Shakespeare's jargon more accessible for all readers. This is exemplary for students who want to be challenged, or wish to analyze the play in its original language, as the translation is hidden unless necessary (unlike SparkNotes, which offers the translation alongside the original).

2. Interline Glossary: The resource offers elaborations on the meaning behind archaic words used during the Elizabethan period between lines.

3. Audio recordings: Students who have difficulties reading or prefer an audio version of the play can access recordings of the text being read aloud on the sidebar.

4. Notes and videos: Between the various scenes and acts of the play, the artifact offers small side-notes examining literary devices, wordplay, and the historical context of the work, as well as videos analyzing the characters in an interview format. There are performance videos available as well.

myShakespeare.com, Hamlet Act I Scene i (colours correspond to number of feature)

These features provide accessible resources for texts which students and teachers

often find challenging to read in a variety of formats to suit the diverse learning needs of

the classroom. In providing both audio and visual materials, this online resource is

adapted for English Language Learners (ELL), as well as students who may have

learning disabilities in regards to reading (eg. dyslexia), or whose particular strengths lie

in interpreting sound and imagery. In addition, it provides a variety of perspectives with

which students may use to approach the text, including multimodal ways of thinking. As

Dziedzic (2002) notes in his article on the blending and hybrid understandings which

arise from multimedia and multimodal approaches, myShakespeare similarly uses

"short film clips to help define the literary, dramatic, and cinematic in more concrete

terms" (p. 70). Students are able to visualize and study the plays from performative,

historical, and or literary contexts which frame the play through different lenses. During

my practicum, I implemented this resource when teaching my Hamlet unit, wherein

many of my students appreciated the reading resource, and its role in their reading

comprehension of the play, including thinking about its performance from different

perspectives, and re-enacting character voices using these newfound perspectives.

A potential downfall of this resource is similar to the weakness that comes with

letting students use any type of supplementary study guide when studying texts, such

as SparkNotes or eNotes—that is, a lack of critical engagement. These resources

provide thoughtful summaries and analyses, which are often used as substitutes for

reading and interpreting the text. Chappel (2018) mentions that the educator Tom in her

article had engaged students in "close reading strategies" and "allowed his students to

question the ancient text, thereby engaging with and critiquing it," which ultimately made

for a successful unit and an immersive learning experience for both his students and

himself (p. 35-36). For challenging texts such as Shakespeare, there is a high risk of

students passively engaging with the material in its “easy” format, as the original text is

extremely difficult and inaccessible for many, and a plethora of material is available

online. I am reminded of my own undergraduate years, where it was easier to navigate

pre-made and readily available analyses of a text than to confront my struggles with it.

During my unit, I explicitly stated that my students were allowed to access SparkNotes

or myShakespeare in the reading process (particularly my ELL and IEP students), as I

knew they would do so anyway. However, I also made it clear that we would be close

reading passages and select scenes from the play in class in its original format, and that

the level of critical thinking from SparkNotes’ analyses would be insufficient for an

exceeding expectations grade. I wanted to challenge my students, but in an

environment where they would feel safe, supported, and a sense of community when

taking risks and confronting their struggles. Through an array of classwide and group

activities, including those which required students to provide their own modern

translations of Hamlet’s soliloquies, I saw critical thinking extending far beyond the

superficialities of summaries online. Rather than dismissing resources such as this for

providing a passive reading experience, teachers may consider using it as an access

point in order to bridge the gap between inexperience and challenge. Grady (2017)

speaks about classroom spaces and “our courses [as] points of access in which

students learn how their talents and intellect might apply to...fields of English that

desperately need diversification on myriad fronts” (p. 539). It provides an accessible

lens when reading the text so that students feel more comfortable exploring past

“something...pulled off of SparkNotes” (Chappel 2018, p. 37).

2. l ingro

lingro is “a free, multilingual AJAX (meaning multi-web application, multi-function)

dictionary and language learning website” used to support language and literacy

acquisition, as well as reading comprehension of difficult and jargon-heavy websites or

texts (lingro.com). It currently offers translations of websites and pieces of writing into

eight languages (a variety of European languages and Spanish) and collaborative

opportunities to edit and improve upon the open dictionaries it sources, similar to

Wikipedia. The process is user-friendly and convenient:

lingro.com instructions and example using http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympics

Every distinct word on the website or text is able to be immediately defined and

translated using a variety of online, open-source dictionaries, including slang and

colloquialisms. In addition, the user is able to bookmark definitions, websites,

translations, and search histories, ultimately enabling them to create a portfolio or

personalized dictionary that they may use for specific units.

The resource would be ideal in an ELL or English Language Arts (ELA)

classroom to support students in literacy. Furthermore, any language-based secondary

classroom (French, Spanish, etc.) may find uses for this resource due to its translation

services. However, it has potential across all contexts, as many scholarly articles

present challenges in accessibility and digestibility due to academia-specific jargon, and

an immediate language-processing resource supports students in processing readings

at their own pace, while alleviating the task of some initial frontloading or defining by the

teacher. Like Duff (2001) notes, “highlighting the role of language in learning across the

curriculum is seen to be beneficial to all learners” (p. 106). As a result, students can

become more self-directed in developing their literacy skills and understanding of the

subject content—they build work habits as they take learning into their own hands. For

educators stepping into the realm of incorporating the digital into their classrooms and

its possibilities, this resource introduces the use of digital technology without a dramatic

shift in approach, making it less daunting—both in terms of material and language

content—for ELL students who are transitioning into mainstream classes. Duff (2001)

highlights the challenges international students face, where they are pressured into

“master[ing] the sophisticated academic English, literacy skills, and subject matter,”

meeting “heavy academic demands” in “relatively little time” (p. 104). They must

simultaneously navigate both the language structure and its content delivery in a

specific North-American, Western-centric institution and culture. Many of my ELL

students’ desks (who recently entered the mainstream ELA classroom) would be

covered in dictionaries, thesauruses, electronic translators and their phones a multitude

of language applications. The convenience of having this simple resource replace a

significant number of these materials can help alleviate some of this stress without the

self-consciousness that may arise from “relying” on extra support.

One possible caveat that exists with any resource offering translation or

dictionary services is a heavy dependency on the external material, leading to slower

language development. Students may begin to rely on translation or definition services,

rather than practicing and familiarizing themselves with specific elements of the

language. I am personally guilty of Google Translating certain French assignments in

high school and editing the results. lingro in particular presents some of these risks as it

contextualizes each word in an article or website, which can be both advantageous and

disadvantageous. As these resources are often not allowed in exams or certain settings,

students who rely on them may find themselves in situations without support. lingro and

resources offering similar services better serve as transitioning and editing tools while

building on literacy skills, especially as they are openly-sourced and can be edited by

different users.

Finally, lingro offers translation services in just eight languages, most of them

European-based, and some students may feel underrepresented or unsupported if this

is the sole recommended resource. The sense of belonging and community with which

we strive to welcome international students into our mainstream classes with includes

promoting languages from all around the world. Many of the activities we as teacher

candidates have been introduced to in the program involve community-building

exercises, such as writing out greetings in various languages or looking at cultural

backgrounds from a diverse range. To showcase explicit value and the importance of

students’ backgrounds is something that cultivates confidence and pride in them, and to

exclude any would be detrimental. Thus, lingro offers support in the form of defining

new, unfamiliar jargon, as well as editing and browsing, but should not be relied upon

heavily as a language development tool, nor as an “inclusive” element. We as educators

should strive to incorporate not just resources to enhance ELL accommodation and

accessibility, but an emphasis that diverse backgrounds are quintessential for

understanding the world. Gallagher and Ntelioglou (2011) show us the benefits of this

as “[w]hen students’ prior knowledge, identity and culture are validated, not simply as

background story or as token forms of inclusion but as the main context for their work,

students are more willing to invest themselves in their learning process and move

beyond what they already know” (p. 329). All language and literacy based resources

should ultimately strive to “accomodat[e] diverse groups of learners and provid[e] the

necessary scaffolding to ensure equitable access to the curriculum and the potential for

all students to learn and succeed” (Duff 2001, p. 123).

Works Cited

Chappel, J. J. (2018). Tackling teacher lack of knowledge when reading cross-culturally. English Journal, 107(5), 33-38.

Duff, P. A. (2001). Language, literacy, content, and (pop) culture: Challenges for ESL students in mainstream courses. Canadian Modern Language Review, 58(1), 103-132.

Dziedzic, B. B. (2002). When multigenre meets multimedia: Reading films to understand books. English Journal, 92(2), 69-75.

Gallagher, K., & Ntelioglou, B. Y. (2011). Which new literacies? Dialogue and performance in youth writing. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 54(5), 322-330.