The word semiotic originates from the Greek semeîon , 'sign' and was first used by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure to describe the study of signs used to communicate which include not only text but sounds, gestures and body awareness. In contemporary usage among literacy researchers this phrase refers to being sensitive to the myriad possibilities or signs in which communication may be made (Batu, 2012 AU74: The in-text citation "Batu, 2012" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ; Kress, 2012 AU75: The in-text citation "Kress, 2012" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ; McDonald, 2012 AU76: The in-text citation "McDonald, 2012" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Published in Chapter:
Literacy Learning and Assessment for the Digital Age
April Marie Leach (Northcentral University, USA)
Copyright: © 2015
|Pages: 17
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-5888-2.ch249
Abstract
Multiple forms of media or multimodal media (MMM) available to communicate have expanded the definition of literacy beyond “alphabetical communication” and assessment (Kalantzis, & Cope, 2012; Kress, 2003; Kress, & Leeuwen, 2006). Reading and writing as traditional forms of literacy now encompass digital media. These technologies afford opportunities for the design of communication that incorporates the senses of sight, sound, and movement as part of the message. Newly possible modes of communication require of creators the ability to craft and manipulate these multiple modes of media, and require that interpreters formerly thought of as readers, develop the ability to understand these modes of meaning making as contemporary literacy pedagogy. Reconceptualizing both the interpretation of multiple modes of media and learning how to craft interdisciplinary MMM to address the requirements of the Common Core State Standards and college and career readiness is the new frontier in literacy learning in this first digital age.