Resource+5

= Resource 5 = =Resource: = [] - after you get to this site click on the "video and sound" section and the resource is the video that is there.   **Description of the Resource:** The resource I have picked is a rich multimodal text about koalas that consists of an information report style voice over, video and music. This video was found on National Geographic Kids and was created to engage kids with the different features of koalas. Within the video, the students learn about the habitat of koalas, some technical language, the features of koalas, the diet of koalas and the classification of koalas as marsupials.

=Relevance to the Focus Outcome: = LTS2.3 Identifies and describes the structure and function of living things and ways in which living things interact with other living and their environment. ||
 * Science and Technology – Living Things

The resource is relevant to this outcome because it gives factual information about koalas. The structure and function of koalas is outlined in this, as are the ways in which koalas interact with other living things in their environment – looking particularly at eucalyptus trees and koalas. Thus the focus outcome is clearly met through this resource.

=Aspect of Literacy Explored: = Certainly, literacy has become a much broader term with the advent of the Information Age. Luke et al put forth a more modern definition of literacy stating that “Literacy is the flexible and sustainable mastery of a repertoire of practices with texts of traditional and new communications technologies via spoken language, print and multimedia” (cited in Simpson Norris International, 2000, p. 20). Closely linked with this idea is that literacy is about understanding and making meaning across a range of different text types (Ewing, 2009). Thus the aspect of literacy that will be explored using this resource is multimodality; specifically how many different text types come together to create meaning in the resource.

However, in order for multimodality to be explored effectively, students will need to learn about “modal coherence” (Callow, 2010). This is how the meaning conveyed through each of the different parts of a multimodal text interact together to enhance the multimodal text as a whole. Multimodal texts where the different parts do not contribute to each other have low “modal coherence” (Callow, 2010). Thus the students will participate in, deconstruct and analyze the meaning that is conveyed through the voice over, through the music and through the video and then determine how these relate to each other and how they contribute to the multimodal text overall. In doing this, the students will determine the level of “modal coherence” (Callow, 2010) that is present in the resource.

Why have you picked this resource? This resource is an excellent example of how many different modes of texts can be used together in order to create meaning and position the audience in certain ways. The three layers of text in this resource successfully contribute to each other. The music creates a light mood and also adds humour to the text. The audio is like an information report conveyed in a voice over. This uses expression effectively to contribute to the light hearted nature of the text. Finally, the video contributes to the text as the voice over refers to it. Altogether, this multimodal text has high “modal coherence” (Callow, 2010). This is because not only are the different modes complementary, but they all contribute to the overall light mood of the text. In all, it is a highly rich multimodal text.

= **Reference List: ** =

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Callow, J. (2010, August 13). Exploring the resources available for teachers in planning non-fiction units of work which include multiliteracies, multimodality and interactivity. Note of Lecture.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ewing, R. (2008). What is literacy? Notes of Lecture.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Simpson Norris International & Murdoch University. Centre for Learning Change and Development, (2001). A literature search and analysis of the benefits of learning a language other than English to literacy development in English. Author: Canberra.