The importance of multiliteracies

Dear community,
We all learned much about multiliteracies over the last few weeks. What does
multiliteracy mean? What role does it play in the 21st century? I have never thought
about this topic before, but I think it is necessary to be aware of its importance.
Before the technological progress got as big as it is today, no one cared about new
ways of teaching. About fifty years ago, texts were only taught in verbal or written
forms, e.g. novels or poems. Since technology comes more into our daily life, the way
of teaching starts to change! In the past, communicating was writing letters or speaking
to each other. Today the possibilities of communication are endless and students have
to find their own way through this “jungle of media”. We as (future) teachers should try
to help our learners to prepare them for their future lives. They will benefit from our
work at school because the students will learn how to work with such a wide range of
possibilities. In the 21st century, it gets easier to communicate but there are also more
ways to do it. Even videos, QR codes or pictures can include written forms of language
and the role of multiliteracy is to combine it. Moreover, teaching with the help of digital
media can be useful for learners to get to know cultural and linguistic diversity in
education and society. Writing itself should not be underrated, because it is used in
connection with linguistic, visual, audio, gestural and spatial ways. With our help, our
(future) students can develop competencies to connect all these different modes
usefully.
So the role of multiliteracies is really important. Teachers should try their best to
prepare their students for their future, where the ability to work with digital media is
inevitable.
All the best,
Christin