Thursday, February 19, 2009
Note: This e-learning task was attempted as a pair work by Zoie Kau and I.
Voloshinov (1986) mentioned that,
on the realities of the social and natural world."
This is agreed upon Allan Luke (1995) as he says that written texts are refractive in the way that they "actively construct and represent the world." Thus construing the fact that being able to read critically is an important skill to acquire such that one will be able to uncover the underlying ideologies, reality and relationship depicted by the text makers in a particular cultural context.
Following Freebody and Luke’s (1990) four‐part model for “Reading as Critical Social Practice”, I will attempt to analyse a multimodal advertisement that was found at bus-stop stands in Singapore using the 4 elements of the model - Coding, Semantic, Pragmatic, and Critical Competences.
Coding Competence (How do I crack this?)
Firstly, there is a danger sign pasted right in the middle of a popular handheld game set, and even if one is illiterate, there is a icon
with an exclamation mark, which non-arbitrarily relates to the action of 'warning'.
Furthermore, the danger sign made use of colours like yellow and black to emphasize the warning as the two colours have a non-arbitrary relationship with danger (Just like bees).
Framing was used to separate the word 'Danger' and the icon from the rest of the text. The word 'Danger' and the icon are emphasized through the use of a larger font size and it is placed right at the top of the whole text. The next most prominent message has the second largest font size and the two-liner text is placed right in the center of the whole text. Textually, the message is to be read in a left-right directionality, which is usually the norm for texts.
At the bottom left, there's a small logo belonging to Health Promotion Board, the initiators of the advertisement.Firstly, there is a danger sign pasted right in the middle of a popular handheld game set, and even if one is illiterate, there is a icon
with an exclamation mark, which non-arbitrarily relates to the action of 'warning'.Furthermore, the danger sign made use of colours like yellow and black to emphasize the warning as the two colours have a non-arbitrary relationship with danger (Just like bees).
Framing was used to separate the word 'Danger' and the icon from the rest of the text. The word 'Danger' and the icon are emphasized through the use of a larger font size and it is placed right at the top of the whole text. The next most prominent message has the second largest font size and the two-liner text is placed right in the center of the whole text. Textually, the message is to be read in a left-right directionality, which is usually the norm for texts.
Semantic Competence (What does this mean?)
On the danger sign, we can see the following message,
DANGER
PROLONGED USE MAY HARM CHILDREN'S EYES.
Minimise time spent on unnecessary near work such as playing handphone or handheld computer games. Instead, encourage your child to spend more time outdoors.
Keep myopia at bay, go outdoors and play.
Armed with a basic alphabetic, spelling, punctuation knowledge and phonemic and phonological awareness, one will be able understand that the message is trying to say that devices such as handheld computer games and handphones may harm children's eyes in the long run and lead to myopia. Children are better off playing outdoors.
Pragmatic Competence (What do I do with this, here and now?)
By pasting the danger sign on the handheld game set, the advertisers are trying to show that there is some sort of danger lurking in the handheld game set. But is the gaming devices really so dangerous to children that it deserves to be pasted with a ‘Danger’ sign? From the message, it does not seem to be that dangerous since only ‘prolonged’ use MAY harm children’s eyes. Maybe the message has less to do with myopia than getting parents to let their children lead a more active lifestyle. The reason for saying so is based on the advice given by the Health Promotion Board that parents should “instead, encourage your child to spend more time outdoors. Keep myopia at bay, go outdoors and play”.
Critical Competence (What is the text trying to do to me? In whose interests?)
This illustrates the multimodality of this advertisement which uses image and text to achieve the effects they want on its audience. The image is cleverly used so that the ad makers do not need to explicitly spell out what is harmful, the audience can see for themselves. The likely target audience of this advertisement is parents/caregivers of children as they are usually the ones who indulge their children in these devices, which results in their children’s addiction to these gaming devices. Due to the authority of parents, it is also assumed that they have the ability to remove such harmful devices from their children’s life.The power play in this advertisement is between the Health Promotion Board and the parents/caregivers, who are supposedly the target audience. The Health Promotion Board, being a government body, is seen to be more knowledgeable in this particular domain than the general public, thus when they are trying to appeal to the parents/ caregivers to take care of their children’s eyes, their message is given in the form of a warning. This can be seen from the prominent use of imperatives in the text.
It seems like the text is genuinely based on the interests of the children as they are the pillars of the nation, therefore, their general health and even possible addiction to gaming (which is seen as a vice here) will affect the productivity of the country in future.
Critical reading activities (Sec 2 students)
Firstly, to start off a critical reading session with this target audience, the selection of the everyday text(s) must be one that is relevant and of interest to them. We also recall the concept of ‘hybridity’ in our selection of the texts. In this case, three texts bearing messages of anti-drug abuse have been selected. They were selected because the intention and message of the writer of these texts have been made known in secondary schools but in different modes (usually in the form of speeches or presentations). It would then be interesting for the students to decode and make meaning of these texts that are presented in a different form.
It is clearly shown that these texts bear a resemblance to some children narratives that are sold in the bookstores. A possible interpretation could be that children narratives have always been seen as fairytales/far-fetched stories, imaginative etc. Basically, these stories do not have an impact or influence on readers. Such thinking could be perceived by many non-drug users these days whereby they think that drug abuse does not concern them or there is no possibility that they could be one. However, this text, with the type of words and semantic structure seem to suggest otherwise. It gives the possibility that anyone could be a drug user, and when you are one, the good life you had previously would be gone. The names and characters portrayed by the images bears relation to anyone who shares the same lifestyle as the characters mentioned.
The critical reading model that was mentioned above could be used to help the students critically read this message as they seek to learn their roles as a code breaker, text participant, text user and text analyst. The teacher first introduces what each element of competence entails and uses simpler texts to illustrate. Next, for the actual activity of the above selected texts, the ‘Jigsaw’ approach could be used. The students can be grouped into the respective four competencies to discuss what the text means in each element of competency. Next, the four groups are re-grouped to form smaller groups which comprises of a member of each competency group. They can then, together, form their interpretation or meaning of the text.
Some questions that the students may ask when they are in their element of competency group are:
- What message does the image gives?
- What genre of text is this text similar to? Why does the writer choose to use this similarity? What message is he trying to bring across through this similarity?
- What is your first impression of this text?
- Does the intended message of this text match the first –impression of this text? What is the meaning and reason behind this mis-match?
- What is being foregrounded and backgrounded in the texts?
- What kind of function do the words in the text do?
Labels: Allan Luke's Rethinking Reading in New Times: E-learning activity
5:49 AM
Monday, February 16, 2009
After reading through both Gee and Gutierrez's articles, I gather that Gee's mentioning of the primary and secondary discourses in literacy is an introductory to the acquisition, learning and control of language(s) that almost everyone of us will experience in our lifetime.
However, Gutierrez's concept of hybridity highlights that in the midst of having tensions or conflicts between hybrid language practices (E.g. Different languages that children bring to class), we should actually recognise and make use of these tensions and conflicts to create 'third spaces', which are compared to Zygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development--> Used to describe a child's ability to do certain tasks with help or assistance. The essence of these 'third spaces' is that there will be bridging between home and school, especially for children from non-mainstream homes.
Here's a summary of what I understood from Gee and Gutierrez's articles...
Hope you guys can understand my linkages =)
In addition, I have found a PowerPoint that sums up what we are learning on hybridity with concise explanations, picture illustrations and also a research that has been carried out to showcase the creation of 'Third Space' in a language classroom.
Here are some sneak previews of what we can learn from it:
Labels: Gutierrez and James Gee's article response
8:14 AM
Saturday, February 07, 2009
This post is a continuation from the previous as I will be trying my hands on analysing how the mode, logics and affordances interact in various multimodal productions.
1)Typolution
Inspired by Natalie, I went on to search for more videos on typography and I came across so many interesting productions! This is one of my favourite ones as it has some educational meaning to it. This video uses mixed logics (time-based and space-based) to incorporate letters, illustrations, music and animation, in order to bring across the message of saving the environment. There was a clever use of music to dramatize the whole animation and at the same time, letters were chosen based on their forms to match the things that they signify.
I would think that the affordance of using simple black and white in the video is to show the seriousness of the issue and that it should not be taken lightly.
In terms of the music used, it started off with a rather slow and soft music, which got quicker after a while. To me, it represents the slow pace of life before and how it increased its speed with industralisation + globalisation + technological advances.
The music changed abruptly to even faster beats and heavier base when it shows the rising of 'industrial factories' which contribute to air pollution. The air pollution then resulted in acid rain which eroded the factories and all the living things. I would think that the change in music gives me an idea about what is salient in the whole video, which makes me pay extra attention to that.
Lastly, I feel that the blurring of the fallen petals at the end of the video represents how we are destroying our environment to the extent that it is fading away before our very eyes.
This is all the analysis I have for this video. What else can you think of?
2) NEmation: Mingle with Lingo
This is a very entertaining video that I first saw on TVmobile and I found the mixed media very interesting. The video was created by a group of students in Crescent Girls' School for the NEmation competition. Through this competition, youths can express their notions on Total Defence through animation.
The fonts of this video are based on a ransom note effect (Wikipedia: The result of using an excessive number of juxtaposed typefaces) in typography while the other images and characters are mainly made up of collages. This video again uses mixed logics in conveying the relationship between the various Coffee Shop Lingo and the drinks they represent.
The fonts of this video are based on a ransom note effect (Wikipedia: The result of using an excessive number of juxtaposed typefaces) in typography while the other images and characters are mainly made up of collages. This video again uses mixed logics in conveying the relationship between the various Coffee Shop Lingo and the drinks they represent.
The very first greeting that says "Hey Singaporeans" striked me as trying to appeal to locals due to the deliberate 'Singlish' pronunciation of the word, 'Singaporeans' as 'Singapoleans' (/sɪŋ gə pɔ lɪənz/). Besides the initial 'Singlish' pronunciation, the rest of the commentary totally omitted the 'Singlish' pronunciation. This I feel, was trying to reflect the more educated new generation trying to preserve the Singapore culture and striving to be true blue Singaporeans.
Besides the commentator's voice, there were sound effects throughout the video to add a touch of humour. In addition to the sound effects, the multi-coloured letters as well as the characters' comical movements leaves a smile on viewers' faces. It seems to me that viewers will be easily captured by such use of humour and the informality of the message. (I'm one of them!)
In the section where the phrase "Dai Ga Ho" was screened, characters of different ethnicity came together to recite the phrase. In my opinion, this creates the effect of inclusion for people of all ethnicities in doing their parts for Total defence.
The last message in the video, "Lim (Hokkien for 'drink') our Milo, learn our Lingo" makes use rhyming words to make their message catchy. The everyday lingo was incorporated here to again reinforce their message of appealing to the true blue Singaporeans in Total Defence.
To end off, here's a list of videos that I found really interesting that you can try to analyse for the interaction of their mode, logics and affordances. Enjoy!
Besides the commentator's voice, there were sound effects throughout the video to add a touch of humour. In addition to the sound effects, the multi-coloured letters as well as the characters' comical movements leaves a smile on viewers' faces. It seems to me that viewers will be easily captured by such use of humour and the informality of the message. (I'm one of them!)
In the section where the phrase "Dai Ga Ho" was screened, characters of different ethnicity came together to recite the phrase. In my opinion, this creates the effect of inclusion for people of all ethnicities in doing their parts for Total defence.
The last message in the video, "Lim (Hokkien for 'drink') our Milo, learn our Lingo" makes use rhyming words to make their message catchy. The everyday lingo was incorporated here to again reinforce their message of appealing to the true blue Singaporeans in Total Defence.
To side track a little, I felt that the Coffee Shop Lingo displays the creativity of coffeeshop bosses/workers in making use of the characteristics of words and items to relate to drinks.
Singaporeans Rock!
Labels: Gunther Kress The Futures of Literacy Analysis
10:42 PM
In this blog post, I'll be discussing about the Past & Present of modes, logics and affordances.
The modes available in the past were dominated by writing and later, images. However, with the advent of technology, the modes of representation are no longer restricted to the two. Instead, different forms of modes started coming up and in some domains, even took over the traditional written forms to create new affordances. Example, videos, digital media etc.
The two modes, namely, writing and images, have different materialities and are governed by distinctlogics.
Writing, which is a time-based mode, is governed by the logic of time. This means that meaning is made temporally.
Images on the other hand, is a space-based mode and it is governed by the logic of space. As such, meaning is made based on the placement of elements in the space of representation.
The possibilities that each mode of representation brings about in meaning making are very limited and they are definitely not able to satisfy the new age demands for creativity and innovations. Therefore, the future of literacy requests for:
- a mix of modes to perform complementary functions (multimodal)
- and increased forms of modes to provide new affordances
Examples of multimodality in typography:
In the case of the following pictures, it shows how literacy is combined with illustration to result in typography. The combination of the two modes forms a single communicative act, with the two modes complementing each other. The words in the two pictures ('man', 'parachute', 'woman' and 'car') were illustrated in such a way to reflect their meanings. The font styles and colours of the words were cleverly utilised to reflect the supposedly stronger physique of men, a more delicate image of women. The word 'parachute' was arched to represent the canopy while the word 'car' had the letter 'A' made bigger to represent the middle part of a car. The red coloured 'car' gives the connotation of bring very fast, like a sports car. This was shown in the animation when the car zoomed into the screen.
In the case of the following pictures, it shows how literacy is combined with illustration to result in typography. The combination of the two modes forms a single communicative act, with the two modes complementing each other. The words in the two pictures ('man', 'parachute', 'woman' and 'car') were illustrated in such a way to reflect their meanings. The font styles and colours of the words were cleverly utilised to reflect the supposedly stronger physique of men, a more delicate image of women. The word 'parachute' was arched to represent the canopy while the word 'car' had the letter 'A' made bigger to represent the middle part of a car. The red coloured 'car' gives the connotation of bring very fast, like a sports car. This was shown in the animation when the car zoomed into the screen.
As a result, the functional specialisation of modes may change accordingly as one may discover better ways of representing certain things.
Some examples are:
- The shift from books to electronic books (book-->screen), which results in knowledge and information being easily available for access any time and anywhere
- The increased use of visuals in newspapers to enhance its visual appeal
This is how the Straits Times look like in 1845.
This is how the Straits Times looks like in the present day after 164 years!
_____________________________________
In the process of making meaning in different modes, we are effectively doing semiotic work and it was clearly pointed out in class that not only semioticians do semiotic work, even ordinary students like us do them too!
After reading Kress' article, I came up with a flow chart based on my understanding of how communication takes place through articulation (outwardly made signs) and interpretation (inwardly made signs), where articulation can refer to writing or speech and interpretation can refer to reading.
Note: The word 'Signified' comes from Ferdinand de Saussure's Semiotics school of thought while 'Interpretant' orginates from Charles Sanders Peirce. Both school of thoughts are rather different in that the former believes that signs are arbitrary to their forms and meanings while the latter believes that there is a relation between the signs and what they represent.
However, Kress rejects the idea of arbitrariness as he believes that there must be a reason for choosing a particular sign to represent a particular thing.
For example, below are some children's drawings. Similar to Kress' example of a car wheel, the two children had used lines to represent the various forms of transport. It seems that lines were chosen due to its 'aptness' in expressing what is to be signified. As Kress had mentioned, "The shape of the signifier (in this case, lines) offers itself in its material 'shape' as an expression for that which is to be signified (firetruck/shuttle/aeroplane)
Drawings of a firetruck and a shuttle
Drawing of an aeroplane
Labels: Gunther Kress The Futures of Literacy article response
8:02 AM
Friday, February 06, 2009
Before our lesson on Van Leeuwen's article, my understanding of the concepts was like the picture below,
UNORGANISED
NO LINKAGE
UNCLEAR
However, after a very fruitful discussion with my group members and the rest of the class, I managed to piece together the concepts and construct a clearer understanding of them. I really benefited from the session as knowledge is constructed, not spoon-fed. The following picture represents my understanding now...
ORGANISED
LINKED
LOGICAL...
On top of that, I was impressed by Huiling's group, who came up with a system to illustrate how the concepts work together in social semiotics. It was very clear and straight to the point, just the way I like it =)
From the activity that we had in class, it was clear that different groups had quite a number of differences in the way we interpreted what the concepts meant and the way they connect to each other. This is rather similar to our diverse interpretations of the lily photo. Our interpretations of the meaning potential of the lily turned out to be rather dissimilar because of the differences in life experiences, prior knowledge and culture etc.
On the other hand, the idea of interconnectedness allows us to share certain similar life experiences, which explains the reason why there exists some meaning potentials that seem to be raised by most of us. For example, the idea that the colour white connotes 'innocence', 'purity' etc.
Lastly, this has been an eye-opener for me as I am exposed to the various new ways of thinking that I may not have arrive at on my own.
UNORGANISED
NO LINKAGE
UNCLEAR
However, after a very fruitful discussion with my group members and the rest of the class, I managed to piece together the concepts and construct a clearer understanding of them. I really benefited from the session as knowledge is constructed, not spoon-fed. The following picture represents my understanding now...
ORGANISED
LINKED
LOGICAL...
On top of that, I was impressed by Huiling's group, who came up with a system to illustrate how the concepts work together in social semiotics. It was very clear and straight to the point, just the way I like it =)
From the activity that we had in class, it was clear that different groups had quite a number of differences in the way we interpreted what the concepts meant and the way they connect to each other. This is rather similar to our diverse interpretations of the lily photo. Our interpretations of the meaning potential of the lily turned out to be rather dissimilar because of the differences in life experiences, prior knowledge and culture etc.
On the other hand, the idea of interconnectedness allows us to share certain similar life experiences, which explains the reason why there exists some meaning potentials that seem to be raised by most of us. For example, the idea that the colour white connotes 'innocence', 'purity' etc.
Lastly, this has been an eye-opener for me as I am exposed to the various new ways of thinking that I may not have arrive at on my own.
Labels: Theo van Leeuwen's Social Semiotics
12:17 AM
Jess Chen...
