Verbal and Visual Composing: Multiple Literacies for Learning in the Digital Age Virginia Community College System English Peer Conference October 25, 2002 Donna Reiss Tidewater Community College http://wordsworth2.net/projects/vccs/engpeer02 By composing in various genres and media, students learn to express themselves effectively and to demonstrate their knowledge in both traditional and innovative ways that recognize and value a range of learning styles. Student examples and a brief overview of multiple literacies illustrate the benefits of mixed media and electronic communication on composition as well as on communication-intensive literature and humanities classes—adaptable to courses throughout the curriculum.

Process—Learning Made Visible

• Informal interactive online compositions for learning
  • Lorna and Stacia on Revising for Conciseness
  • Amy and Michelle on the Use of Concrete Details
  • Keesha and Lewis on Science and Responsibility and Literature
• History, Psychology, and Math Bulletin Boards

Products—Verbal-Visual, Hypertext, and Hypermedia Compositions

• Craig's Profile of Amy in Words and Image
• Tristica's Introduction in Two Genres
• Deborah's Comparison-Contrast in PowerPoint
• Jay's Electronic Portfolio and the TCC Webfolio Project
• Al's Poetry Project
• Joe's Sculpture and Poem
• Khoa's Drawing and Poem

Practices and Theories—E-communication, Visual Communication, and Future Composing

• Composing in Electronic Environments: WAC to CAC to ECAC
• Visual Communication: Krieger; Mitchell; Tufte; Drucker1, Drucker 2
• Future Composing: Effective Communication in Various Rhetorical Situations