I used Animoto to create a parallel composition that used music, text, and photos. The digital tool itself was fairly easy to work with; however, I didn’t care for the watermark on every slide, but the mark was unobtrusive so I did not bother to upgrade to remove it. It can be used as a free digital too, but, as we have all discovered with free apps, free Animoto has its limitations. Yet, the constraints pale in comparison to its many affordances! Students can select a text or quote and begin to design the layout and include photos, music, and custom text. I feel this is a great actvity for students to explore the many sides of a text. Poetry, especially, is given to imagery that can be paired with images. Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Nature The Gentlest Mother Is” stands on its own with the beauty of language and rhythm, but I loved it even more when I added photos and music. It made the poem personal because I chose photos taken by my Iphone -some of my yard at varous times of the day and seasons. The poem is remediated with images and music to enhance the poem’s “big idea” of the scale and scope of nature as mother. The music I chose was soothing and supported the gentle and loving language in the poem. The images were literal depictions of phrases in the poem. The text, the images, and the music are teaching side by side to create a whole.
Teachers can use the parallel composing activity as a way to differentiate activities. One student may take a text and deconstruct it, add music, images, voice, and create a new vision of the text. Another student may see a text’s conventional meaning, as I did with the Dickinson poem, yet add additional media to support the meaning. It is a creative and critical thinking exercise that meets a number of Georgia reading, writing, and listening standards that require students to utilize technology in the ELA classroom.
Uses in the classroom: It is a creative and innovative way to teach and analyze texts. Although I see it as a flexible activity that can be differentiated, I do think teachers need to set clear parameters and guidelines for the product. For example. how gory do you want an Edgar Allen Poe poem or short story to be visually? How sensual or erotic do you want a love scene in Romeo and Juliet to be visually? Is certain music inappropriate? Graphic lyrics that demean others would not be welcome in my class, yet, even as I write this, I can see a student making an arguement to include them. I think it would depend on the text and what the student planned to do with it. What about photos and copyright laws that govern the public’s use of music and images? Lots to consider.
I also see a need for a companion writing that discusses the choices the students make in designing and completing a parallel composition assignment. It is also a great climb up Bloom’s taxonomy in order to get to the top tier of “creating.” I can see formative assessments at each step of the process. Has the student understood the text being studied? Did the student apply knowledge and make plausible choices to begin composition design? Is the student analyzing the design and how it coheres into the “big idea”? In the written companion piece, did the student evaluate his composition and defend his choices? I think when students have a chance to monitor their progress through frequent formative assessments, there is less likely a chance they will end up in left field.
Questions for teachers: Can you see using parallel composing as an activity that teaches texts in a new way? What reservations might you have about it? Are there administrative restrictions as to the kinds of apps you can use in your classroom?
Using Technology for Student Success 