Resource+4+-+how+a+multimodal+text+works


 * South East Water - Interactive Water Cycle Game **

[|Resource 4]

This multimodal resource is an interactive water cycle game designed by South East Water. The game has been designed using a combination of design elements such as ‘linguistic’, ‘visual’ and ‘audio’ design in order to explain the process of the water cycle (Healy, 2004, p. 20). This resource gives students the opportunity to explore the water cycle by reading a description of each stage and then moving objects such as clouds to the appropriate place to represent the process which is being described in the written text.
 * Description of resource**

This interactive resource allows students to explore the process of the water cycle and to see the relationship between each of the four main stages of the cycle. It also gives students the opportunity to see the structure and function of things in the environment and the ways in which things in the environment interact with one another. Thus, this resource would be valuable to use when learning about the water cycle as it clearly links to the Science and Technology Stage 2 **LTS2.3** syllabus outcome.
 * Relevance to the unit outcome**

The interactive water cycle game would be an effective resource to use when teaching students about multimodal texts as it uses a combination of three modes (audio, visual and written text) to explain the process of the water cycle. This text incorporates the use of sound effects to represent natural phenomenon such as rain, still and moving images clearly showing the relationship between the various stages of the water cycle, and also includes written text directly above the images depicting the cycle. The images and sound effects used clearly show the reader the process of the water cycle at each of the main stages and support the written text explaining how each of the processes occur. The meaning of each of the modes used in this text compliment one another thus providing children with a realistic learning experience where they can explore the water cycle and how each of the stages interconnects. This gives students the opportunity to explore how the different elements of the text relate to each other, and the effect they are designed to achieve (EdMedia, 2009, para. 5). Natural colours have been used in the images of this text in order to realistically depict the water cycle. Vectors such as arrows have also been used to show the progress to each of the stages of the cycle and how each of the stages connects to create a cycle.
 * Aspect of literacy explored in the unit**

Unlike print-based texts, this text allows the reader to use various senses such as sight, hearing and kinaesthetic, to respond to the modes and interact with the text in order to develop a meaningful understanding of the concepts being explained (Healy, 2004, pp. 19-20). The reading process is one of accessing and combining all the elements on the screen and thinking about what they mean and how they relate to each other in order to construct one’s own understanding of what is being presented (Winch, Johnston, March, Ljungdahl, & Holliday, 2006, p. 55).


 * References:**

EdMedia (2009). //The truth about content.// World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications. Retrieved September 25, 2010 from []

Healy, A. (2004). The critical heart of multiliteracies: four resources, multimodal texts and classroom practice. In //Text next: new resources for literacy learning// (pp. 19-35). Newtown, NSW: PETA.

Winch, G., Johnston, R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L., & Holliday, M. (2006). //Literacy: reading, writing and children’s literature// (3rd edition). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.