Digital Composition

    My biggest takeaway from chapter 5 "Use of Multimodal/Digital Tools for Responding to and Creating Multimodal/Digital Texts" from "Teaching Literature to Adolescents" by Richard Beach had to do with a section titled "Online Versus Print Reading." A key concern mentioned is that when reading online, there is more skimming/scanning of text, and students are more likely to multitask, which is really just distracting. 

    I am someone that will chose the print version of a text over and online one any day of the week. I prefer physical books. I used to have a kindle, which I will admit, was nice because I could just borrow e-books and read more than borrowing physical books from the library, but something about it is different. 

    If used correctly and responsibly, e-text can be beneficial. A lot have built in dictionaries that you can use if you come across a word you don't know. You can also easily highlight and underline text to annotate as you read, just as you would with a physical book. 

    I feel like online versus print doesn't have to just be applied to reading books. Now, it is extremely popular for college students to take notes on their laptops. This however leads to access other materials and so called "multitasking" which really just distracts us more. I personally prefer to take notes by hand with pen and paper. 

       Further in the chapter, they mention an increase in popularity and access to audiobooks and suggest that students create audio responses to text. They specifically mention responding with a musical performance. As someone who loves music, this is what I would enjoy as a student and enjoy assigning as a teacher. I would just love to integrate different creative outlets into my lessons, and with a handful of different ones, eventually each student will get to use their strengths and create something they are interested in.