Becoming Mrs. Dee Phillip, The English Teacher

What is digital media? D igital media as   media in a form that can be stored, read, seen, etc. using a computer, such as news websites, social media, electronic books, and digital video, images, or music  (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.) .   By using a digital writer’s notebook , I felt unsure and intimidated. I felt ambivalent at the thought of leaving behind the comfort of pen and paper to try something new. Paper had always been my safe space where I can complete tasks in a simple, quiet, and personal way. I worried that moving online would take away that intimacy and bury my emotions beneath unfamiliar tools and screens. I was used to the comfort of holding a notebook, the scratch of ink, the freedom to scribble and cross things out. A paper notebook had always felt like a private space where my thoughts could spill out any without pressure. So, stepping into the digital space felt almost like entering unfamiliar territory. At first, the digital features overwhelm...

  Creating this digital media piece was both challenging and exciting, as I explored how various elements such as images, music, pictures, and videos could work together to strengthen my message. Crafting in an electronic environment allowed me to experiment with sound, visuals, and layout in ways that traditional writing alone could not. Each component added depth, emotion, and clarity to the story I wanted to tell. This is what led me to shape my final composition around a monologue to the Minister of Health, a form that gave my grief a destination and my voice a purpose. By blending text with multimedia tools, I was able to express my pain, my hope, and my demand for change in a way that felt powerful and deeply personal. One of the most important things I learned from composing with multiple modes is how inclusive and accessible multimodal storytelling can be. A digital piece does not rely only on printed words. The images, music, and pacing help carry the meaning, so even vie...