Semester Long Multimodal Inquiry Project

Historical Perspective of Charlotte, NC Metropolitan Area

Oral Presentation time of 15 minutes, see syllabus
Digital Presentation of no less than 25 slides
Must incorporate at least 10 sources
A multimodal project is one that does not limit writers to using only words to discuss/present their topics. A
multimodal approach combines multiple different ways of communicating in everyday life and with a variety of
different topics.
With a partner you will research a bit of the Charlotte Metropolitan area history. This would include: Concord,
Kannapolis, Mount Pleasant, Lake Norman, Mooresville, Gastonia, Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville, Charlotte, or
any of the surrounding areas, not to exceed 50 miles. You will select a topic that has experienced different aspects
of change over time and from several different points of view. You should look at economic change, physical
change, how the change affected people and their families and look at a variety of other components all showing
change, growth or some sort of movement.
To do this you will need to look at the archives of newspapers, magazines, periodicals, or other literature, as well as
current information. The 10th floor of the UNC Charlotte Library is an excellent resource. You will need to
interview people who could provide the information you seek. One of the people you interview must be old enough
to have lived through the change you write about and be a native of the area. For this part you may need to seek out
such a person. You can include pictures, graphs, drawings, maps, and any other visual representation that will help
explain your topic to your audience. Be creative, any topic is available as long as you can show how the topic
affected the community, people, finances, etc.
Examples:
James William Cannon founded Cannon Mills in Concord/Kannapolis, North Carolina in 1887. It employed
thousands of people from the time it opened its doors, until it closed in 2005. There is a rich history of how it
changed the economy, the location of the towns, and the lives of the people who worked in and around the mills.
Show these changes through research, interviews, and through a pictorial perspective.
Lake Norman is North Carolinas largest man make lake with a surface area of 32,510 acres. It began when
Cowans Ford Dam was constructed in 1959. The dam blocks the Catawba River and is what forms Lake Norman.
Show how the development of this lake affected the economy, the many changes that were made to the four
counties that surround Lake Norman, and how important Lake Norman is to our nuclear energy sources.
NASCAR and more specifically Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowes Motor Speedway) features a 1.5 mile
long quad-oval track which seats 167,000 people, with room for 50,000 more spectators in the infield. In addition
you could include Z-Max Dragway, built in 2008, the dragway is the world's only four-lane, all concrete drag strip,
or the Dirt Track which boasts 14,164 permanent seats and six VIP Luxury Suites. Explore how issues of track
treatments have changed over the years, along with safety considerations. Show the economic affects and influence
of tourism on the community. Included could be the many personalities that have come and gone over the years.
This should be particularly interesting since UNC Charlotte participates in Pro Challenge and Drag racing, and has
design and build teams such as Formula SAE and Baja that competes on the track.
Reed Gold Mine located in Midland, NC boasts the first documented gold find in the United States. Conrad Reed
found a 17 pound gold nugget. From this discovery, gold mining spread gradually to nearby counties and
eventually into other southern states. During its peak years gold mining was second only to farming in the number
of North Carolinians it employed. Discuss how this affected the economy and the future of banking in North
Carolina. Show how panning helped people survive through the depression.

Professional sports teams: Charlotte Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte

Knights, and Charlotte Checkers are just some of the professional teams that
make their home in Charlotte and have definitely affected the area in all
several different ways.
Other suggestions: Look at amusement parks; historical buildings; modern
medicine and its accomplishments, or individual personalities and how they
changed the face of the community. Look at the major educational institutions in the area: Queens University,
Barber Scotia College, Belmont Abbey, Davidson, Johnson C. Smith University, Johnson and Wales, to name a
few. Topics that include cultural experiences like: McAdenville Christmas Town, Latta Plantation, Jazz Music in
Charlotte, are possible topics. In addition Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Concord Airport have
changed exponentially over the years. The list could go on, but it is entirely up to you and your research team as to
what you want to explore.
Pick a citation format and make sure all sourced information and visuals are properly cited. Keep a research tab
open in the e-portfolio to collect all resources.
Proposal Instructions: Your research team will write a two (2) page proposal about your plans for this project that
include the following elements: Note: It is expected/acceptable for you to stray from your initial proposal ideas.
Introduction/summary: Give an overview of what your project is about, how you will approach it, and
which modes of explanation you will use to explain your topic.
Project plan: Explain in detail how you plan on designing the project to support your research. Be sure to
describe which technologies you will use, how you will gain access to or create media assets, and how you
will integrate your research.
Justification: Discuss why your proposed plan is appropriate and effective for your topic. Also consider
why your audience should care about your topic and the research you present.
Roles and responsibilities: Identify which students are responsible for which project activities.
Timeline: Give a tentative work plan of how and when you will complete all of the projects components,
including a breakdown of all tasks at each stage of the project. Use our calendar for reference and
planning.
In addition, you must include a multimodal approach to your presentation. Participating in multimodal research is
a way to represent your knowledge of a topic or project and investigate without writing a formal academic research
paper. You will see that this project involves presenting a topic in words, sounds and visual formats. This project
also encourages you to work collaboratively with someone else, participate in academic research, and present it in
an alternative way. You will present your findings in a digital format (Power point, Prezi, Movie Maker, etc.) in a
15 minute oral presentation.
As you shape your presentation, consider and include the following criteria:
Context: How will audiences interact with and react to this presentation?
Creativity: Must be an original creation and this is your topic how can you show your knowledge and
passion?
Strong purpose: What do you consider to be the overall intention for the project? Might there be one or
more secondary intentions?
Research that is credible: Look for best sources with the following criteria: known author, not biased,
information has been seen in other sources, information is believable, sources are diverse and inclusive
Form and Content: You have covered your topic areas fully, even if not completely.
Audience: Who is the intended audience for this project? Who might be a secondary audience?
Timeliness: You make your topic relatable to your audience. Why should we care??
So for this project we are considering and including multi-modes as follows:

Linguistic Mode: Refers to the use of language-usually written or spoken words. We can consider word choice,
the delivery of spoken or written text, the organization of writing or speech into phrases, sentences, paragraphs, etc.
and the development and coherence of individual words and ideas.
Visual Mode: The use of images and other characteristics that the readers see. The visual is meant to attract our
attention. We can use this mode to communicate representations of how something looks or how someone is
feeling, to instruct, to persuade, and to entertain among other things.
Aural Mode: Focuses on sound whether in a speech, a video demonstration sound effects on a website, or audio
elements of a radio program, the aural mode provides multiple ways of communicating and understanding a
message.
Spatial Mode: Is about physical arrangement. It can include how a brochure opens to placement of navigation on
a Web page to maximize access for users. This mode helps us to understand why physical spaces such as grocery
stores or classrooms are arranged in particular ways to encourage certain kinds of behavior.
Gestural Mode: Refers to the way movement such as body language can make meaning. When we interact with
people in real life or watch them on-screen, we can tell a lot about how they are feeling and what they are trying to
communicate.
Examples of how you can use the modes. Try to come up with your own examples also.
Gestural/Oral Presentation
Linguistic/ Digital Presentation
Visual/Digital Presentation
Facial expressions
Word choice
Color
Hand gestures
Delivery of written /spoken text
Layout
Body language
Organization of writing
Style
Interaction (Q&A)
Phrases/sentences/paragraphs
Size
Development of words/phrases
Perspective
coherence of words/ideas

Aural/Oral Presentation
Music
Sound
Tone
Volume
Ambient noise/sounds
Silence
Emphasis and accent

Spatial/Digital Presentation
Arrangement
Organization
Proximity between
people/objects

Your Ideas/Options

Research: You must use at least ten (10) sources (you may have more). Select a citation format and use it
throughout the project. Works Cited will be the last slide(s) of your digital presentation. Use a variety of sources
that will add the data, facts, statistics, and information that will make your voices stronger. Diversify the sources
and push yourselves to look at sources you previously did not consider. In addition, you are looking to verify
sources for authenticity. You may also rely on interviews. Take notes at each interview to help you keep the
information separate and help you to verify certain facts for authenticity. Note: You want to challenge yourself to
learn new information about your topic so you can better inform your audience with a wide spectrum of research.
All visuals will be labeled and cited appropriately using your chosen format; see handbook for examples and
format.
If your preliminary research on your topic turns up very little information, think about ways that you can broaden
the subject to open up more research options rather than completely changing topics. Similarly, if your research
turns up too much, consider ways to pull in your topic area.

Final Product: Create a digital presentation showing your research; each speaker will be graded separately. The
multimodal project grade will be shared reflecting the work that is generated. Presentation times will be assigned
on the designated dates according to the syllabus.

Fig. 1 McAdenville Christmas Lights

Source: getdetails.com