blog 2 Visual Literacy
Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be “read” and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading. Visual literacy is not an option in the 21st classroom. A classroom or lesson that does not stimulate all the senses of our students does not provide our students with the tools nor motivation to be successful. The monotony of whiteboards and chalk boards no longer make the grade in the technology era. Visual literacy and use of Internet can mainstream the learning process for students and take their comprehension to the next level. What it does provide is a sense of autonomy and accountability for students because they are in charge of how far they go and how little they do depending on how the class is set up.
visual literacy
Some of the visual strategies i use in the classroom are posters, smart board responders and videos that I use to introduce new concepts to our kids. Internet in my classroom is usually used for remediation, reinforcement or preparatory assignments for me. I am always concerned about the security of my students on the internet so I am always cautious when approaching issues such as that.
The field of Instructional Technology is not founded solely within the field of Education. Much of the research in Instructional Technology is based in Communications theory. Visual literacy is a term that is based within the Communications field. Visual literacy includes the comprehension of visual media using diagrams, graphs, and diagrams as a form of presenting data. The study of visual literacy also examines how visuals enhance the cognitive abilities of learners using specific properties of the visuals including spatial relationships, composition, and color. Additionally, visual literacy examines an awareness of visual manipulation, distortion, and misinformation in advertising and propaganda.
ReplyDeleteSince the early 1990’s, the Internet has evolved into a visual media tool unsurpassed by any other visual learning technology (photos, diagrams, videos, etc…). Broadband communications has enhanced the Internet’s capacity to present visual media, concurrent with the expansion of the recent emergence of social networking where visual media is shared. With so much media blazing past us, it is important that teachers balance the use of visual media or teaching and learning with an awareness that visual media is not all accurate and true. The power of television and film images can create an almost utopian world of objects and events creating an illusion of reality that draws us in.
Visual literacy must couple the use of visual media of all kinds with an understanding of how visual media constructs meaning for the learner, while advocating careful review of the elements that make up the image in order to enhance understanding and appreciation or to promote critical viewing skills.
DrE