Maria Avgerinou Presentation

Visual Literacy

Maria D. Avgerinou, Ph.D., O.E.T.DePaul University- Chicago, US

NECC 2008San Antonio- TX

Visual perceptual ability

depends upon both cognitive and non-cognitive abilities for example:visual-spatial intelligence, age,aptitude, environment, social pressures, and so on.

Perceptual Organization: 5 Principles

• Symmetry

Perceptual Organization (cont.):

• Closure and Continuity


• Proximity


• Perspective


• Figure - ground

(Simonson, 2007)

How we learn:

1% Through taste

2% Through touch

3% Through smell

11% Through hearing

83% Through sight

How we learn:

1% Through taste

2% Through touch

3% Through smell

11% Through hearing

83% Through sight(Simonson, 2007)

(Simonson, 2007)

People retain when exposed one time... 10% of what they read 20% of what they hear 30% of what they see 50% of what they see and hear 70% of what they say as they talk 90% of what they say as they perform a task

Learning through Media, cont'd

We communicate at the rate of ... 25 WPM by writing 125 WPM by speaking 200 WPM by hearing 250 WPM by reading 600WPM by thinking

The average person's span of attention is 1.9 minutes.









(Simonson, 2007)

Visual Learning

Visual Learners learn and perform best when

• They can make notes and organize (esp. color code) their learning materials

• They can decorate learning areas• They are taught through visualization and the use of

diagrams, charts and maps• They are presented with complex, abstract information• They can apply their abstract reasoning skills• They participate in visual art activities• They study alone in quiet environments• They participate in power tests (vs. speed tests)

(Silverman & Freed, 1996)

Visual Learners learn and perform best when

(cont.)

• They understand the objective(s) of any given learning experience

• Information is presented visually and in writing e.g. written instructions are given for assignments; photography and illustrations come with printed content; they attend presentations using overhead transparencies, handouts, Power Point slide shows

• They can form pictures of things being described orally

• There is a time line to aid retention of historical events

• They have an opportunity to observe the physical elements in a classroom (real, and online)

what is visual literacy?

Just like in a Escher painting, we think we know but when asked to look closely, suddenly the term

Visual Literacy becomes difficult to define…

“The definition of visual literacy has been an elusive goal since the early days of the association” i.e. IVLA “

(and even before that).” (IVLA, 1997, 4)

Theoretical Foundations of VL

Hortin’s Model (f

rom: Dwyer a

nd Moore, 1994,

23)

Fransecky & Debes (1972, 7)

Visual Literacy is “a group of vision competencies a human

being can develop by seeing and at the same time having

and integrating other sensory experiences. The

development of these competencies is fundamental to

normal human learning. When developed, they enable a

visually literate person to discriminate and interpret the

visual actions, objects, and/or symbols, natural or man-

made, that are [encountered] in [the] environment.

Through the creative use of these competencies, [we are]

able to communicate with others. Through the appreciative

use of these competencies, [we are] able to comprehend

and enjoy the masterworks of visual communications."

IVLA (cited in Pettersson, 1993, 140)

• a group of vision competencies a human being can develop by

seeing and at the same time having and integrating other

sensory experiences;

• the learned ability to interpret the communication of visual

symbols (images), and to create messages using visual

symbols;

• the ability to translate visual images into verbal language and

vice versa;

• the ability to search for and evaluate visual information in

visual media.

Avgerinou (2001)

In the context of human, intentional visual communication visual literacy refers to a group of largely acquired abilities, i.e. the abilities to understand (read), and to use (write) images, as well as to think and learn in terms of images.

The Sless Defence (1984, 226)

If Visual Literacy is to be rescued as a term (and I think it

may still have some life in it), we need to interpret it more

generously. ... VL is any sustained activity that treats visual

material and its uses as worthy of intelligent consideration.

This is the heart of the matter and the reason for retaining

the metaphor.

Points of Convergence among VL Theorists I (Avgerinou, 2001)

• A Visual Language exists.

• Visual Language parallels Verbal Language.

• Visual Literacy is a cognitive ability but also draws on the affective domain.

• The terms “ability”, “skill”, and “competency” have been invariably and interchangeably used to describe Visual Literacy.

• The VL skills have been specified as (a) to read/decode/interpret visual statements, and (b) to write/encode/create visual statements.

Points of Convergence among VL Theorists II (Avgerinou, 2001)

• The VL skills are (a) learnable, (b) teachable, (c) capable of development and improvement.

• The VL skills are not isolated from other sensory skills.

• Visual Communication, Visual Thinking, and Visual Learning are inextricably linked to VL.

• VL has accepted and incorporated theoretical contributions from other disciplines.

• Visual Literacy’s main focus is intentional communication in an instructional context.

Visual Literacy Skills (Avgerinou, 2001)

1. Knowledge of Visual Vocabulary: knowledge of the basic components of visual language, namely point, line, shape, form, space, texture, light, color, motion.


2. Knowledge of Visual Conventions: knowledge of visual signs and symbols, and their socially agreed meanings (within the western culture)


3. Visual Thinking: The ability to turn information of all types into pictures, graphics, or forms that help communicate the information (Wileman, 1993, p. 114)


4. Visualization: the process by which a visual image is formed (adapted from Reber, 1985, p. 821)


5. (Verbo-)Visual Reasoning: coherent and logical thinking that is carried out primarily by means of images (adapted from Reber 1985, p. 617)


6. Critical Viewing: applying critical thinking skills to visuals (Baca, 1990, p. 68)


7. Visual Discrimination: the ability to perceive differences between two or more visual stimuli (adapted from from Reber 1985, p. 205)


8. Visual Reconstruction: the ability to reconstruct a partially occluded visual message in its original form


9. (Sensitivity to) Visual Association: the ability to link visual images that display a unifying theme. Also: (Sensitivity to) Verbo-Visual Association: the ability to link verbal messages and their visual representations (and vice versa) to enhance meaning


10. Reconstructing Meaning: the ability to visualize and verbally (or visually) reconstruct the meaning of a visual message solely on the evidence of given information which is incomplete


11. Constructing Meaning: the ability to construct meaning for a given visual message on the evidence of any given visual (and perhaps verbal) information

Why do we need VL skills?

Why be visually literate?

Braden and Baca (1991): The Purposes of VL

Communication (symbols,

graphic design, etc.)

Learning

PURPOSESAesthetic Enjoyment

Thinking

Creative Expression

Constructing Meaning

We especially need VL skills today in order to reach the…

DIGITAL NATIVES!(term coined by Marc Prensky, 2001)

Attributes of the Information-Age Mindset (Oblinger, 2003)

• Computers are no longer technology• The Internet are better than TV• Reality is no longer real• Doing is more important than knowing• Learning more closely resembles Nintendo than logic• Multitasking is a way of life• Typing is preferred to handwriting• Staying connected is essential• There is zero tolerance for delay• Consumer an creator are blurring

Experiential, interactive, and authentic learning

Behaviors of Immigrant Teachers(Jukes & &Dosaj, 2006))

Behaviors of Native Students (Jukes & &Dosaj, 2006))

Moving from Print to Digital! (Toledo, 2007)

The world has changed… (Brown & Adler, 2008, p. 30)

In the 20th century, the dominant approach to education focused on helping students acquire knowledge and develop cognitive skills that could be deployed later in appropriate situations. This approach to education worked well in a relatively stable, slowly changing world in which careers typically lasted a lifetime.

The world has changed… (cont.)

But the 21st century is quite different. The world is evolving at an increasing pace. When jobs change, as they are likely to do, we can no longer expect to send someone back to school to be retrained… We now need a new approach to learning-one characterized by a demand-pull mode … (Brown & Adler, 2008, p. 30)

21st Century Skills

The Business and Higher Education Forum (2005) stated that workers of the 21st Century must have science and mathematics skills, creativity, information and communication technologies (ICT) skills, and the ability to solve complex problems.

21st Century Skills- expanded I(H. Jenkins, MIT, 2007)

• Play: The capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem solving

• Performance: The ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery

• Simulation: The ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes

• Appropriation: The ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content

21st Century Skills- expanded II(H. Jenkins, MIT, 2007)

• Multitasking: The ability to scan one’s environment and shift focus as needed to salient details.

• Distributed Cognition: The ability to interact meaningfully with tools that expand mental capacities

• Collective Intelligence: The ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal

• Judgment: The ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources

21st Century Skills- expanded III(H. Jenkins, MIT, 2007)

• Trans-media Navigation: The ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities

• Networking: The ability to search, synthesize, and disseminate information

• Negotiation: The ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.

The nature of information…(Jakes & Brennan, 2006)

• Has changed, and

• Is defined by a new set of characteristics: information is digital, networked, overwhelming, immediate, manipulatable, participatory, and visual…

Web 2.0

Angermeier (2005)

Web 2.0 Applications I

• Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Second Life, Terra Incognita (Social networking in Multi-user virtual environments and distributed communities)

• Flickr (Visual imagery online)

• Blogs (Understanding of intellectual property)

• Wikis, Wikipedia, Lesson Study (open source communities, collaborative writing, understanding of intellectual property, content and process visible critical reading)

• Video and audio podcasts

Web 2.0 Applications II

• Satellite imagery and real-time web-cameras (Google Earth)

• YouTube, Google Video, Revver.com, Spymac.com, uthTV.com

• JumpCut, Eyespot, Toufee (mixing imagery, music, and video directly in the browser)

• Scientific visualization on the web

• Visual journalism, e-documentaries, digital photography (iMovie, digitalstoryteller.org, Pinnacle Studio, MovieMaker 2)

Web 2.0 as a participatory medium

(Brown & Adler, 2008, p. 18)

The latest evolution of the Internet, the so-called Web 2.0, has blurred the line between producers and consumers of content and has shifted attention from access to information toward access to other people. … Indeed, the Web 2.0 is creating a new kind of participatory medium that is ideal for supporting multiple modes of learning.

Learning has changed

from to

(Brown & Adler, 2008, pp. 18-19)

Learning 2.0=

social learning + learning to be

Visual Literacy re-defined

Students can interpret, use, and create images and video using both conventional and 21st Century media in ways that advance thinking, decision making, communication, and learning. (EnGauge, 2004)

Students Who Are Visually Literate today:

(Learning Point Associates, 2007)

• Have Working Knowledge of Visuals Produced or Displayed through Electronic Media.

• Understand basic elements of visual design, technique, and media.

• Are aware of emotional, psychological, physiological, and cognitive influences in perceptions of visuals.

• Comprehend representational, explanatory, abstract, and symbolic images.

Students Who Are Visually Literate today (cont.):

(Learning Point Associates, 2007)

• Apply Knowledge of Visuals in Electronic Media.

• Are informed viewers, critics, and consumers of visual information.

• Are knowledgeable designers, composers, and producers of visual information.

• Are effective visual communicators.

• Are expressive, innovative visual thinkers and successful problem solvers.

Example of VL Infusion into the School Curriculum

Learning outcomes stating that students will be able to

• Identify their learning styles• Comprehend the meaning of VL in the context of

Information Literacy• Create graphic representations of data, information,

knowledge, and wisdom (charts, maps, concept maps, & storyboards)

• Use of digital camera, iMovie, or equivalent, and other presentation and multimedia software to create a short movie, and

• Provide classmates with constructive face-to-face and online feedback

(Metros as cited in Bleed, 2006)

As an Epilogue- Jakes (2007) I

Visual Literacy has been identified as the essential literacy by the Partnership for 21st century skills; and with the development of Web 2.0, it is critical that schools focus on helping students acquire the skills necessary to navigate, evaluate, and to communicate with visual information.

Jakes (2007) II

Students will create content, including visual content with or without schools (consider MySpace). Successful schools will take advantage of this interest and the technological mastery of today’s student, and will seek methodologies and opportunities for incorporating visual literacy instruction into the everyday curriculum.

Thank you!

questions? comments? ideas? video-clips?

cartoons?

[email protected]

Date post:	28-Jan-2015
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