Visual Literacy As UDL Solution

Part I.

Definition of Visual Literacy

• The ability to “discriminate and interpret the visible actions,

objects, symbols, natural or man-made, that he encounters in

his environment.”

• The ability to “communicate with others through the creative

use of these competencies.”

Debes, J. (1969), International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA)

Visual Literacy:• An alternative literacy• Images as texts• A source of primary source materials • Visual encoding and decoding • Critical examination of the world

Why Visual Literacy?

Why Visual Literacy?

• Offers a different modality in learning

• Provide a significant source of information and understanding

• It is an important 21st century literacy skill

• Students’ fascination with visuals

Visual Images & Visual Texts

• Photographs

• Drawings

• Maps

• Cartoons

• Portraits

• Charts

• Diagrams

• Tables

• Storyboard

• Graphic organizers

TraditionalTextbook

Visuals(Primary & Secondary

Sources)Other TextsOther Media

Meaning Making

Examine this photo

Type your answers to all questions[Use a different color]• What do you see in the photo? Write down everything that

caught your eye. I noticed the African American man standing , surrounded by many white people, seeming as if they are accepting of him.

• When do you think this was taken? Where do you think this was? Probably around the 1940’s or 1950’s, most likely taken in Birmingham.

• Write a caption for the photo. [Note: a caption is a short line of text used to explain a photo

• Unification

What is the difficult part in the previous task? Type your answers below.

• Telling the date in which this photo was taken as well as the location. Mainly because the picture is in monochrome and it’s quite hard to determine which date it’s exactly from.

Now, choose one caption that you think fits the image from below. Change your choice to blue color.

• On a hot summer day in 1947, these spectators watch the final moments of a tense baseball game. Some fans are yelling in disapproval at the umpire because they don't like a call he made.

A mournful crowd gathers to watch the funeral procession of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. drive past.

• A mournful crowd gathers to watch the funeral procession of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. drive past.

Type your answers in red.

• What did you see in the picture that makes you say that? Seeing as how one black man, who the picture seems to be

centered upon, is among a crowd of white people, who have faces of acceptance towards that one man.

• What are the visual clues you noticed that make you think that particular caption goes with that picture?

• Seeing as how that one black man has a striking resemblance to Martin Luther King in the picture, and he has quite a voice of reason based on what I know about him, and I seem as if he convinced white people in his time to accept black people as an equal.

Reflect and Answer• What have you learned about visual literacy from this simple task? • That one picture can bring about a series of deep thoughts• Find out what type of a learner you are by finishing a VARK learning style

questionnaire: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

• What is the result of your questionnaire?

• You have a multimodal (VR) learning preference.• Use the following helpsheets for study strategies that apply to your

learning preferences:• multimodal

visualread-write

Visual Literacy

Part II.

For example, photographs are open to varying interpretations from differing perspectives.

These perspectives change depending upon:• the technological, aesthetic, and rhetorical components of the medium; and • the context of people (photographer, viewer, subject), technology, time, and

place.

Visual images are incomplete, subjective witnesses.

Prof. Mark Newman, NLU

The nature of the photographic mediumTechnology, aesthetics, rhetoric

Technology of cameras and film in the early 1900s:Black and white photos

Rule of Thirds incomposition:foreground,center,background

The varying perspectivesPhotographer

“Provided the results are a faithful reproduction of what the photographer believeshe sees, whatever takes place in the making of a picture is justified. In my opinion,therefore, it is logical to make things happen before the camera and when possible,to control the actions of the subject.”

-- Arnold Rothstein, Farm Security Administration photographer

“While photographs may not lie, liars may photograph.”--Lewis Hine, pioneer documentary photographer

The varying perspectivesViewer

Most visual images, such as photographs, are familiar. We see them everyday. They are a part of our daily lives.

The way we see things is affected by what we know or believe. . . . We only see what we look at. To look is an act of choice.

--John Berger, Ways of Seeing

What does this photo suggest about European immigrants entering the United States at Ellis island in the early 1900s.?

What does the photo not tell us about European immigrants entering

the United States at Ellis island in the early 1900s?

How can all students use this photograph to learn about European immigration to the United States in the early 1900s?

Because photographs are incomplete and subjective texts, they seldom yield one right answer.

They also raise more questions than they answer, meaning they can help students connect to other learning resources.

Answer questions• Answer the three questions asked about the black & white photo

in the previous slide (slide #19). Type your answers in red below:• 1) It appears to show many people at the docks of a city, and they

have formal clothing, along with large suitcases and trunks, most likely assuming that these people are migrating as immigrants from another country, they are most likely moving to America.

2) To me, it suggest most of the immigrants were male, that they were better dressed then we are now, and that they brought only small briefcases of their possessions.

• 3) It does not tell us about the hardships of their lives back home. It does not tell us about the journey to Ellis Island. It does not tell us who these individuals are or where they come from. It tells us what the people take along with them and the majority of people who are immigrants.

Briefly summarize what you have learned from the part II—Visuals as image texts. Any new insights about using visuals, including visual primary sources to teach?

• They are quite useful in using open ended questions, and to get concrete thinkers into more abstract intensifying situations. This is very useful for students who are imaginative as well, and would promote their artistic abilities on these types of questions.