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Picture PerfectPicture PerfectGenerationGeneration Visual Stimulating Visual Stimulating

or Visually or Visually Literate?Literate? Susan E. Metros

smetros@usc.edu

University of Southern California

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Webinar audience

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t h e j o u r n e yt h e j o u r n e y

Becoming Visually Literate

Affecting changeThe role of the

visual

What does it mean to be literate?

Questions?

Questions?Questions?

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t h e j o u r n e yt h e j o u r n e y

What does it mean to be literate?

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Literacy…

…the condition or quality of being literate, especially the ability to read and write.

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2121st st Century LiteraciesCentury Literacies2121st st Century LiteraciesCentury Literacies

Scientific

EcologicalPolitical

EconomicCultural

Language

Media

Information

Technological

VisualVisualPersonalSecurity

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Visual Literacy

Decode and interpret visuals

Encode and compose meaningful visuals

Make judgment of accuracy, validity and worth of visuals

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Richard Avedon

Judging Validity…

“There is no such thing as

inaccuracy in a photograph.

All photographs are

accurate. None of them is

the truth.”

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Judging Validity…

Luke Frazza, AFP, USA Today, February 24, 2005

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visual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuum

Stimulated

Literate

Fluent

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Lives is a visually saturated word Interacts with visuals everyday Amateur producer and manipulator Imitates rather than innovates Not enough knowledge to judge

visual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuum

Stimulated

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Visual Overload

Environment Communication Knowledge gathering Personal interactions Jobs Recreation

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Visual Overload

“Clutter and

confusion are

failures in design,

not attributes of

information.”(Tufte, 1990)

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Amateur or Authentic?

Authentic

denoting an

emotionally

appropriate,

significant,

purposive, and

responsible mode

of human life.

Amateur

Unprofessional

Producers not

visually literate

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Literate

Understands design vocabulary and concepts

Informed viewer, decoder, and consumer Effective communicator, encoder and

producer Informed critic of visual information

visual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuum

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Is a knowledgeable and highly-skilled innovator, designer, composer, and producer

visual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuumvisual literacy continuum

Fluent

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t h e j o u r n e yt h e j o u r n e y

Affecting changeThe role of the

visual

What does it mean to be literate?

Questions?

Questions?Questions?

Becoming Visually Literate

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t h e j o u r n e yt h e j o u r n e y

Becoming Visually Literate

Learning Styles

Dependencies

Vocabularies

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Learning Styles

A behavioral preference

The way we perceive andprocess things the best

The way people concentrate when they learn

Visual

Auditory

Kinesthetic

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Learning Styles

Auditory30%

Visual65%

Kinesthetic5%

(Bradford, 2004)

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Visual Dependencies

Communicate instantly

and universally

Social practice

Economic reliance

Discipline agnostic

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Vocabularies

Writingletter•word•sentence•paragraph•rhythm•protagonist•antagonist•setting•point of view•hyperbole•personification…

Journalismarticle•story•beat•repurpose•lead•kicker•spread•inverted pyramid…

Filmscene•script•pace•narration• framing•zoom• pan•tilt•fade•cut…

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Vocabulary of Vision

“If people aren’t taught the language of sound and images, shouldn’t they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read or write?”

(Lucas, 2004)

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AttributesColor/Tone Texture VolumeSize

ElementsPoint LineForm

RelationshipsStructureBalanceContrastPosition Motion

Vocabulary of Vision

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t h e j o u r n e yt h e j o u r n e y

The role of the visual

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The Role of the Visual

Document

Validate

Communicate

Inform

Engage

Expose

Politicize

Provoke

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Document

The War Tapes, (2006)

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Validate

Children’s Visions of Genocide (Human Rights Watch, NPR, 2005)

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Communicate

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Inform

World Trade Center, NYC (September 11, 2001)

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Engage

Spore, Electronic Arts (2008)

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Expose

Abu Ghraib Prison (May, 2005)

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Politicize

“Politics will eventually be

replaced by imagery.

The politician will be only too

happy to abdicate in favor of

his [or her] image, because the

image will be much more

powerful than he [or she] could

ever be.”

(McLuhan,1971)

Kennedy/Nixon Presidential Debate (September 26,1960)

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Provoke

A cartoon published in a Danish newspaper depicting Muhammad's turban as a bomb provoked…

Protest marches and deadly riots worldwide

Attacks and the burning of Danish embassies throughout the Middle East

Costly boycotts of Danish products

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t h e j o u r n e yt h e j o u r n e y

Affecting changeThe role of the

visual

What does it mean to be literate?

Questions?

Questions? Questions?Becoming Visually Literate

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t h e j o u r n e yt h e j o u r n e y

Four Models

1. Come to us

2. Woven into the curriculum

3. Systemic change

4. Component of something bigger!

Affecting change

38digitalunion.osu.edu

Come to us:

OSU Digital Union

New media production Emerging technologies Gathering place Showcase new tools Workshops Research Corporate sponsors

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Woven into the curriculum:

USC Institute for Multimedia Literacy

Research on the changing nature of literacy Teaches multimedia production Provides academic programs in MM scholarship

iml.usc.edu

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Woven into the curriculum:

Visual literacy integrated into the mission Association of Colleges and

Research Libraries (ACRL) Guidelines…

“Library courses and instruction in information literacy should include visual literacy and media literacy.”

Clemson General Education Vision…

“To more fully integrate visual literacy and creativity into the curriculum in an effort to expand communication skills, critical thinking, ethical judgment, and cultural awareness.”

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(NMC, 2005)

nmc.org/publications/global-imperative

Systemic change:

NMC 21st Century Literacy Summit

1. Develop a strategic research agenda2. Raise awareness and visibility of the

field3. Make tools for creating and

experiencing new media broadly available

4. Empower teachers with 21st century literacy skills

5. Work as a community

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Component of something bigger: Emergency Preparedness

USC Provost’s charge Have courses up for one to three weeks

within one week of the disaster

Assumptions Campus is inaccessible Power and Internet up and running

Misconception Blackboard is the solution A captured lecture is a course

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Component of something bigger: Scenario 1: “Gen Ed in the Can”

Select best Gen Ed instructors

Develop high quality online courses in Bb

Activate in case of emergency

Issues Who picks instructors? Who prioritizes courses? Who develops courses? Expense Currency of content Students distracted

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Component of something bigger: Scenario 2: “Global Crisis Curriculum”

Identify, collect, tag content related to crisis

Provide Freshman literacy skills modules to:1. Create a digital story2. Serve as a citizen journalist3. Chronicle service learning experience4. Write a paper

Respond to crisis through “lens” of Gen Ed course

Issues Curricular review? Cathartic or painful? How to coordinate efforts How to build content

sharing infrastructure

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t h e j o u r n e yt h e j o u r n e y

Affecting changeThe role of the

visual

What does it mean to be literate?

Questions?

Questions?Questions?

Becoming Visually Literate