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 Texts

Other 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. Right away I noticed that this was obviously an older picture due to the grainy quality of it, the clothing of the men in it and the fact that it was taken in black and white. The most prominent figure in the picture is the African American man in the center that is dressed in a suit, whereas the other men, who are mostly white, are all dressed in workers clothes (overalls).

• When do you think this was taken? Where do you think this was? I’m assuming this picture was taken at a blue collar worksite like a mine. This picture would be at home anywhere between the 1930’s-1960’s. I’m leaning towards the late 50’s since it seems to be more civil rights driven, and that seems like an appropriate time period.

• Write a caption for the photo. [Note: a caption is a short line of text used to explain a photo “It only take one man to make a difference.”

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

• The most difficult part would probably having some sort of context to put the picture in. If you know nothing about history or what sort of events took place in recent history (last 150 of so) I wonder how you could put this picture in any sort of relevent context.

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.

• Entertainer Paul Robeson sings to laborers working at the racially integrated Moore Shipyards in Oakland, California, on September 21, 1942.

• 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? The man in the center could easily be singing to a crowd of

mostly white men that are clearly laborers, but if you look closely there are some African American men dressed in the same clothes also in the crowd.

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

The man at the forefront singing, the clothing and the ethnicity of the other men in the picture.

Reflect and Answer• What have you learned about visual literacy from this simple

task? It’s possible to interpret an image in many different ways.

• 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? Visual: 3 You have a multimodal (RK) learning preference.Aural: 3Read/Write: 5Kinesthetic: 5

Visual LiteracyPart 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 medium

Technology, aesthetics, rhetoric

Technology of cameras and film in the early 1900s:

Black and white photos

Rule of Thirds in

composition:

foreground,

center,

background

The varying perspectives

Photographer

“Provided the results are a faithful reproduction of what the photographer believes

he 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 perspectives

Viewer

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) Students can get a grasp of the time period based on the clothing and they can also see the type of people that immigrated to the Untied States at that time.

• 2) It suggests that immigrants came from differnet classes based o the well dressed woman in the front of the picture, and the poorer woring class couple behind her. It also suggests that more men immigrated than women.

• 3) It doesn’t tell us many things. It doesn’t suggest what hardships the immigrants faced, why they left or what jobs they hoped to gain in America.

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?

• It’s easy for students to identify with images and to make their own interpretations. A picture is rarely wrong when used as a teaching tool, it’s subjective, but easier to interpret than a written work. It’s an excellent launching point for a new lesson, and gives the students a visual to think of throughout the rest of the lesson.