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. It looks as if they are singing. The taller man in the middle, the only one wearing a business suite, is the leader while the others are following along. All the men have their hats off and hands clasped as if this is an anthem that deserves respect or sang with a lot of feeling. The men are typically white wearing blue collar dress. There are railroad tracks in the background.

When do you think this was taken? Where do you think this was? 1940’s in the Northeast United States.

• Write a caption for the photo. [Note: a caption is a short line of text used to explain a photo] Union workers sing the National Anthem as they celebrate a new train added to the rail.

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

• The date and location. I have little knowledge, or it seems have forgotten my history, and admittedly Googled “Unions” for a reference. If the internet weren’t readily available I would’ve been stuck a lot longer.

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 men are dressed like they work at a factory. There are only a

few non-whites, clueing me to the beginning of desegregation.

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

• The railroad tracks in the background gave me the sense that all the men there had a part in making the line. There were no baseball cues and their faces didn’t look angry. A funeral procession would make sense but again, the faces don’t look disappointed or distraught. Also, there is no procession just a crowd.

Reflect and Answer• What have you learned about visual literacy from this simple task? • A picture is really worth a thousand words. There is a lot of information in a

simple photo, but one must be aware of it. Visual literacy is more than looking at a photo and seeing people. The life story of the people can be observed as long as the viewer is aware.

• 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? • Your scores were:• Visual: 6• Aural: 9• Read/Write: 7• Kinesthetic: 9 multimodal

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:• All students can use the photo to learn about immigration in the same way I’m

studying it as visual literacy. Once the student is prompted to look at the people in the photo and draw their own inferences about the people and their mannerisms in the photo they can then understand immigration in the 1900’s according to the author of the photo.

• The photo suggests that European immigrants were looked down upon and the native people were disgusted with them and thought they should be ignored and not dealt with. The boy and his mother in the foreground are dressed in a high-class manner and the boy seems to be staring at the working class immigrants. The mother seems to be scolding her son and to keep from looking herself. She is standing with her back straight and her chest out to stress an image of superiority.

• The photo does not tell the story of hundreds of immigrants in horrible conditions while traveling to the United States. There are no long lines and points of check-in where immigrants were given different, more American, last names. It does not give any context to the lives of the immigrants in their native countries, about how bad it is in the United States, it’s still better than where they came from.

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?

• Visuals are often necessary in portraying an idea. Facts and contexts become relevant and clear when a student has a visual aide. Visuals engage students and provoke thought, in my opinion, better than reading.

• Using visuals in lesson planning is a great anecdote to standard lecture. Students will be empowered to come to conclusions based on the lessons presented throughout the chapter. It also encourages creative thinking and confidence, being that there are many correct answers.