MEXTESOL, MORELIA, OCTOBER 2011

The Digital ImageDeveloping Visual Literacy in ELT

Ben Goldstein

The Digital Image

Images are becoming a primary means of information presentation in digital global media.

Digital technologies have emancipated and democratized the image. This opens up new possibilities for teachers and learners.

Overview

1 Images in language teaching

Reassessing their role / Criteria for image selection

2 The Digital Age

Multi-modality / New ways of reading

3 Expressing yourself through image

Two student projects

4 Tools, Sites… and Tasks

1 Images in Language Teaching

Reassessing their role

Image as starting point and centerpiece...

Mental imagery (the mind’s eye)

Image types (aerial shots, close-ups, shadows, etc.)

Self-image

Criteria for image selection

1 Openness to multiple readings

2 Opportunity for personalization

3 Visual impact

4 Element of surprise

5 Cultural associations

2 The Digital Age

New image types (e.g. Infographics, wordclouds)

New ways of reading image & text (Filtering, Hyperlinks, etc.)

New ways of communicating through image (Twitter, What’s App, etc.)

New scope for image creation (tools, software, etc.)

New sources and destinations for images & texts (ScoopIt)

3 Expressing yourself through image

Visual Tributes

Two projects:

1 Future requests for computers

2 How is your computer personal?

The Digital Image

With digital media, people can often bypass official institutions to produce their own media, knowledge, produtcts, services and texts... to compete with the professionals or to critique mainstream sources. (James Paul Gee)

Fecha

It’s fitting that our wedding photos reflect the devices we connected through while falling in love!  Thank you Steve!

Two projects

from Latitude: http://latd.com/

1 CHILDREN’S FUTURE REQUESTS FOR COMPUTERS & THE INTERNET

4 Tools, sites… and tasks

some tools

Voice Thread (digital stories)

Glogster

Blurb Mobile

Keek (video diary/status updates)

Fotobabble (talking photos)

Shape collage

Fotofunia

Photoshop touch... Coming soon!

some sites

Conclusions

We need to embrace “the visual” in our materials and classroom practice.

We need to encourage learners to create, interpret and interact with images actively.

We need to prioritize tasks over tools. Is technology enhancing the task?

We need to consider ways of engaging learners with images both in and outside the classroom.