Visual Teaching Alliance

All Blog Posts (753)

A Phoenix to Watch For

Interesting endeavor.

http://www.the-impossible-project.com/

Of all the members of The Impossible Project team, I think one of them looks like Mr. G
I don't know. Maybe it's just me.

Added by Gloria Rzadko_Henry on January 21, 2009 at 10:23am — No Comments

Definitions of Visual Literacy

While most English/language arts teachers understand how to use and teach alphabetic and even aural literacy, they may not be so adept at using and teaching visual literacy. Since it was first used in the 1970s, the term “visual literacy” has been given many definitions by many disciplines. One early description of visual literacy was “the active reconstruction of past visual experience with incoming visual messages to obtain meaning” (Sinatra, 1986, p. 5). A more general definition given over… Continue

Added by Timothy Gangwer on January 20, 2009 at 8:22pm — No Comments

Visual Representation

Visual Representation

Representations consist of content and format. The content is what is being represented, and the format is nature of the representation. Format can be thought of at two levels: physical and informational. For example, representing temperature with the number 8 can be thought of as ink on paper in the physical sense, or as a number in an informational sense. The informational sense is more appropriate for cognitive representations. Physically, mental… Continue

Added by Timothy Gangwer on January 19, 2009 at 3:11pm — No Comments

Cambridge University

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Added by Timothy Gangwer on January 17, 2009 at 12:48pm — No Comments

Photographic Language

Photographic Language

Photography is a language. Just like the written word it has its own vocabulary and its own grammar. Effective imaging, like effective writing or speaking, depends on understanding and applying some basic principles. Photography might be called an art of selection. The vocabulary a photographer works with is made up of the visual elements that exist all around us. Anything we see can be a visual element. The grammar of photography is the way in which visual… Continue

Added by Timothy Gangwer on January 11, 2009 at 11:28am — No Comments

The Visual Teacher

The Visual Teacher

The Visual Teacher is an educator who embraces and models full spectrum visual literacy.

• The Visual Teacher understands the effects of visual stimulation on brain development and utilizes imagery where appropriate to enhance learning.

• The Visual Teacher understands the underlying concepts of visual literacy:

1. Imagery communicates in an emotional and pre-rational style that can bypass logical thought.

2. Imagery invokes the part… Continue

Added by Timothy Gangwer on January 5, 2009 at 8:58am — No Comments

Introduction to Visual Teaching

Introduction to Visual Teaching

It is estimated that 80% of learning in the first 12 years of life comes from visual stimulation. Visual Learning as a theory takes full advantage of this natural propensity. To address the effective use of visual skills in the pursuit of learning, visual learning theory has evolved into four key elements: full spectrum visual learning. Active and performance-based learning, dynamic translation, and a multidisciplinary approach.

Full… Continue

Added by Timothy Gangwer on January 2, 2009 at 10:58am — No Comments

What texts do you find helpful or valuable?

I maintain a national media literacy web site: The Media Literacy Clearinghouse, www.frankwbaker.com, and I have a visual literacy page with various resources, including texts. I am interested in what texts you find useful, especially with K-12 students. Thanks !

Added by Frank W. Baker on December 31, 2008 at 12:52pm — 3 Comments

Media Literacy

Media Literacy

The Center for Media Literacy defines Media Literacy as a: “21st century approach to education. It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate and create messages in a variety of forms—from print to video to the Internet. Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.” As a nation, we are beginning to realize that more and more Americans are… Continue

Added by Timothy Gangwer on December 29, 2008 at 10:31am — 1 Comment

Martin Scorsese: Teaching Visual Literacy

Martin Scorsese: Teaching Visual Literacy

A conversation on the importance of -- and relationship between -- films and education.

by Douglas Cruickshank

The Story of Movies is "an interdisciplinary curriculum introducing students to classic cinema and the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of film." Designed to teach students how to "read" the visual language of film, it is a project of the Film Foundation, established in 1990 by acclaimed filmmaker Martin… Continue

Added by Timothy Gangwer on December 23, 2008 at 12:05pm — No Comments

How Are You Smart?

“How smart are you?” is now irrelevant. A more powerful new question is, “How are you smart?” How many of us remember when a calculator and typewriter were considered the height of technology? We are in the midst of a profound paradigm shift. We are moving from a period in which the language of production and manufacturing dominated our way of seeing the world to a time when ideas about information and communication shape our discourse. Some philosophers argue that we are actually in the midst… Continue

Added by Timothy Gangwer on December 22, 2008 at 10:25am — No Comments

Food for Thought

It’s hard to argue with the observation that the generation of students now moving into and through our educational system is by far the most visually stimulated generation that system has ever had to teach. In fact, research shows that 65% of our students are visual learners. The human brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text. Visual teaching can improve classroom learning up to 400 percent!

Added by Timothy Gangwer on December 20, 2008 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Welcome

Welcome everyone! You have been invited to this social network as a friend, family member, colleague, or one of the many educators who have participated in one or more of the Visual Impact, Visual Teaching Workshop Series. This network is intended to provide a communal platform for you to share ideas, strategies, research and all the incredible things taking place in your visual teaching classrooms. This is a network for questions and answers, and opportunities to generate out-of-the-box… Continue

Added by Timothy Gangwer on December 20, 2008 at 12:06pm — No Comments