A9.1:Photo-Visual Literacy
Posted by tgirondo on October 18, 2007
Traci Girondo
October 18, 2007
Before taking CD 315 I had a very limited idea of what I felt literacy encompassed. For me, literacy included reading and writing. I felt that to be a literate person these were the skills a person needed to possess. My view on literacy has expanded and I no longer have this narrow viewpoint. Research has shown me that it is now crucial for people to possess specific literacy skills that will allow them to be successful in a digital enviroment. In an article by Eshet-Alkali and Amachai-Hamburger they discuss literacy skills which will allow people to be successful in a digital enviroment. Some of these skills include branching literacy, information literacy, and photo-visual literacy. For the purpose of this assignment I am going to focus of photo-visual literacy.
As stated by the International Visual Literacy Association the term “visual literacy” was coined in 1969 by John Debes and is defined by the Oakland Museum of California ”as the ability to understand communications composed of visual images as well as being able to use visual imagery to communciate to others.” The idea behind visual literacy is that it is important for people to be able to interpret and communicate through visual images. This is important in that we live in ”an increasing visual culture.” We run in to visual images in everything that we do, so it is important we develop skills to be successful in such an environment. Some visual images may include photographs, movies, computer games and road signs. I feel that I am a visual literate person because of the experiences I have had using visual literacy skills.
My experiences with visual literacy can be traced back to when I was just a child. I remember we had a nintendo gaming system that my siblings and I used to play. The games that we played required us to interpret the images on the screen to determine how to complete the game. For example, when playing Mario I knew that if a mushroom was walking towards me that it meant I would lose a life if I did not jump over the mushroom or kill it. Visual literacy skills then became very important as I learned to drive. It surprises me how many times a day I have to interpret a visual image on a road sign. I know that the bright yellow sign with an arrow facing to left means that there is a sharp let turn ahead that I should prepare for. I also use visual literacy skills in public places to determine which restroom to use. If I was not a visual literate person this would be a difficult task. I feel that I knew a lot about visual literacy before reading these articles, but I did not know that there was a specific name for this skill I possesed.
I feel that visual literacy skills are a skill that individuals need to possess to be successful in day to day tasks, but also in a digital environment. I am not surprised that more forms of literacy our being developed because simply knowing how to read and write will make a person successful in a culture that is becoming more centered around visual images. What does surprise me it that the term visual literacy was coined in 1969, but only recently has an emphsis been placed on its importance to society. I feel that this may be correlated to the development of the internet. As digital literacy becomes more prominent I feel that as a society we will see changes in our education and schooling.
I feel that a change will occur in education and schooling because I have seen some of those changes taking place. When I was a student in elementary school a lot of emphasis was placed on a students ability to read and write. Now, when I look at my nephews schoolwork and what they are doing, there is a greater emphasis on the use of images. Teachers are using more charts and graphs to describe concepts. I feel that this change is going to take place because teachers will realize that visual literacy skills are skills that individuals need to have to be successful. I feel that we are going to see more use of images such as graphs, powerpoints, photographs, and many more images being included in the curriculum because they are going to enhance the child’s learning and help them to develop new skills. As stated by the Oakland Museum of California, visual literacy skills will help to develop and improve observational skills and increase critical thinking skills.”
Sources:
Amichai-Hamburger, Y. & Eshet-Alkali, Y. (2004, August). Experiments in digital literacy. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 7(4), 421-429. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from the Academic Search Premier database.
Avgerinou, M. (n.d.). What is Visual Literacy. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://www.ivla.org/org_what_vis_lit.htm#definition
Visual Literacy Activities (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://www.museumca.org/picturethis/visual.html
