New Literacy Noteblog Post: Visual Literacy

MY CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING:

I have always been excited about technology. Additionally, over the past four years, I have learned about the many ways it can benefit me during my teaching career. Although I have come across some “confusing” tools, I have been exposed to several that I know I will use in the classroom. I have always though of myself as being technologically advanced, but in recent months, I have discovered that I am not as great as I previously thought.

Digital literacy has always been an interesting topic for me. I would always find a few tools and perfect my skills with them. However, for this project, I had to challenge myself by learning about a tool that I was not very familiar with. It was frustrating at first, but what helped me was staying organized. I took a lot of time researching visual literacy, before putting it all together on the physical project. I found tons of information, which was both helpful and overwhelming. But once I fully understood what visual literacy was, it was much easier to pinpoint the ideas I felt were imperative to share.

I enjoyed learning about visual literacy, and finding ways to teach others about it. I learned that it is not only the ability to read and write visual text, print, and drawings, but that it is the collection of information and ideas expressed visually. This was something I had not realized, until doing this project.

This project has been more of a “wake up call” for me. It is easy to assume that, with all of the lesson planning and technology assignments, that I have had adequate training on how to teach content. However, this project has shown me how much work I still have to do. There are so many technologies that I have never heard of, that I actually feel like I am behind. From developing lesson plans to making slideshows, there are still tons of tools that I need to familiarize myself with. As wonderful as it would be to learn how to operate them all, it is more important that I know they exist. I always identified classroom technologies as being Smart boards, ELMO’s, etc., but now I realize they include more computer-based tools, as well.

EFFECTIVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION:

                      For years, I have perceived literature to be the most important subject known to man. “It is in everything we see, think, and do”, is what I have always been told. Through history projects, performing arts, and textbooks, I have seen how powerful it can be. Yet, no one every told me why it is so important. However, in recent years, I have become more and more aware of what effective literacy instruction is, and why it is so important, especially for future educators.

            Effective literacy instruction is more than just the inclusion of books in the classroom. It involves teachers finding the best ways possible to improve their students’ social, cognitive, reading, AND writing skills. Teachers must be able to use technologies, physical aids, and other resources to teach relevant content. It is not choosing one method, but choosing EVERYTHING that will help students to understand and process information. It is also important that teachers teach information and content that builds on the students’ cultures, interests, and out-of-class experiences. When literacy instruction is effective, students will have a greater appreciation for it. Research has shown that students understand and retain more information, when they are interested in it. Literacy is important, because it includes several ways to process ideas and information. Furthermore, effective literacy instruction is important because it influences the way students express and digest ideas.

            If there were other students learning about visual literacy and Weebly, they would need to have experience in a few areas. They would need to understand what visual means, as well as, some examples of what it is. If they are familiar with this, they will find it easier to understand how it fits with literacy. They will also need to have technology skills. Even though they will be learning how to work this webpage tool, they will need to have some experience with other presentation tools, so that they will understand the icons and labels the site uses. Now that we are part of a generation that heavily depends on technology, it is easier for us to learn how to use new technologies. The challenge is learning how to incorporate it in the classroom.

LESSON PLAN:

Target Area & Rationale:

Visual literacy is very important, and it applies to many different educational areas. Weebly and Prezi are two different presentation tools, but both work very well at allowing students to demonstrate what they have learned. It is important that the students learn about visual literacy, and explain it using visual tools. This will reinforce the idea that information presented in visual form is more rewarding. In addition, after they have created a presentation of what they have learned, they can share it with other students that are learning about it for the first time.

 Objective(s):

     -Students will research visual literacy, using the internet and other reference tools.

     -Students will learn the importance and main ideas of visual literacy, while taking note of information they

     find relevant to share with others.

Materials & Supplies Needed:

Computer(s)

Pens or pencils

Paper

Outline of Key Events:

-Teacher will give students 1 minute to jot down what comes to mind when they think of the word visual

-Teacher will give students 1 minute to jot down what comes to mind when they think of the word literacy

-Teacher will ask students to hold on to their responses, and then explain the lesson

-Teacher will tell students that they have a set amount of time (20-25 minutes) to research visual literacy, as it is important that they understand what it is and why it is important.

(During this time, students will take as many notes as they can about visual literacy)

-Teacher will briefly go over Weebly, Prezi, and Photopeach (using their own, and other, examples), and then give the students time to research and play around with the technologies, themselves.

-Teacher will place the students in groups, and each group will be assigned a technology to use.

-Teacher will explain to students that they must demonstrate what they have learned about visual literacy, by creating a product using their assigned technology tool.  

-Students will be given time to work on product in-class.

-When students have completed their work, teacher will allow the groups to present what they have done with the class.

-Students will also include a brief summary of the technology they have used, by evaluating how easy it was to use, and what all it allowed them to include (pictures, audio, etc.)

Closing Summary:

This lesson will expose students to new educational technologies. Even though most of the technologies are not school-specific, using them in the classroom will encourage students to use them more appropriately.  Also, by assigning different groups of students with a different technology, they are being exposed to more technologies at one time. Students are also strengthening what they know about visual literacy, because they are gaining different definitions and examples from each project.

Ongoing Assessment:

Every semester, the work will be shown to the next group of students as a resource. This will boost the previous students’ confidence about their projects, while helping the new students with the task. Additionally, students who have done this lesson the previous year will be assigned a new project which requires that they somehow incorporate the old one. This will allow them to build on what they know.