Visual Literacy

When you see a street sign do you know what it means? Can you tell the difference between male and female bathroom signs even if they don't include words? Of course you can. That's because you are visually literate. Visual literacy is the ability to evaluate, interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of images. It also is the ability to create conceptual visual representations. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be "read" and their meaning be communicated and understood through the readings. Visual literacy enables an individual to discriminate and interpret visible actions, objects, symbols, and signs they encounter. This allows people to communicate with each other through visual imagery and comprehend visual communication. In today's world, visual literacy is vital. Being able to understand and interpret images in crucial in a world where media and the internet are such powerful and omnipresent. Being visually literate not only helps us with basics things such as finding food and drinks we want and knowing where to go, it helps us decipher images presented by the media and uncover hidden meanings in images.

In my major field of education, it is vital that i integrate and teach visual literacy in my classroom. It is my job to prepare children for the world, and if i don't teach my students to be visually literate, I'm not doing that. Teaching them what certain signs, symbols, and actions mean helps them understand and interpret them on their own in the real world. I can use visual literacy in the classroom to get my students thinking critically, by presenting them with a picture and asking them questions about the picture, such as "what are you looking at?" and "what does it mean?" I can also use visual literacy by using images to teach and enhance different subject lessons. For example, instead of reading the history book or about a historic event, I can present my students with an image of the event and have a class discussion about the image. I can also have my students crate their own visual literacy projects to expand their knowledge from understand images to being able to create their own and communicate their ideas using them. Integrating visual literacy in my classroom with allow my benefit my students in the areas of visual literacy, observation, and critical thinking.




This image contains four popular signs and symbols. The images can be identified as recycle, McDonald's, Target, and NBC. This picture demonstrates the power of visual literacy, because even though the picture contains no labels or text, the images can be identified, interpreted, and understood.





This is a picture of Coca-Cola cans from around the world. The text is in various different languages. Even if an individual did not speak the language the label was in, they could identify the product as Coca-Cola because of the familiar image and can design they associate with the drink.

Social Tools: Social Bookmarking

Social tools, or folksonomies, are web tools that allow users to collaboratively create and manage tags to annotate and categorize content on the web. Social tools are social applications on the web that are a characteristic of Web 2.0 and thus allow users to collectively classify and find information. Social tools utilize social software and social media in order to allow interaction and connection between people. One major social tool is social bookmarking. Social bookmarking is a way for users to share, organize, search, and manage bookmarks, or resource identifiers, of web resources. In a social bookmarking system, users save links to web pages in the system. When the resources are bookmarked, it is these bookmarks that are shared on the site, not the actual resources themselves. Social bookmarking tools allow users to add descriptions to bookmarks so other users know what the resource contains without opening it up for themselves. Tags can also be added for users to use keywords to share content, making social bookmarking social tagging and thus a social tool, or folksonomy. They provide a way for users to easily classify, share, and locate information. Social bookmarking services are what they say - SOCIAL tools. Since they indicate who created the bookmark, users can easily find individuals interested in the same topics as them (based on bookmarks) and connect with them.

Social bookmarking can be very useful in the field of education. Through social bookmarking sites, teachers can freely collaborate with each other and access each others bookmarks to share educational websites and resources with each other. By accessing a social bookmarking site of another teacher, teachers can see a list of resources that that teacher uses or finds helpful, and a description of what it contains, and use those resources if they think they will be helpful to them as well. Teachers can also create bookmarking pages for their students and include bookmarks of resources that pertain to lessons and material, offer practice of material such as activities and games, and homework help and tutoring sites. The same way, teachers can create pages of bookmarks for parents, including bookmarks for school activities and information and resources for how to help their children.

This resource is an educational site that provides information on social bookmarking. It explains everything you need to know about social bookmarking. I chose it because it not only does it explain what it is and how it works, but it goes beyond the basics and explains its significance, the negative aspects of it, what the future holds, and its implications. This resource is very informative and comprehensive-very useful.

Podcasting

Podcasting is an automated technology that allows listeners to subscribe and listen to recorded audio shows. Podcasts also include video, text, and other media file formats that can be played on the computer or downloaded to MP3 players. Listeners subscribe to a podcast and the podcasts automatically download to the listener's computer's media player. The podcasts can be listened to via the computer or downloaded to an MP3 devise. Individuals can get podcasts very easily. They simply download a podcatcher software, browse and subscribe to podcasts by browsing podcast directories, and download the podcast of choose the automatic download function that downloads podcasts periodically. Users can also create a podcast by using an audio editing program to record the podcast, uploading it in MP3 format to a web server, creating a blog on a free blog service, and pasting the URL of the MP3 as an entry in the blog. Podcasts are easy to create and locate, increasing their popularity.

In the field of education, teachers can use podcasts in multiple ways. They can use them by having students subscribe to and access podcasts that relate to information being taught, contain material on the content area being covered, and supplement material presented in the classroom. They can also use podcasts in the classroom to share audio clips, speeches, and sounds that enhance the lesson. Teachers can create their own podcasts for students to use. This is a cost effective way to present information without compromising learning. Teachers can create podcasts of lectures, lessons, and material and post them to the internet so students can access them outside of the classroom. This is helpful: when students miss school for extended periods of time because they can view the material online and not fall behind; for students who don't immediately understand material because they can replay the lesson over and over until they grasp the material; in allowing students to listen to and memorize information. Teachers can also stimulate interest in learning and engage students by having them create their own podcasts. This allows students to communicate their ideas and questions with other students in regards to homework, collaborate with other students, do peer reviews, and work on group projects.

This website is a resource for podcasting. It explains everything you need to know about podcasting- what it is, how it works, how to create podcasts, how to use them, podcasting directories, sites, blogs, and much more. I chose this source because it does a very good job at explaining everything in a way easy for users to understand and it is very comprehensive and thorough.

Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is the practice of telling stories through the use of computer-based tools, or digital tools, such as computer based images, text, recorded audio, video, sounds, and music. Just like other stories, digital stories can be on any topic and be of varying lengths. Anyone can create a digital story to document life experiences, ideas, feelings, thoughts, or their creativity by combining story and digital media. there are multiple software programs and applications and web based tools that support the creation of digital stories. Software for includes video: Microsoft Photostory, Windows Movie Maker, and Apple iMovie; audio: Audacity and Goldwave; images: Adobe Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro; players: Windows Media Player, iTunes, QuickTime, and Adobe Flash Player. Web tools include slideshow tools, which generate content for linear playpack of images (Joggle, ImageLoop, One true Media, SlideFlickr, Picasa); timeline tools, which organize events on a timeline by date and time using texts, images, etc (OurStory, xtimeline); mixer tools, which are similar to slideshow tools but offer a larger variety of media types that can be mixed (Voice Thread, Mixercast). Other tools include Comic sketch tools, map tools, audio tools, collage tools, video tools, and presentation tools. Digital media can be used to build partnerships between community, educational, and business institutions to develop initiative in multiple areas, such as health, social services, education, historic and cultural preservation, community development, human rights, and environmental justice.

Digital storytelling can be used in the field of education as an effective instructional tool and supplement to teachers. As a teacher, I could create stories and show them as a way to present new material to my students in a way that is interesting to them and grabs their attention and makes learning fun. By using digital storytelling, I can enhance the material being taught with the use of images, sounds, and effects that stimulate my students' senses and engage them in the learning process. By using more than traditional speech and standard visual aids, I can help my students better understand material. Digital storytelling would help me enhance preexisting lessons, present new material, make difficult content more understandable, and facilitate discussion and involvement. I can also have students create digital stories for classwork, homework, projects, or student of the week presentations. By doing this they will become actively engaged and interested in what they are working on, learn to work with others, and present their work to the class by sharing their story. They will learn research, writing, organization, technology, and presentation skills.



This video explains the use of digital storytelling in the classroom through the eyes of a student. I chose this source because in a very simple way it explains how digital storytelling is beneficial to students in the classroom, how it can be used, what students can gain from using it, and how digital storytelling is a revolutionary and effective learning and teaching tool.

Concept Map

This is a concept map of the ways social tools can be used by teachers in education, in and out of the classroom.