According to the International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA), “Visual Literacy refers to a group of vision-competencies a human being can develop by seeing and at the same time having and integrating other sensory experiences” (Avgerinou, 2012). In other words, visual literacy is one’s ability to create, apply and evaluate representations of a visual nature (Eppler, N.D). According to Eppler, students who learn about visual literacy will gain the knowledge to critically analyze, as well as establish the negative and positive aspects of visual representations (N.D).
In my opinion, visual literacy is something that aids in the development of knowledge and understanding for any level, grade or type of learner. I believe that it is important for visual literacy to be taught in schools because through visual literacy, comes creativity. Play based learning should be incorporated for every age group. Play based learning allows for creativity to shine, and visual literacy can be a type of play. For example, allowing students to showcase their creativity through photography is a fun, educational and rewarding activity. I plan to do this type of activity when I have my own classroom.
Being a psychology major, I have come across many resources that state that children begin to understand the world around them through visual representations, before they are able to speak and write. Children are able to analyze something in visual form and begin to make connections in regards to the atmosphere around them. For example, perhaps a young child is shown a picture of an older person and can make a connection between that person’s age and one of their own grandparents. To me, this is a topic of great interest and it goes to show that visual literacy is something that should be implemented in a child’s life as soon as possible. In my own opinion, the younger a child is introduced to visual literacy, the sooner they will be able to critically analyze and make connections with the world around them.
From my own experience in the classroom, I do not feel as though some teachers have a full understanding on the importance of visual literacy. The Visual Literacy Toolbox, which can be found at http://www.humanities.umd.edu/vislit has many resources for teachers to help them implement visual literacy into their lessons. This website provides an overview of visual literacy, online activities, activity plans, questions, learning objectives and additional resources that can be found.
Reference links can be found on my reference page.
Talk soon, S.
In my opinion, visual literacy is something that aids in the development of knowledge and understanding for any level, grade or type of learner. I believe that it is important for visual literacy to be taught in schools because through visual literacy, comes creativity. Play based learning should be incorporated for every age group. Play based learning allows for creativity to shine, and visual literacy can be a type of play. For example, allowing students to showcase their creativity through photography is a fun, educational and rewarding activity. I plan to do this type of activity when I have my own classroom.
Being a psychology major, I have come across many resources that state that children begin to understand the world around them through visual representations, before they are able to speak and write. Children are able to analyze something in visual form and begin to make connections in regards to the atmosphere around them. For example, perhaps a young child is shown a picture of an older person and can make a connection between that person’s age and one of their own grandparents. To me, this is a topic of great interest and it goes to show that visual literacy is something that should be implemented in a child’s life as soon as possible. In my own opinion, the younger a child is introduced to visual literacy, the sooner they will be able to critically analyze and make connections with the world around them.
From my own experience in the classroom, I do not feel as though some teachers have a full understanding on the importance of visual literacy. The Visual Literacy Toolbox, which can be found at http://www.humanities.umd.edu/vislit has many resources for teachers to help them implement visual literacy into their lessons. This website provides an overview of visual literacy, online activities, activity plans, questions, learning objectives and additional resources that can be found.
Reference links can be found on my reference page.
Talk soon, S.