Defining visual literacy
Learning through the use of images is not an entirely new concept; we have been aware of the impact that visuals have on learning for years. Yet, fittingly, we have had difficulty putting it into words. It was John L. Debes in 1969 who first coined the term 'visual literacy'. He used it to describe a set of competencies needed in order for an individual to be able to interpret, use and appreciate visual communications (Milbourn, 2013). Since then, there has been great debate over what a visual literate person should be able to do. In simple terms, visual literacy refers to "the ability to make meaning from information in the form of an image" (Rowsell, McLean & Hamilton, 2012, p.444) This not only means that the 'reader' can interpret and evaluate the image but also means they are capable of representing meaning in visual form themselves.
Some of the skills under the visual literacy umbrella are:
Visual Learning - understanding the visual characteristics & conventions of images as well as how images interact with other texts
Critical Viewing - evaluating the context, authorship and audience of images
Visual Communication - thinking and effectively conveying meaning in visual terms (Milbourn, 2013).
Whether we like it or not, we live in a visual culture. The ratio of visual images to text is steadily increasing (Bamford, 2003). Our students are constantly bombarded with visual stimuli that have color, animation, texture and dimension and have ultimately led to shift in the way they make meaning. How bombarded are they? In four short years Flicker, a photo-sharing website, contained more than 2 billion images and in January 2008, more than 79 million viewers watched 3 billion videos via You Tube (which was only 3 years old at the time) (Rowsell, McLean & Hamilton, 2012). This increase in digital technologies has made the process of creating, reproducing and disseminating images far easier and more accessible than ever before and, as a result, is changing the landscape of cultural knowledge and interaction. In today's world, being literate involves understanding much more than simply words and texts, it involves understanding visuals.
Some of the skills under the visual literacy umbrella are:
Visual Learning - understanding the visual characteristics & conventions of images as well as how images interact with other texts
Critical Viewing - evaluating the context, authorship and audience of images
Visual Communication - thinking and effectively conveying meaning in visual terms (Milbourn, 2013).
Whether we like it or not, we live in a visual culture. The ratio of visual images to text is steadily increasing (Bamford, 2003). Our students are constantly bombarded with visual stimuli that have color, animation, texture and dimension and have ultimately led to shift in the way they make meaning. How bombarded are they? In four short years Flicker, a photo-sharing website, contained more than 2 billion images and in January 2008, more than 79 million viewers watched 3 billion videos via You Tube (which was only 3 years old at the time) (Rowsell, McLean & Hamilton, 2012). This increase in digital technologies has made the process of creating, reproducing and disseminating images far easier and more accessible than ever before and, as a result, is changing the landscape of cultural knowledge and interaction. In today's world, being literate involves understanding much more than simply words and texts, it involves understanding visuals.
"The ability to understand, create, and use visuals in an interactive environment is a key skill for future knowledge producers" (Milbourn, 2013, p.275) and these skills are not innate. Education scholar, Peter Felton has observed, "living in an image-rich world...does not mean students naturally possess sophisticated visual literacy skills, just as continually listening to an iPod does not teach a person to critically analyze or create music" (as cited in Milbourn, 2013, p.275). As educators, we have a duty to prepare our students for this increasingly visual world and that means teaching visual literacy in the classroom.
A visual literacy approach in the classroom connects with students' everyday lives as producers and consumers of text and helps them analyze and explore the meaning connected to these images. It involves problem solving and critical thinking that can be applied to all areas of life and learning (Bamford, 2003). When our students are visually literate, at a glance they can be drawn into a dialogue with and use it to prompt personal meaning or go on to encourage further connections with wider issues (Rowsell, McLean & Hamilton, 2012). It also makes students more resistant to manipulation by visual means (Bamford, 2003). The following YouTube video addresses the topic of visual literacy and explores its benefits and impact on the 21st century learner.