Group 2 Technology - Blog Reflection - Images

In my chosen KLA visual literacy is crucial. In the context of a visual art class a student needs to be able to communicate through images while in the context of a media class students need to be able to read an image. Either way the students need to be visually literate.

It should become an automatic response to look at any image critically and break it down to form meaning. In a media class I would imagine it would be quite common to be given a print advertisement or a television advertisement and have to dissect the visuals for meaning. Thinking routines would be extremely useful in this context for example asking questions like:

• What do you see?
• What do you think about that?
• What does it make you wonder?

www.pz.harvard.edu

Asking questions like this encourages analysis, evaluation and the knowledge to give an original response. Take the ad below for example (I uploaded it using photobucket). It is an advertisement I found on adsoftheworld.com
 Ask the students what do you see, think and wonder when you look at this advertisement? This kind of questioning takes students up into higher order thinking. They can't just identify what they see in a literal sense, they need to be able to understand why the image looks like this and make visual relationships and find meaning in everything.

An advertisement for Mercedes Benz

Looking at visual literacy from an ICTs perspective, students would use the same skills when creating a television advertisement that has to evoke a certain emotion or make an animated storyboard. Using a digital program create a press advertisement that uses a visual headline rather then a written headline, see example below.

An advertisement for Pringles Hot and Spicy

Visual literacy is just as important in learning as traditional literacy. Everyday we are exposed to thousands of images from all kinds of media. Students need to have the skills to be able to 'read' these images effectively and then (if they are in a media or visual arts class) to be able to translate that thinking to creating images that provoke responses from different audiences.

Before

This is a really simple image manipulation I did for work the other day. It is a really simply example of how changing the elements of the image can change the emotional responces. This is an easy activity the students could participate in.

After

PMI for learning with Images
Plus'

• Gives students the skills to 'read' images
• Strengthens visual literacy, a necessary tool in today's digital world
• Once students learn this visual language they can apply it to any kind of media, even think of similar principles in aural literacy
• This is an elearning technology not reliant on the internet to implement. Students can use any computer with appropriate software

Minus'

• Really suits visual learners, would be difficult for other learning styles. This could be turned into a plus because it encourages students to think differently
• The computers need to have software available on it in order for the students to edit an image
• Students need to have a slight prior knowledge of image editing programs

Interestings

• Students probably think they know what they are looking at in an image. It will probably open their eyes to a lot of hidden messages in advertising on both television and in print.
• When students grasp visual literacies and can create images that evoke emotional responces then they can adapt the same principles to making a television commercial and think about camera angles, sound effects, lighting etc

Legal, safe and ethical guidelines when using digital images.
Because students and teachers are covered under the statutory text and artistic licence we can pretty much use whatever resources we like within limits. Some examples where students can use imagery are:
Students can create new artistic works from existing artistic works as a fair dealing as part of their own research or study or for the purpose of criticism, review, parody or satire. For more information on this
Click here for more information
Students and teachers can make copies of a print advertisement as permissible under the Statutory Text and Artistic Licence
Click here for more information

It's probably safer to not upload any images to a public site where students have altered an original work. It's safer to only upload their own original content and even then I would have to get permission from a parent or guardian to use it in other publications.