1. Copy and paste a quote from the reading that causes you to have a strong reaction (agreement, disagreement, confusion...) and explain your reaction.
"The visual images we encounter each and every day play an important role in how we make sense of the world and how we see ourselves"
This part of the reading resonated with me because I have two students who are legally blind. They can see shapes and have books and papers in large print but they view the world differently. Most people see the world through our eyes yet my students see the world through touch, smell, and hearing. My other students who have significant cognitive abilities see the world through the eyes of a toddler. I have noticed that I view things differently when I am with "my students" in my classroom than I do in my collaborative classes. I have a student with Autism and visual stimulation drives him crazy yet he needs pictures to communicate effectively. I often wonder how to effectively create multimodal texts in order to reach all of my children.
2. Why should educators care about multimodal texts?
I feel that educators should feel that mutimodal texts should be a part of their curriculum in general. Textbooks are written way above the reading levels of the average student. I read that almost all material in everyday life are written on a sixth grade reading level. Newspapers, magazines, instructions, cookbooks, mailing, etc. are created with the average reader in mind. We are preparing our students for a world outside of school. We have to find meaning to the readings of The Odyssey or Of Mice and Men. Students do not always come equipped with background knowledge to understand the writings of John Steinbeck or Homer. My love for Edgar Allen Poe stems from my 6th grade teacher who took us to a graveyard close to our school to set the stage for the darkness of the poems (and this was WAY before the computer age!). Teachers need to constantly come up with creative ways to get students to understand what we are trying to teach them.
3. How is your definition of literacy different or similar to the definition of literacy presented in the book? Or how did the reading change or expand your definition of literacy?
The readings expanded my definition of literacy. I had wrote in a different blog post "a picture is worth a thousand words" yet the author added "but a thousand words are not the same as a picture". I love the added part to that saying. It seems as if our schools are stagnated into the textbook teaching style. The English department (or science, math, history) passes out textbooks along with a teacher's manual and say "teach English". It is up to us to move away from the read and answer questions type of teaching. I know that when students create something or experience something, they remember it forever. I teach very basic science and our unit on weather may last a month. I wait until the various clouds present themselves and we will go outside and draw them or take pictures with their iPads. The more exposure to a subject we want our students to learn, and the more ways we present the subject, the better it is for everyone involved.
4. How can visual literacy support the development of the kinds of reading and writing we want children to learn through schooling?
Visual literacy helps our students gain a deeper understanding of what we are trying to teach them. Sometimes it turns the lights on in their head and they have the "ah-hah" moment. Even as adults we need other types of print to help us understand. This course for example is giving me a different meaning to the word Power Point. It represents so much more to me now than just a Microsoft program. In our history course, we use the picture "The Migrant Mother" and start with a close-up of just the woman's face. The student's are trying to see how hard life was during that era. As we show more and more images of the picture, the students can see a story of life in 1936 on the plains. I could tell them how hard life was, have them read a passage about The Dust Bowl, but the image is what resonates the most with all of the students.
5. Find an online resources that addresses issues of visual literacy in education link to it or embed it your blog posting and provide a brief explanation of how it relates to this week's reading.
This website expands on the definition of visual literacy and gives a few examples on how to use it in your classroom. I particularly like the cartoon.
6. Find an images that relates to the ideas presented in this week's reading.
WORKS CITED:
Using Graphic Novels. (n.d.). Using Graphic Novels. Retrieved June 14, 2014, from http://ccb.lis.illinois.edu/Projects/youth/literacies/graphic.html
Serafini, F. (2014). Reading the visual: an introduction to teaching multimodal literacy. New York: Teachers College.
McCall, M. (2010, October 18). Reflections of a Digital Age. : Enhance Technology with Visual Literacy. Retrieved June 14, 2014, from http://marie-reflection-blogatgcu.blogspot.com/2010/10/enhance-technology-with-visual-literacy.html
Candi I agree with you completely about the comment about a picture is worth a 1,000 words but 1,000 words are not the same as a picture. Opened my eyes to this quote. I love how you go on and talk about the different exposures you give to your students to better their understanding. I agree that students will remember the experience more then how many questions they got right in class last week.
ReplyDeleteAll teachers should use texts as references if needed, but we are drifting so far from textbook learning, as we should. I rarely get my textbooks out unless I need to punish someone, and that isn't always the case.
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of expanding your weather unit into a month if needed. I am on board with that. Taking your students outside to actually "see" and "experience" what they are leaning will absolutely resonate more with them than looking at pages in the book. The weather is wondrous and students need to study along with experience its power. Well done! I love the idea of having them draw ;) That's my area and cross-curricular additions are fabulous!!!
First of all, I'm a huge HUGE huge fan of graphic comics whether we are using them to get teens and preteens to read more or using them to encourage students to create artistic and meaningful products. There are some really great software programs available for students to make their own comics. I'm so glad you found this and brought it up because I had not made the connection yet.
ReplyDeleteI too love the quote, "A picture is worth a thousand words but 1,000 words are not the same as a picture." What a fantastic twist on an old saying that i had not never thought about. I've used that quote a million times, I'm not sure I can use it again without thinking of this.
I also want to add that I agree with Laura. When I was teaching in the classroom I used texts as my own reference to see where I should gage my teaching. Sometimes I want to delve too far in a topic out of excitement and I'm not sure where the cut off is (LOL).
I do agree that textbooks aren't at the right reading level for our students. And are outdated in the fact that I was asked to come to a school and teach the solar system because the teacher was telling kids that Pluto was a planet because the book said so.