The types of learners we have in our classrooms today, this 21st century we live in, are a generation that lives in a world of games, images, Internet, animation, and virtual experiences, to say the least. Hence the importance of incorporating visual literacy and Internet in today’s classroom setting. Visual literacy is the reading, understanding, creating, thinking, and communicating through visuals such as graphs, videos, concept mapping, drawings, and pictures, to name a few. Learning Live (n.d.). Literacy Materials: Visual Literacy, explains how it is vital for our students to learn to read visual images since we live in a visual world (Learning Live. (n.d.). Literacy Materials: Visual Literacy. Retrieved November 7, 2010 from http://www.learninglive.co.uk/teachers/primary/literacy/materials/visual_literacy/index.asp).
Image from http://www.learninglive.co.uk/teachers/primary/literacy/materials/visual_literacy/index.asp).
Some visual literacy- thinking strategies that I use and would like to use in my classroom are:
v Graphic organizer and pictographs created with technology to help generate mental pictures, and “facilitate the classification, organization, storage, and recollection of information” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007, p. 93).
v Adding pictures, clip arts, and/or photos to text or notes to enhance students understanding, vocabulary, and help emergent readers, and English Language Learners.
v Create with students study guides with descriptive words and pictures.
v Create nonlinguistic representation of data using spreadsheet software.
v Use photographs, movies, and videos to engage students in the lesson, and assist students acquiring information.
(Smaldino and Lowther, 2007)
The Internet also plays a vital role in the teaching and learning process. Alan November (2008) mentioned the Internet as “the most powerful, convenient, and potentially manipulative medium ever invented” (p. vii). In addition, according to the researcher for many of our students, the Internet is the prevailing medium and the place they will most likely go to research, access information, share information, and communicate.
I am in the process of exploring and choosing a variety of resources available on the Internet as a guide to enhance and enrich the teaching and learning process in my classroom. I believe that the Internet needs to play a vital part in my classroom as a tool that allows students to have an active role in their learning. I have used the Internet for planning, creating, presenting, and enhancing lessons that reach a variety of learning styles. I also use the Internet to monitor student’s progress and performance. Students have used the Internet to practice and reinforce skills. I plan to integrate more of the Internet in the classroom by:
v Allowing students to plan and produce projects collaboratively.
v Blogging to share ideas and communicate.
v Encouraging students to research and access information.
v Using the Internet to communicate with parents.
v Expanding students learning with any part of the world.
v Promoting students to actively participate in their learning through a variety of sources and programs available in the Internet.
All educators and digital immigrants need to embrace visual literacy and the Internet to positively impact the teaching and learning process in the 21st century classroom.
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