Section Overview

It is important to learn how to effectively interpret images. Images can facilitate learning by quickly drawing mind-connections that would otherwise take a long time using purely verbal means. Teachers use visuals in the classroom to help motivate students, to express main points, to facilitate learning, and to support verbal information.

Related Course Readings

Mander, Jerry (1991). In the Absence of the Sacred. San Francisco: The Sierra Club (Chaps 4-8).

Learning Activities

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Key Links

Just Think: A Media Literacy Organization for Teachers, Parents, Children
http://www.justthink.org
The web site of the Just Think Foundation is especially useful for parents, teachers, and students interested in media literacy.  The organization strives to "teach young people to understand the words and images in media, to produce their own media messages and to think for themselves."

National PTA: Critical Viewing, TV Ratings and Online Library
http://www.pta.org/programs/viewlibr.htm
The National PTA web site provides valuable links for media literacy issues and critical viewing skills. Among the sources included are at-home activity sheets that can be used to evaluate TV programs for children and information on how to provide safe online environments for children.

Bev Branton's Visual Literacy Page
A resource page that includes web links,definitions, and the author's doctoral thesis proposal on enhancing visual literacy skills via constructivist learning environments.

Discuss the Topic

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Student Links

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