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Visual literacy is more than just recognizing images or understanding graphics; it’s about
comprehending, analyzing, and effectively communicating through visual means. As educators,
fostering visual literacy among students is paramount in preparing them for a world saturated with
visual stimuli. Here, we delve into the key components of visual literacy and explore how educators
can cultivate these skills in their students.
1. Interpretation: Decoding Visual Information
Interpretation lies at the heart of visual literacy. Teaching students how to analyze and interpret
visual information equips them with the essential skills to make sense of the visuals they encounter
daily. Whether deciphering complex infographics, decoding symbols in artworks, or understanding
the message behind advertisements, interpretation enables students to extract meaning from visual
texts. Educators can facilitate interpretation by engaging students in activities that prompt them to
analyze images, charts, graphs, and diagrams critically.
2. Creation: Empowering Students to Visualize Ideas
Encouraging students to create their own visual representations is a powerful way to enhance their
visual literacy skills. By engaging in the process of creating visuals, students not only deepen their
understanding of concepts but also develop their ability to communicate ideas effectively. Whether
designing posters, crafting digital presentations, or producing multimedia projects, creation fosters
creativity and empowers students to express themselves visually.
3. Critical Thinking: Evaluating Visual Messages
Critical thinking is essential for navigating the vast sea of visual media with discernment and
scepticism. Educators play a vital role in developing students’ ability to evaluate visual messages
critically. This involves teaching students to question the credibility of sources, recognize bias, and
consider the creator’s perspective. Educators cultivate a generation of critical consumers and
creators of visual media by engaging in discussions and activities that prompt students to analyze
the intent and impact of visual content.
4. Ethical Considerations: Navigating the Complexities of Visual Representation
In an age where images can be easily manipulated and misrepresented, discussing ethical
considerations is crucial in visual literacy education. Educators must guide students in navigating
the ethical implications of using and creating visual content. This includes addressing issues of
representation, authenticity, and the responsible use of images. By fostering conversations around
ethical dilemmas and encouraging students to consider the ethical implications of their visual
creations, educators instil values of integrity and respect in their students.
Incorporating these critical components into visual literacy instruction empowers educators to
nurture students adept at interpreting, creating, and critically evaluating visual content. By equipping
students with these essential skills, educators prepare them to thrive in a world where visual
communication reigns supreme, enabling them to navigate and contribute meaningfully to an
increasingly visual society.
Students are exposed to a vast array of visual media. When we hear the jazzy term ‘visual text’ we
may immediately think of its expression in the digital age, but the roots of visual texts stretch deep
into our history; all the way back to our beginnings. Think of the cave paintings in Lascaux!
However, today, there are many more forms of visual text to consider. From cave walls to computer
screens and all points in between, students are exposed to billboards, photographs, TV, video,
maps, memes, digital stories, video games, timelines, signs, political cartoons, posters, flyers,
newspapers, magazines, Facebook, Instagram, movies, DVDs, and cell phone wallpaper—to name
but twenty! All these can serve as the jumping-off point for a lesson on visual literacy.
The digital age has opened the floodgate on images spilling into our consciousness and
unconsciousness. The implications for visual literacy stretch far beyond the limits of the English
classroom into all areas of our lives. From the math student interpreting graphs to the music student
following musical notation or the geography student poring over Google Earth. For a multitude of
purposes, in an array of modalities, visual literacy is ever more critical.
“Visual Literacy is the ability to construct meaning from images. It’s not a skill. It uses skills as a
toolbox. It’s a form of critical thinking that enhances your intellectual capacity.”
Brian Kennedy
Director, Toledo Museum of Art
Suppose visual literacy is about decoding meaning from images of various kinds. In that case, we
must teach our students how to set about this intimidating task – just as we do when we teach them
how to approach a written text. Regardless of the nature of the image, this process follows three
general steps:
1. What Can You See?
Students must become familiar with Visual Literacy Clues (VLCs) to answer this. When students are
familiar with these clues, they will have a method of approaching any image to decode its meaning.
The VLCs are subject matter, colors, angles, symbols, vectors, lighting, gaze, gestures, and
shapes. These categories provide an approach to examining the details of the various aspects of
the image they are reading.
2. How Does It Make You Feel?
After the students have had time to note what they can see in the image through examination of the
VLCs, it is now time for them to consider their emotional response to what they have viewed.
With close reference to the VLCs they have previously identified, students express how the image
makes them feel and how it has influenced them to feel this way. They may feel anger, anguish,
excitement, happiness, etc. There is no limit to the emotions they may refer to, provided they can
point to evidence from the image. Here are some suggested questions to help the students explore
their responses:
Subject Matter: What is the topic of the movie? Who and what are in the image? What is the image
about?
Color: How is color used in the image? What effect do the colors choose have on the viewer?
Angles: Are we looking from above or below? What is the camera angle? How does this affect what
we see and how we feel about it?
Symbols: What symbols are used in this image? What do you think they represent? Are the colors
that were chosen symbolic?
Vectors: Can you see the major lines in the image? Are they broken or unbroken? How do the lines
create reading paths for our eyes?
Lighting: Can you describe the lighting used in the movie? How does it affect the ‘mood’ of the
movie?
Gaze: What type of look is the character giving? Where is their gaze directed? What does this say?
Gesture: What type of gestures is the character giving? What is communicated by these gestures?
Shapes: What geometric shapes can you recognize in the image? Do they repeat? Is there a
pattern? Is order or chaos conveyed?
3. What Is The Image Trying To Tell Us?
This third aspect peels back another level of meaning to get to the image’s overall message. This
question asks the students to delve into the intentions of the image-maker themselves. The genre of
the image will be of significance here, too, as the student considers the nature of the image as art,
entertainment, advertisement or a fusion of the various genres.
1. Caption a Photograph
Photographs are one of our students’ most familiar forms of visual media. Often, they see
photographs accompanied by captions.
In this exercise, give copies of a single photograph to the class without captions. Their task is to
closely examine the photograph individually or in small groups before writing a caption to
accompany it. When students have completed their captions, they can compare them with each
other before you reveal the true nature of the photograph.
Before writing their caption, you may wish to provide some supporting questions or background
information. You may, however, wish them to go in blind to any background other than what they
can deduce from the photograph itself.
This activity aims to reveal to the students how open a single visual image can be to interpretation.
The students will gain awareness of the power of a caption to frame an image’s meaning, even if
the caption is inaccurate.
Some suggested questions for students to consider:
● What people, objects, or activities can you see in the picture?
● Are there any clues as to when it was taken? What was happening at this time in history?
● Are there any clues as to where it was taken? Are there any clues to why it was taken or
who took it?
● Is it a posed photograph? A natural scene? A documentary photograph? A selfie?
Extension: You may wish to use this activity as a lead-in to a more prominent topic. It can be a great
introduction to draw out the students’ background knowledge and lead to a more extensive
discussion or research project. This activity can also be easily adapted for various types of images,
such as advertisements.
VIDEO GAMES ARE THE BIGGEST SELLING FORM OF POPULAR CULTURE TO STUDENT-
AGED CHILDREN, YET WE DO LITTLE TO TEACH THEM AS A VISUAL / DIGITAL TEXT
We are familiar with the concept of movie tie-ins. In days gone by, the response to the question
“Have you read x?” was often a “No, but I saw the movie.” Nowadays the reply is just as likely to be
“No, but I have the video game.” The triumvirate of the book—movie—game tie-in is fertile ground
for some interesting text comparison work in the classroom.
Popular tie-in triplets include Harry Potter and the seminal Lord of the Rings. Use your students’
powers of visual perception to create this multimedia experience by selecting scenes from the
original book and comparing how the scene is handled in the movie or video game.
Keep the focus on the visual elements in the latter two media. Encourage students to discuss, write,
or prepare a presentation on how the movie or video game translates non-visual aspects from the
text version into visual elements. Again, as discussed above, reference to the VLCs will be an
important element in this activity.
4. The Timeline
While the activities examined so far have focused on honing the students’ comprehension skills in
relation to visual texts, this activity allows students to apply that knowledge to the creation of visual
texts themselves.
Encourage the students to plot significant milestones in their lives on a visual timeline. They may
use a combination of images and text if this aligns with your learning objectives and students’
abilities. However, do ensure you remind students how they can incorporate the VLCs into
conveying meaning in their images.
This can also be a valuable activity in which to incorporate various aspects of IT skills. Students can
perform advanced Google image searches to locate copyright-free images or use websites like The
Noun Project to locate Creative Commons icons to help them make a slideshow version of their
timeline on PowerPoint. A wealth of software applications can assist, many of which are freely
available online.
In today’s digitally driven world, technology offers a plethora of opportunities for both teachers and
students to enhance visual literacy skills. By leveraging digital tools and resources, educators can
engage students in dynamic learning experiences that foster critical thinking, creativity, and
communication. Here are some ways teachers and students can use technology to enhance visual
literacy:
1. Interactive Multimedia Presentations: Teachers can use software like Microsoft
PowerPoint or Google Slides to create visually engaging multimedia presentations. Incorporating
images, videos, and interactive elements captures students’ attention and helps them understand
complex concepts through visual representation. Additionally, students can learn to create their own
multimedia presentations, enhancing their skills in visual storytelling and design.
2. Digital Storytelling: Digital storytelling platforms such as Adobe Spark and Storybird enable
students to combine text, images, and multimedia elements to create compelling narratives. By
planning, creating, and sharing digital stories, students develop their visual literacy skills by making
deliberate choices about visual elements to enhance the storytelling experience.
3. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): VR and AR technologies provide
immersive experiences that transport students to different locations, time periods, or scenarios.
Teachers can use VR headsets or AR apps to explore historical sites, simulate scientific
experiments, or visualize abstract concepts. By interacting with virtual environments, students
develop a deeper understanding of spatial relationships and visual perspectives.
4. Digital Art and Design Tools: Software programs like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and
Canva empower students to express their creativity through digital art and design. From editing
photos to creating graphic illustrations, students learn to manipulate visual elements to convey
meaning and evoke emotions. These tools also encourage experimentation and collaboration,
allowing students to explore different artistic techniques and styles.
5. Online Image Analysis and Annotation Tools: Websites and apps such as Padlet,
ThingLink, and Skitch enable students to annotate, analyze, and interact with images
collaboratively. Teachers can use these tools to facilitate discussions around visual texts,
encouraging students to ask questions, make observations, and draw connections between images
and other forms of media.
By integrating technology into visual literacy instruction, teachers can create dynamic learning
environments that empower students to become critical consumers and creators of visual media.
Through hands-on exploration and experimentation with digital tools, students develop the skills and
con
Draw a Line Under It
In this article, we have touched the tip of that proverbial iceberg. The scope for using visual texts in
the classroom is potentially limited only by our own imagination. While we have looked at several
concrete examples of visual literacy-based activities in the examples above, the opportunity for
building lessons around the myriad forms of visual texts is endless.
Whether utilising advertisements, internet memes, or classic works of art as the focus, start with the
three broad questions outlined previously: What can you see? How does it make you feel? What is
the image trying to tell us? These questions provide the basis for developing your learning
objectives, and your activities can quickly be built around them.
The Visual Literacy Clues provide strategies for reading any visual text, whether moving or still
images. The more practice students get using these strategies, the more fluent their reading will
become. While for some students, these skills may take time to develop, remind them too that just
as we can refer to images as visual texts, we can equally refer to written text as images themselves,
as the letters on the page are themselves symbolic in nature.
If they can learn to read the complexities of the written language, they can be confident they can
learn to read the visual world too.