This project looks at the body of literature related to visual communication and the categories that emerge from the writings to develop a taxonomy of topics and some sense of the location of the most important, or at least the most frequently written about, areas of study. (Author/LRW)

Art is visual literacy, some would say more basic than writing and speaking, because it is not hampered by the barrier of language. The process of creating a visual narrative and understanding visual literacy is multi-faceted. Because similar cognitive strategies are used in the practice of both visual and written literacy, incorporation of…

Including talk about art--conversing with children about artwork, their own and others'--as a component of visual art activities extends children's experiences in and understanding of visual messages. Johnson discusses practices that help children develop visual and verbal expression through active experiences with the visual arts. She offers 25…

Language teaching in the last 10-15 years has seen a shift away from the communicative approach and towards the paradigm of intercultural (communicative) competence. It has also been influenced by a broader educational shift away from an emphasis on print literacy and towards multiliteracies. At the same time, we have witnessed the rise of…

According to van der Pluijm (2006), an ecological community occurs when interacting groups, living in the same area, are joined together by the set of connections. This definition implies a symbiotic relationship and the acknowledgment that what affects one member or part of the community also affects the others. When the interconnections are…

This article explores one context in which language arts instruction can be enhanced through digital technologies. It describes how preservice elementary education teachers first investigated aspects of visual literacy and then engaged in digital and traditional multimodal forms of response to historical nonfiction literature. They read,…

Not so many years ago, comic books in school were considered the enemy. Students caught sneaking comics between the pages of bulky--and less engaging--textbooks were likely sent to the principal. Today, however, comics, including classics such as "Superman" but also their generally more complex, nuanced cousins, graphic novels, are not only…

An education humanist discusses how media technology can affect learning. (HB)

A film study course written for the Dade County, Fla. public schools is described which covers techniques of motion pictures and their historical development. Techniques include the "language of pictures" (distance shots, angle shots, color, lighting, arrangement), the "language of motion" (camera movement, subject movement),…

Visual education is a field that has tremendous potential which it still has not begun to realize. (Author)

The media are sources of great power because they are relentless and invisible persuaders. Man does not offer resistance for he is often unaware of the effect of their presence, concentrating on the "content" while every form of his experience and the quality of life itself is shaped by the "message" form. (VT)

The content of and rationale behind the Film in Communication'' course given at the School of Library Science, Simmons College is discussed. The course centers on the film as an art form, but consideration is also given to problems of collection building, programming, service and maintenance of film collections and equipment. (Author/KE)

Examines sources available for developing a theory of visual literacy and attempts to clarify the meaning of the term. Suggests that visual thinking, a concept supported by recent research on mental imagery, visualization, and dual coding, ought to be the emphasis for future theory development. (FL)

Presents a rhetoric of visuals in relationship to their accompanying text. Discusses prior research in graphics, outlines a syntax of graphics and their level of abstraction, describes tagmemic analysis of visuals, and discusses rhetorical integration of text and visuals. (SR)