Abstract: As texts become multimodal, even preschool children, although they do not know yet how to read, confront texts in which the way they look contributes to the construction of their meaning. Even without words, just by looking at the text, its form and location, the colours of the letters or the background page, the letter size, or its font, the reader–viewer knows if s/he is going to read a dialogue or a first-person narration, if the hero shouts or whispers, his/her emotional state, and even his/her language and nationality. Three hundred fifty-six non-reading preschool children were tested on multimodal conventions adopted mainly by comics. The results showed that young children, even before they become print literate, possess a visual literacy that is gaining predominance in our times.

Abstract: For many art educators, the word "technology" conjures up visions of overhead projectors and VCRs, video and digital cameras, computers equipped with graphic programs and presentation software, digital labs where images rendered in pixels replace the debris of charcoal dust and puddled paints. We forget that visual literacy and technology have been inseparable since the first rock artist demonstrated to a young apprentice how to make a hand-print with ground pigment. As I have argued at greater length elsewhere (Stankiewicz, 2003b), art education has a special relationship with technology. Not only do we depend on image-making and image-reproducing technologies as resources for student learning, but drawing can function as a language for the invention of new technologies. Perhaps most importantly, ideas about visual literacy have served as metaphorical technologies in contexts of power, making art education a virtual technology for social control. In the paragraphs below, I will partially unpack each of these ideas and suggest implications for art education today.Technologies for Art LearningAlthough many art educators prefer to consider the aesthetic autonomy of the visual arts as the chief context for art education, at least four technological contexts inscribe the field. The Society for the History of Technology (2004) defines technology as "methods by which a social group provides itself with the material objects of their civilization." Thus technologies relevant to learning in the visual arts range from tools used by small-scale societies in the creation of images and things, technologies like drop spindles and potters' wheels, through invented media grounded in industrialism, e.g., the crayon (Bellis, 2004), or in romantic, progressive notions of innate self-expression, e.g., finger-paints (Stankiewicz, 1984). When we consider these technologies, these media for art making, within a context of visual culture we must acknowledge that each medium carries its own message about beliefs and values (McLuhan, 1964; Stankiewicz, 2004). The media/technologies favored by a culture both shape and communicate favored notions of knowledge, the preferred beliefs and values of that culture.A second set of technologies foundational to art education is the set of technologies used to reproduce images. We can trace the development of image reproduction technologies in the histories of printmaking and photography, the emergence of mass media. Is it merely coincidence that the 19th-century rise of industrial art education followed close on the heels of the invention of lithography in 1798 as an inexpensive, popular means of producing multiple images, as well as on the development of precursors to silver-based photography between 1816 and 1839? Technologies for mass reproduction might have had little impact without the development of technologies for disseminating images-examples can include magazines, a postal service, and advertising.Beyond image-making and image-reproducing technologies, art education as we know it today needed technologies to support the instruction of large numbers of pupils in rationally organized situations. Early in 19th-century North America, "school" referred to a teacher with a group of students (Stankiewicz, 2001b). Place could vary from the upper rooms of a church to a home to a warehouse or donated factory room. As schooling became more formalized in imitation of the factory model of specialization with grouping of related processes, schools needed seating. Benches of varied heights supported age-grouping which in turn led toward age-graded classrooms. Writing instruction required smooth surfaces, copperplate models, individual slates and chalk (Thornton, 1996). Later, specially lined paper would replace copybooks. Drawing instruction followed a similar path in which the physical environment provided prerequisites for the opportunity to learn, such as blackboards.At the level of techniques used to administer complex systems (e. …

Abstract: The ability to understand (‘read’) pictures, is often taken for granted as an inherent human ability. In South Africa, with its great educational and development needs and low adult literacy rate, pictures and illustrations are widely used in educational materials aimed at readers with minimal reading skills, and rightly so. However this usage often seems to be based on the assumption that non-verbal visual images are a universal language that every sighted person can interpret. This is not always the case. Images on paper are essentially arrangements of lines and shapes on a flat surface - symbols which make up visual language representing objects in a threedimensional world. Reading pictures is a cognitive skill and to understand a picture correctly, the viewer must know certain conventions. However, arriving at a definition of visual literacy is problematic and there is a lack of unified theory on the interpretation of visuals by low-literate South African audiences, and therefore little strat...

Abstract: We employ an array of terms to denote the visual; however, we have not yet agreed on a clear framework for understanding the function and relationship between visual concepts. I propose a literacy approach to the visual so that as educators, researchers, students, and practitioners, we acquire more than skills that rely on changing definitions and technologies but an intellectual faculty that provides the knowledge, understanding, and abilities that the visual affords. Through an analysis of arguments for visual instruction, I present the wayS in which scholars justify their claims about the visual. These arguments uncover the breadth and depth of the visual and contribute to a taxonomy of visual terminology.

Abstract: The role of visual perception in media literacy is paramount in understanding the shift from a linear perceptual process (literacy) to a holistic perceptual process (visuality) by which almost all ...

Abstract: New or emerging contexts for learning are currently at the forefront of educational enquiry. The current search for or combination of emerging pedagogies with new technologies poses an exciting challenge for art education. Globally, what is ‘new’ in art education today is not necessarily original but can be viewed as a re-emergence or re-conceptualisation of the role of visual literacy within the discipline.

Abstract: Indigenous Knowledge and Higher Education are presented in this thesis as a two-way educational engagement which presents Indigenous understandings of the world as a philosophy and science which is relational to the world and all its inhabitants.Knowledge formation in the context of this study is based in the instigation of a relational order in a context where patterns of human relation in coming to knowledge are generally overlooked. Knowledge formation in this regard is the ways in which human participants align themselves in coming to knowledge. This may be best expressed as those patterns of relation between participants which may correspond in various ways to knowledge in a context. The ways through which knowledge emerges in such a collaborative engagement conducted with respect form the ongoing project of this study.The following text aims to inform the reader of the directions taken in these Indigenous Knowledge instigations and to describe the outcomes of these instigations in the ABTS2020 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Approaches to Knowledge and EDUC2090 Indigenous Knowledge and Education courses conducted at the University of Queensland.Indigenous Knowledge instigations are presented in this thesis as methodologies which inform the unfolding of knowledge within human contexts. Visual perception and design are integral in this relational unfolding of knowledge, therefore, this thesis attempts to provide some measure of visual literacy in approaching the Visual Philosophic basis of Indigenous Philosophy. In this regard I ask the reader to engage with the visual images presented in this thesis as expressions of my deepest respect for this knowledge in the world.

Abstract: This article reports on a term's work with students in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in which the adult classic text Silas Marner was studied in both written and film form (Eliot, 1994; BBC/Fo, 1985). Through an extended consideration of the structures employed by different forms of narrative, students were invited to consider the knowledge and skills they brought to the development of their own response to different texts. Concurrently they were encouraged to consider the needs of their prospective pupils, as expert readers of moving image, and as novice readers of classic fiction. Crucial to the teaching and learning experience was the consideration of the different, expanding notions of literacy, including visual literacy, tele-literacy and moving-image literacy. A key consideration was the interrelationship between these, with narrative as the key link, and the exploration of how these literacies could be mutually supportive within the framework of ‘school’ literacy. The importance of paying explicit attention to the pedagogical practices that foster an engagement with and development of these different literacies was highlighted, as was the need to experience the reading of whole texts in order to foster the development of response.

Abstract: Knowledge of graphic design, information design, visual communication, visual language, and visual literacy might be important for our ability to better produce effective messages - “messages that really work.” In this study eight groups of ID students ranked lists of “information design characteristics,” a total of 50 research findings. These masters students were asked to discuss and rank how they perceive the importance of research findings related to: (1) sender processes, (2) text design, (3) image design, (4) graphic-design, and (5) receiver processes.

Abstract: What determines the nature and style of the literature and pictures produced for children, and how do children respond? This volume reviews contemporary conceptions of visual texts and explores what will be understood as visual literacy in the future. Drawn from an international conference in Cambridge in 2000, the contributions range from Aboriginal visual narratives to European artists' sketchbooks to children's "classics" such as "Alice in Wonderland", new "classics" and media texts. The enduring appeal of humour is discussed, as manifest in comics, poetry and popular fiction such as the Dr Seuss books. Children's voices are also here, offering sophisticated views of pictorial texts and revealing new possibilities about what reading might come to mean.

Abstract: This short paper is based on “Creating Graphics for Learning and Performance - Lessons in Visual Literacy” written by Dr. Linda L. Lohr (2003). In her book, Lohr not only presents research studies and theories of learning from visuals, but also provides lessons and examples in creating effective visual instructions. This paper focuses on three theories related to mind and memory that are frequently addressed in the field of visual literacy: information processing theory, dual-coding theory, and multimedia theory. In addition to fostering a better understanding of these theories, three principles of perceptions along with illustrations are also provided.

Abstract: Visualization in Technology Education (VisTE) is a standards-based initiative designed to promote the use of graphic visualization tools among students in grades 8-12. By using simple and complex visualization tools, students can conduct research, analyze phenomena, problem solve and communicate major topics identified in the Standards for Technology Literacy (STL) as well as topics aligned with national science and mathematics standards. Therefore, in the future, students will come into engineering and technology programs at the post secondary level already having these basic visual skill. This paper will discuss this new national project and how its approach to technogical and visual literacy can impact instructional approaches to engineering design graphics at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

Abstract: Considering variety, quantity and quality of information presentations and representations on the Web two research directions emerge for us: the first one has to do with foundations of visual literacy, development of visual languages that will facilitate visual reasoning in more general setting than in problem solving and the other one has to do with the complexity of design process itself. These two directions are not separate, as visual reasoning is a fundamental attribute of design, it is a functionality inherent in visual representations, but has to be rendered by design. This implies a need for design principles whereby visual reasoning can be built into a visual representation, which in turn requires the identification of these sound design principles and a language for talking about them. In this study, we define some of the basic concepts like visual immediacy, visual impetus and visual impedance that may form the basis of the necessary vocabulary. We then discuss types of visual reasoning, extending the goal of visual reasoning from problem solving alone to a more generic goal that includes the kind of reasoning involved in visual metaphors, visual analogies, and visual associations, which all act as organizers of thinking. We then proceed towards trying to summarize, systematize and add new principles and guidelines towards better presentation of information for the Web.

Abstract: This investigation reinforces the conceptualization of television viewing as a learned activity by highlighting the interrelatedness of children's linguistic, cognitive, and perceptual skills for accurate comprehension of television's most basic narrative device—temporal sequencing. It also explores the impact of highly divergent skills and abilities by sampling children school‐labeled as academically gifted and artistically gifted. Findings reveal that children with exceptional information processing and/or visual representation capabilities, even at the young age of six, are capable of a higher level of comprehension of basic and modified ("time leaps,” “flashback") modes of temporal sequencing when compared to children without those capabilities. It was also found that televiewing experience facilitated comprehension, although heavy consumption by children who do not possess the prerequisite visual literacy was ineffective.

Abstract: This article developed from pilot research in a coursework Master's module in African Languages into combined outcomes of persuasive messages and visual literacy based on semiotics. It tested assertions by various writers about mass media, as applicable to a semi-urban or rural group of (black) South Africans with educational levels ranging from Grade 10 to Honours level. Owing to the fact that interviewees are financially constrained (and therefore cannot always afford television access or the acquisition of magazines), the focus of ‘persuasive messages’ was on billboard advertising in their living and work contexts. It was found that the consumers (respondents to the questionnaire) reacted positively to billboards that supported products on which they have been relying; that once they have been introduced to a product and found it efficient, competitive campaigns do not impinge on their stance; but also that – in this particular semi-urban area – traditional values folklore and usages have to b...

Abstract: Visual literacy has been of interest to many who work in different fields, so that definitions and descriptions are legion (e.g., Hortin, 1994; Seels, 1994). Avgerinou and Ericson (1997) provide a recent review of the concept. Bearing in mind the problem of over-definition, this chapter will take as its starting point the definition cited by Pettersson (1993, p. 135): Visual literacy is the learned ability to interpret visual messages accurately and to create such messages, [along with the need to] translate visual images into verbal language and vice versa. (International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA), 1989)

Abstract: The author links adult literacy skills and visual literacy through art museum experiences. It is possible that art museums can help develop both visual literacy skills and reading skills for illiterate adults through public educational programs. This paper describes the connection and possibilities.

Abstract: MA thesis, Department of Linguistics, University of the Western Cape. textbooks. Regarding typical illustrations of people found in such multimodal print texts encountered in secondary school English L2 classrooms, I am interested in what learners from different cultural groups prefer. In particular, I am work provide a useful point of reference on visual material for educational use, are Sless (1981) and Pettersson (1989 and 1998). MULTILINGUAL/MULTICULTURAL ASPECTS OF VISUAL LITERACY AND INTERPRETATION IN MULTIMODAL EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION M. Kirsten In this thesis I investigate the manner in which learners from different linguistic, educational and cultural contexts relate to illustrations of people in language interested in how these learners’ preferences correspond with their linguistic background, reported reading practices, and aspects of their more general visual literacy skills and experience. In the light of their preferences, I have investigated how visuals like the ones used in this investigation might facilitate, or hinder, learners’ access to reading material, given the multilingual and multicultural settings where such materials are used. Answers to these questions may inform the production and use of printed material in learner-centred language education, in the current South African context. I take an interdisciplinary approach to the investigation, but nevertheless focused within the field of applied linguistics. The work of Kress and Van Leeuwen (1996) is taken as a major point of reference for a semiotic perspective on communication within a systemic functional framework. Other authors whose I investigate six aspects of the depiction of people about which an illustrator must make a semiotic choice. I argue that these choices function on an interpersonal

Abstract: This article commits to paper some expanded thoughts about the meaning of visual literacy. A few years ago, Lida Cochran organized and participated in a panel presentation to address the meaning of the term “visual literacy.” Each presenter had a few minutes to give some brief thoughts. Through participation on the panel, this author gained a deep appreciation of how generously and broadly encompassing the realm of inquiry and effort known as visual literacy continues to be. Upon reflection, the author penned this expanded version of the few thoughts she was able to put forth during the panel. Further, the author acknowledges the tremendous influence Lida Cochran has had on this area of scholarship and dedicates the article to her.

Abstract: Visual literacy is not a magic key to the mysteries of the image not only because teaching and learning is no magic, but also because there is no image (and therefore no mysteries linked to it). Images are cultural forms or cultural practices which ought to be studied as such in their social context, but starting from the proper disciplinary background of the student. The gradual and maybe unending disclosing of this context, which has always an impact on the context of the learner himself or herself, must be at the heart of every visual literacy program inspired by cultural studies. Heavily inspired by the ways of looking permitted or enhanced by cybernetic culture, this program rejects explicitly many of the presuppositions of communications studies and art history.

Abstract: This paper explores the potential impact that visual literacy or post-literacy in the postmodern age has on traditional educational structures. It follows a collaboration between an academic and a Central Queensland regional school in a learning journey that initially culminated in a website but then became a lifelong-learning experience for all participants.