Visual Literacy and the Internet

Visual literacy and the Internet are both two terrific hot topics, and although they seemingly do not belong together, they go so well hand in hand. Both Visual Literacy and the Internet are powerful teaching tools that could be used separately on in conjunction together. The point, though, is that they both offer the opportunity for students to collaborate with others and self - assess as needed. In time, these two opportunities allow my students the chance to build and gain background knowledge that would otherwise be inaccessible due to language or lack of resources. I would like to begin using the Internet to take my students on more Virtual Field Trips. I feel that with so few of my students having real world experiences, Virtual Field Trips would prove to be very beneficial. In addition, I would like to see my students blogging and commenting one each others' posts to lead my students to a place where they can participate in student led conversations.

As far as Visual Literacy, I Would really like to have my students work more with infographics. I would like to have them not only study and dissect them for meaning, but I would also like to see them create their own using a software package, such as SmartBoards, Powerpoint, or pages. I have already begun to use it in terms of finding the most appropriate picture for vocabulary and making sure that my students have the knowledge they need to successful. I would also like to go back to being better at having my students use Thinking Maps more consistently. I found that when my students used these maps, they quickly understand the cognitive process and the content with ease. This visual really helped me to define visual literacy and where I would like to take my students form here.

Ultimately, I would like to see the Internet become a tool in our classroom that is essential to everyday business, because it makes us more productive as teachers and learners. This can be accomplished through tutorials, collaborative projects, or use practice.