Week 6-Visual Literacy

Visual literacy is the ability to understand a message conveyed
through an image or images. Just as you can be literate with books or reading, you can be visually literate. In this
information age, it is becoming increasingly important to promote the learning of visual literacy. Many educators and education programs are focusing on these skills as indispensable in the 21st century to help communicate and understand our complex world. As most of our communication is shifting to the internet, visual literacy is becoming more and more important to stay caught up with the technology of our time.

In my major, I will be required to teach visual literacy skills to my students. I will need to not only understand visual literacy but also be able to communicate how to apply those skills to life. Students can increase their visual literacy skills by creating visual projects to express their ideas. I also think it is important to expose students to photography that challenges them and motivates them to draw their own conclusions about what they are looking at. Visuals can also engage students in subjects such as history, that are oftentimes looked down on, as they are hard to make modern and find an interesting take on. They are difficult to make seem relevant to students, but if students are engaged visually, then they can learn much more and receive great benefits from the knowledge.

For my source, I chose photos that show a great amount of emotion and passion. They depict famous moments in history that help people connect to the emotion behind the history. These pictures make history real, painful and beautiful all at the same time. Students can feel drawn to the images and may want to know more. It also makes it easier to remember and more interesting for them. With the internet making these photos available, it is an incredible resource for students and teachers.