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Communicating Visually

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 7 months ago
Communicating Visually in the 21st Century
 
 
There is a biological basis for visual communication.

The auditory nerve transmits sound to the brain and is composed of about 30,000 fibers. Contrast that with the optic nerve which sends visual signals to the brain through 1 million fibers (Burmark 2002). Basically, you’ve got a dial-up connection from the ear to the brain and broadband from the eye to the brain. Teach kids to take advantage of the connectivity, and then teach them that…

 

Emotion, depicted through visual means, sells the message.

Students must learn how to convey meaning emotionally. That’s why digital storytelling, when done right, can be such a powerful learning experience. Anyone that has recently seen 4 Generations: The Water Buffalo Movie can attest to that. How many of you wanted to pony up $250 after viewing that? And take the recent video obituary (called the Final Word) of Art Buchwald at the New York Times where he says “Hi, I’m Art Buchwald and I just died” and they go on to tell his life story. Bizarre, yet powerful because of the intersection of emotion and medium. Then teach them that…

 

The most powerful producer of visual imagery is the individual, its you.

 

Digital cameras, cell phone cameras, citizen journalism, photos of the London subway bombings, of Saddam Hussein’s execution, of the sinking of the container ship MSC Napoli and 1055233203 million photos at Flickr attest to the capability and absolute raw power of the individual to produce visual material and bring the world home. But simply producing this is not enough, because…

They have do something with that visual imagery and it has to be done the right way. Create. Remix. Mashup. Post to YouTube. Or use online content creation systems like JumpCut or Mogopop to create or distribute visual messages. Why is this necessary?Because….

 

Individuals must be capable of working in multiple mediums to create visual messages, in accordance with the principals of visual literacy.

They have to do something with that visual imagery and it has to be done the right way.  Create.  Remix.  Mashup.  Post to YouTube.  Or use online content creation systems like JumpCut, Toufee, MogoPop to create or distribute visual messages.  (See Doritos) Why is this necessary?  Because...

 

Visuals, when combined with other multimedia, provide individuals with a competitive voice.  One that can be heard.  One that can be measured.  One that says "here I am, and here's what I think, here is what I have to contribute.  Now what do you think?"  Check out the three guys who did the AP Psychology Report (via Will Richardson) on YouTube.  How many teachers would be comfortable with this product?  And what would you give these kids as a grade?  And producting videos lke this becomes even more powerful, because...

 

Networks for sharing and collaboration extend that voice.

When one says something, all have the potential to hear. It’s about amplification. Make it go viral. Look at this video (one of my favorites), Where the Hell is Matt?. It’s 3:42 minutes of uplifting dancing by one guy, all over the world, and its been viewed 462,573 times. What about the educators of Nashua Vermont?Could our students have that type of impact? Well, they are already doing it.  So..the upshot?

 

Being visually literate is just as important as reading and writing and should be considered a fundamental literacy of a 21st Century education.

 

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