ED 064 884

AUTHORTITLEINSTITUTION

SPONS AGENCYPUB DATENOTEAVAILABLE FROM

DOCUMENT RESUME

EM 009 943

Fransecky, Roger B.; Debes, John L.Visual Literacy: A Way to Learn--A Way to Teach.Association for Educational Communications andTechnology, Washington, D.C.National Education Association, Washington, D.C.7:1

36p.AECT Publications, Dept VLC, 1201 16th Street, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20036 ($3.00)

EDRS PRICE mr-$0.65 HC Not Available from EDRS.DESCRIPTORS *Audiovisual Aids; Communication Skills; Equipment

Evaluation; *Guides; Photographic Equipment;*Photography; Research Needs; *Visual Literacy

ABSTRACTAn illustrated introductory primer is designed to

familiarize educators with the concept of visual literacy andclassroom practices which help teach it. Visual literacy is defined,its objectives are explained, and the use of pictures and cameras inliteracy programs is explored. Tips for buying cameras for schoolprograms are included. Some visual literacy programs in schools aredescribed briefly. A bibliography and short summary of researchfindings are presented. plq

I.

Visual Literacy:A Way to Learn-A Way to Teachhy Ii()(wr H tipo,( 1\,, ,I()I1r)

s.

L

ASSOVATION FOR EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHN )LOGY IL'OI Sixtr'enth Street. N W WlirqIon D C

Roger B. Fransecky is iirecto University Media Servicesenter, and asistant profey,or of education. University ofincinnah. Cincinnati. Ohio A former E nohsh teacher -;ilper

visor, and author of many articles and hook reviews, f ransecky

is an active member of the National Council of leachers of L riglish. vice president of the National Conference on Visual

Literacy, and chairman of the AECT Visual Literacy Task Force

John L. Debes is director, Center for Visual Literacy. Univer-

sity of Rochester, and coordinator. Visual Literacy, Motion

Picture and Education Markets DivOton, Eastman Kodak Corn-

pany, Rochester, N.Y He is also founder and board member of

the National Conference on Visual.Literacy and is a member ofthe AECT Visual Literacy Task Force. An author of many papers

and articles in the field of education, Debes also founded the

magazine Visivals Are a Language.coined the term visual literacy,

and originatA the National 4-H Photography program

Chapter four is contributed by Richard G. Nibeck, instructorin general media, The Catholic University of America, and deputy

director, AECT, and by Vita Pariente, AECT editor.

Visual Literacy: A Way to Learn--A Way to TeachCopyright '1972 Association for Educational Communications and Technology

Library of Copgress Catalog Card No 74-190623

Copies of this book may be purchased from the Association forEdUcational Communications and 1 eOhnology, Publications DepartmentB. 1201 .16th Street. N.W., Washington D C. 20036. Discounts areavailable on bulk orders'tmore than 20 copies), write to the Dire(cOr olPublications for informatio'n. Stock No 071-02904.

Design and artwork Graphichouse. Ltd

-PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS COPY

RIGHTED MATERIAL BY MICROFICHE ONLY

HAS SEEN GRANTED BY

E. .

TO ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERATINGUNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE U S OFFICE

OF EDUCATION FURTHER REPRODUCTIONOUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PER-MISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER

ft"

Visual Literacy:A Way to LearnA Way to Teachby Roger B. Fransecky and John L. Debes

An Introductory Note 3

Our Visual Language 4

Toward a VisuallyLiterate Student 10

Visual Literacyand the Camera 14

Some SuccessfulVisual Literacy Programs 20

Some Experimental Questions:A Little About Research 22

Some FurtherBackground Reading 24

Afterward 26

Appendices 28A. Some Modes of VisualCommunication B. PerceptualDevelopment C. AECT and

3 Visual Literacy

OkaR

bulik

tow, ..slir

#e

4

---

"

Vat J09.

41'

4

.44 04;

011

Iftesiwisem

e

4141"

h',7.,

.op ,;:

An Introductory Note

This booklet is for teachers and those whowork with teachers in developing new cur-ricula, materials, or techniques for reaching

children and involving them in learning. It is in-tended to acquaint you with the educational ideasand classroom practices in a new field called visualliteracy. It offers some thoughts and concepts un-derlying visual literacy and gives you some back-ground on the development of this new field. Sinceit is not all-inclusive, this booklet dogs provideyou with sources for further exploration of theory,research, and classroom practices.

You should be warned that conviction about thevalidity of the ideas and practices in the field ofvisual literacy comes about through personal ex-perience with children who are engaging in visualliteracy activities. Reading about visual literacymay whet your curiosity about it; only experiencesof your own can really deepen your sense of itsvalidity and value. If you really want to understandvisual literacy, you will have to do something aboutit. To help you get started, some practical advice isoffered.

Since visual literacy concepts and practices af-fect all learners on all educational levels, from pre-school through the continuing education of olderadults, this booklet should be valuable to you nomatter what your role in education

3

SAEOur Visual Language

Visual literacy, like all other as-pects of education, begins withthe child. Teachers, counselors,

and clinicians, whether they dealwith children at the preschool level,in elementary grades, secondarygrades, or in special circumstances,know that they are dealing with chil-dren who are different in certain waysfrom children of twenty or moreyears ago. If this were not the case,t'ie visual literacy movement wouldbe neither necessary nor really pos-sible. How is today's child different?How did he get that way?

In general, today's child is morevisual, better informed, and intellect-ually more skilled. The principal rea-son for these sets of differences ap-pears to be that he has been watchingtelevision. But all the other kinds ofvisual and audiovisual communica-tions to which the child is exposed al-most from birth are also contributingfactors: pictures in publications, bill-boards, cartoons, movies, slides, vis-ual catalogs, etc. Youngsters are usedto receiving messages presented insequences of pictures. The passivelistening and watching experiencesthat children bring to school can beutilized to develop the intetactiveskills of communication.

Teachers, parents, and others in-volved as leader-participants in visualliteracy projects frequently commenton the apparent ease with which stu-dents communicate with a camera.

Adults who remember their earlieststruggles with written communica-tion find their pupils' visual languagefacility remarkable.

The New Student

The visual consciousness of the"television generation" is but onefacet of the differences between to-day's young people and the adult gen-eration. To understand and respectfully these differences, we must takea closer look at our new studentsforthey are increasingly catalysts ofchange in our schools and in society.

Some adults, needless to say, findit hard to relate to today's child. Manyadults find "kids" frightening because,among other things, they seem somarkedly different, talk about free-dom, get 'high," and at times seemutterly irrational.

In America today, we see youngpeople refusing to reproduce the or-dered sensible lives of their parents,and adults refusing to swoon over kidsand agree with them that "the estab-lishment" is monolothic and antihu-man. Some observers, such as Char' ssA. Reich in The Greening of America(Random House, 1970) have taken anoptimistic view of youth, seeing themas avengers and purifiers, attributingto them "a new consciousness." Hiscritics argue that the "ConsciousnessIII" kids are not without faultevenif they do love bellbottoms in nature'scolors, eat natural peanut butter and

organic tomatoes, and love Thoreau-like freedoms.

Nevertheless, however adults per-ceive kids, they are the same youngpeople who are forcing change in ourinstitutions.

The Role of Students in EducationalChange

The past twenty years havespawned a generation of students whohave watched America move from anexuberant, bicep-flexing adolescentamong nations to a nation anxiouslypassing from youth to middle age, fin-gering its receding hairline and prob-ing its more-than-adequate stomach.Young people, tired of a seeminglyendless war in Southeast Asia and fac-ing a difficult war with environmentalpollution, agree with John Gardner,head of Common Cause: "We are introuble as a species."

Young people are highly criticalof education and educators, of howschools are functioning now. Schools,they tell us, are institutions that ab-sorb funds to support tedium andenslavement, institutions with undueemphasis on credentials, certifica-tions, and superficial achievement af-firmed with a diploma. The young(and many of their teachers) find theritual of schooling unending, addic-tive, compulsory, and compulsive.

These are harsh criticisms, butmany of us who are parents, profes-sional educators, or "ConsciousnessII" men find ourselves leveling simi-

5

lar criticisms in slightly differentterms. We, too, press for more changein the system, more innovations, moreopportunities for individualized learn-ing options, and mcre child-centeredclassrooms.

Indeed, education is under attackfrom all sides. Some, who would li-berate the critical and creative re-sources of people for maximum in-dividual growth end development,call for abolition of the control thatinstitutions now exercise over theireducational values. Others are forcingstate legislatures to narrow the credi-bility gap between educational factand fantasy with "teacher account-ability,- educational vouchers, andperformance contracting. Many makeclear distinctions between education,the liberalizing, humanizing changein persons, and schooling, the in-flexible. "hard- schobl.

Students, victims of what hasbeen called "the great training rob-bery," have pushed for responsiblealternatives within the present educa-tional system, for new and more en-riching experiences in learning.

Many high school and college stu-dents working for school reform havehelped make the school more respon-sive to their needs and more affirma-tive in its expectations of them. Inmany schools, students have foundparticipation in educational govern-ance a valuable learning experience,one that makes many demands ontheir maturity and sense of responsi-bility.

In some cities, students have be-come involved in substantive change.Students in New York City, Philadel-phia. Berkeley, and elsewhere havehelped establish "street academies"to help dropouts move into meaning-ful jobs and further schooling. Innearly every case, projects involvingTV, film, or other photographic treat-ment of environment, self-concept,or social conditions have been es-essential Tarts of the program. Oncollege campuses, "film nuts" and"TV freaks" have become so numer-ous that hundreds of campuses nowoffer film courses and film festivals.

Young people have helped educa-tors find a new agenda for education,one that is based on a new concept ofeducation's purposes and procedures.Visual literacy activities, to be under-stood fully, must be seen as part ofthis trend toward widening options-

6

4a

Ar

A

4::it74\4

options in language, communication,and in sharing experiences withothers. Visual literacy as a conceptcan revitalize much of learning andteaching.

What Do We Mean by"Visual Literacy"?

What is visual literacy? The mem-bers of the National Conference onVisual Literacy have agreed uponthe following definition.

Visual literacy refers to a groupof vision-competencies a humanbeing can develop by seeing andat the same time having and in-tegrating other sensory experi-ences. The development of thesecompetencies is fundamental tonormal human learning. Whendeveloped, they enable a visuallyliterate person to discriminateand interpret the visible actions,objects, and symbols natural orman-made, that he encounters inhis environment. Through thecreative use of these competen-cies, he is able to communicatewith others. Through the appre-ciative use of these competencies,he is able to comprehend and en-joy the masterworks of visualcommunications.

This kind of definition may satis-fy the educational psychologist andothers, but teachers are likely to ask,What can the visually literate childdo that the verbally literate childcannot do? In what ways is the visual-ly literate child's behavior different?As might be expected, visual behavioris analogous to verbal behavior. Avisually literate child can "read"visual language with skill. He can"write," that is, compose visualstatements with skill, perhaps witheloquence. He can translate from thevisual language to the verbal andvice versa. He has a basic understand-ing of the grammar of visual languageand some realization that it parallelsverbal language. He is familiar withand somewhat skilled in the use ofthe tools of visual communication.And, finally, of course, he is de-veloping a critical sensibility towardvisual communk.ation.

Because visuals offer pupils a

fascinating way to share experience,and, at the same time, provide a mean-ing-centered, language-sharing techni-

que, teachers have analyzed visualmeaning (just how does a picturemean" anything?). In so doing, teach-

ers utilize many of the techniquesof verbal language analysis. Somelinguists would argue that languageis a "learned arbitrary system ofvocal and written symbols by meansof which incPviduals interact interms of their total culture." Seenin this light, visual languagel seemsless "lin wistic"--but is it?

How Does a Picture Mean?

During the past decade a num-ber of linguists, semanticists, andpsychologists began to explore thevisual language model with a lessjaundiced eye than their predecei-sors. Several suggested that to con-sider the word predominant in an in-creasingly visual culture is to be inthe position of those tenacious, ag-grieved spirits who continue to en-vision the already circumnavigatedearth as a flat table. Currently wefind in the work of Adelbert Ames,Jr., Ernst Cassirer, Benjamin Whorf,philosopher Colin Murray Turbayne,and others a serious attention to thenature of the visual experience, andan attention to the importance ofunderstanding how visual signs caninfluence our perception of reality.

Today we proliferate visual lan-guagesymbols, message carriers,body languageon television, infilm, and in advertising. Some of thisvisual language is b%inning to hauntthe collective imagination of Ameri-cans, sometimes making objectivethinking and thoughtful, critical re-sponse to media messages confusingand difficult. But students in visualliteracy projects suddenly sense a newpower, a new language facility, thatthey haven't felt with words. Theyalso begin to make linkages betweenverbal language composed of predi-cate and noun elements arrangedpurposely to communicate, and visuallanguage elements (action and objectelements) which are also arranged forintentional communication.

Early visual literacy researchzcentered on the work of structural lin-

1The term visual language is used herein the general sense. There ate manyvisual languages: for example, "signing"(not finger spelling) used by the deaf,and the body languages of different cul-turef:.

quist Charles Carpenter Fries, andparticularly in his work, The Structureof English (Harcourt, Brace, 1952).Fries suggested that our language wasbased on talk, on basic "utterances,"and that a complete useful analysisof how we speak and write mustfirst classify spoken language ele-ments by function. Therefore, withinan utterance like "John sees Harry,"because John is the "perfo:mer-of the action he is the subject ele-ment; Harry is the object elementbecause he is the receiver of the ac-tion. If we switch the words John andHarry we dramatically alter the mean-ing of the utterance: now Harry seesJohn. Therefore, the position ofthe subject or object elements withinan utterancc determines the meaning.Similarly, the placement of Harry orJohn in a visual utterance that says"John sees Harry" suggests bothsubject and object relationships.

Similar visual/verbal parallelshave been drawn using a system oflinguistic analysis termed transforma-tional or generative-transformationalgrammar. This system has providedteachers and students with a techni-que to explore what Noam Chomskyregards as an innate sentence generat-ing capacitya notion that confoundsand bewilders some, delights andchallenges others. A similar genera-tive capacity, perhaps the same, en-ables us to generate visual statements.Chomsky, Zellig, Harris, and othertransformational grammarians feelthat all sentences- (simple and com-plex utterances) are either kernelsentences or transformations of thesekernel sentences; the kernel is finite.The student's task is to examine howmore complex statements are modeledafter the transformation of the simpleutterance. Several projects in visual/verbal "branching trees" can suggestto the student how transformationscan be built from a simple kernel vis-ual statement.

Is there a visual language? Cer-tainly. Both visual and verbal lan-guage involve thought processeswhich precede speech and writing(visual and verbal). Language, then,has a deep structure (a procesc, ofgrowth), and a surface stritcture(sounds, visual symbols) which com-

2Debes, J. L. "The Loom of Visuai Li-teracy." Audiovisual Instruction, 1969, 14(8), 25-27.

7

lac

Is*4s4.1,

klic-

.011.

* dik

41141. *jai

I,

et .1

'444'- 4t. ye, ""15114t e

4.4)4 Wtlirkii

44-'44+t

-i,

R.).. I.

t.. Ora 4

4.44440

...;.1.r

4.`

rdittqt. .

8

4.

40.,

4/

"ItilP*114.1a

!. s

.se

aftilta

t.

*S.

f

11

"Sti

10

municate. A good visual statementa picture, painting, or film-- beginswith an underlying idea.--a kind ofdeep structurefrom which the com-municator develops a surface strutture visual presentation.

Thoughtful visual communicators,for the most part, see the visual lan-guage paralleling verbal language inall basic ways. The "spoken" form ofvisual languages is body language,body signs, body Eneshthe ges-tures, movements, postures we use de-liberately or unconsciously, to com-municate without or with accompany-ing words. Mimes, like MarcelMarceau, dancers, the deaffor ex-ampledevelop a high degree of skilland artistry in body language. It isiipplemented by object language

when objects are used deliberatelyto transmit meaning, or when physicalor visual context is used to transmqmeaning.

The "written" form of visual lan-guage is recorded images on film,videotape, paper, or other visual im-age raiders. Like verbal statements,visual :,:atements have subject ele-ments, predicate elements, and on oc-casion, object elements. These ideasmay sound strange at first, hut if yourexperience follows those of othersyou will become comfortable with theideas and convinced of their rightnessand their usefulness.

It may be useful to keep in minda little triad of terms. Visual literacyis the attribute we would hope to findin every well-educated adult in oursoriety. Visual communication is whatthe person is exposed to, or, whenappropriate, uses himself. Visualtechnology is what makes "written"visual communication possible, andchanges in visual technology alterthe character of visual communica-tion.

It ; important to note that visualliteracy fits within a broadned un-derstanding of literacy. With thisunderstanding in mind, it is possibleto see a difference between whatcould be called the audiovisual view-point and the visual literacy view-point. Actually, the visual literacypoint of view includes the audio-visual, hut adds a new dimension.The concern of the audiovisual com-municator in education has tradi-tionally been to provide the teacherwith superior messages that wouldtransmit ideas more effectively to stu-

a

41.114,.

4! 4 ;

imam_

>

*.

;.1Lao+Alitot

dents. The audiovisual viewpoint putsthe tools of visual communication inthe hands of the teacher; the visualliteracy viewpoint puts the tools ofvisual communication in the ha.ids ofthe students and the teat-her, withemphasis on the student and whathappens to him when he tries to com-municate visually.

Why Visual Literacy?

Since the invention of photo-graphy, visual communication has

been possible on a wide scale and hasimplied a growing visual literacy.However, just as widespread verballiteracy had to wait until printing waseasy and typewriters were common,visual literacy didn't really becomepossible ur til visual communicationwas made easy by visual technologyand possible on a mass scale. Norwas it so important prior to the ar-rival of the electronic age whenvisual stimuli permeate every cornerof our lives.

ii

YIP

For many years , schools haveconcentrated on the verbal skillsskill in reading, writing, speaking.The skills of visual literacy, thoughnot recognized by this name, havetraditionally been set aside as "extras-or reserved for those with talent.-Recently, educators have begun torealize that, first, this visual age re-quires visual as well as verbal skill ofeveryone, and, second, the verbal andvisual skills are interconnected ,mdboth must be developed.

9

oio11111141".

''-

t.111..70-!

in as"11"

,'s

111

.1111/911!

t

,_111.

r-

'MA

I*1"61Pler-

r

1

e 'iM4';'

111

7:eot11.111011!

4

ljak

VW

/fa111111111!/

I1111111111

1'100.414,4

-"g6,1:CV

/11 iiii;

e_77 Af'71114eti1,

CIIN

Toward a VisuallyLiterate Student

It has often been writtenand re-stated in the rhetoric familiar toall who have attended 4 p.m.

faculty meetingsthat "every teach-er is a reading teacher." If you thinkabout it, it seems obvious enough: allteachers, on all levels, must be con-cerned about a pupil's ability to gen-erate and process language, so thathe may speak or write effectively anddevelop a better base for thinking.

Many of us, however, are all toohappy to defer the responsibility forthe linguistic competence of pupilsto an English teacher whose dailyraid on the inarticulate makes his jobfascinating, rewarding, and frustrat-ing. For this reason, English teacherswere among the first to sense a moretotal language model, and throughexplorations, to turn to visual literacyactivities.

Visual literacy suggests a broadermodel of discourse, a new literacy,intertwined with the "traditional"and important verbal language activi-ties. Far from being a "retreat fromthe word," visual literacy activitiesdraw on a multi-language modela model firmly grounded in the totalexperience of children.

Many teachers feel that languageis the core of study in most class-rooms, that literature, reading acitivi-ties, composition, are the primarymanifestations of language. JamesMoffett, in one of the most importantinquiries into discourse and the re-lationships between teaching and

learning in the language arts, K-I2,1suggests a broader, more integrativemodel which firmly roots visual liter-acy in a total school program. Mof-fett's model suggests a continuum ofdirect discursive experience for thelearner involving literacy trainingto help a student participate morebroadly in the creation of languagelanguage used to translate and inter-pret his unique experiences. Throughhis visible languagehis photographs,paintings, drawingshe shares in a

universe of discourse, where hespeaks out, "see out," and writesout in his efforts to bring order to hisown particular experiences.

Photographs taken by childrenearly in visual literacy programsseem to parallel what Piaget calls"egocentric speech," or what Moffettterms "interior dialog." But as stu-dents move through visual literacyactivities, as they learn to report,to translate, to generalize, to or-ganize, and to theorize about experi-ence, as they move from simplephotographs through the subtlety ofa painting or a feature film, youngs-ters symbolize actual events, theyfictionalize, they "language" on manylevels as they extend their own abili-ties to communicate, both visually andverbally.

'Moffett, James, Teaching the Universeof Discourse. New York: Houghton-Mif-flin, 1968.

4. 113

Pictures in the Classroom

An early and helpful guide forteachers attempting visual literacyactivities is Catherine M. Williams'sLearning from Pictures.2 ProfessorWilliams's book suggests a number ofpractical ways teachers can maketheir classrooms more attractive visualenvironments. Teacher3 can, for ex-ample, select and mount simple andcomplex picture statements on bulle-tin boards, statements that challengestudents to select and name objects,observe fine detail, relate picturestatements to personal experiences,draw inferences, and do SesameStreet-type visual/verbal interpretiveactivities ("In this picture, is thegiraffe higher than, lower than, or onthe same level, as the camera?").These ideas do not have to be con-fined to teacher-produced materials.

The richest picture source avail-able is the student himself. That visu-ally oriented youngster has beenbombarded by thousands of hours ofpassive and active visual experiencesprior to ever reaching the finger-paint-stained walls of kindergarten, yetrarely do we capitalize on that richand varied visual experience. Be-cause of their personal nature, stu-dent-made bulletin boards, displays,

2Williams, Catherine M., Learningfrom Pictures, Second edition. Wash-ington, D.C.: Association for EducationalCommunications and Technology, 1968.

1

_JO

a

collages, filmstrips, or slide-tapepresentations have far more learningimpact than commercially producedmaterials can have.

Objectives of Visual Literacy Programs

As a general rule, when a profes-sional teacher prepares to teach anynew subject or skill, he wants clearobjectives. It is a good idea for theteacher and students to work togetherto build mutually accepted learningobjectives. This helps the child as-sess his progress through a sequenceof learning steps or processes whichbring inner and outer order to anylearning task. Teachers today hear agreat deal about the importance ofplanning and assessment; certainlythis decade will make new demandson teachers to utilize all their re-sources and to evaluate student growthmeaningfully and collaboratively.

When you become involved invisual literacy activities, you mayselect a number of initial objectivescognitive and affectiveas vou beginto asse.ss the entering behaviors of thepupils. Your selection of objectiveswill affect choice of learning optionsand resources, allocation of time, andmethods of evaluation. Broadly speak-ing, you will probably be interestedin selecting activities that will extendthe latent visual literacy abilities ofyour pupils. You may want your stu-

12

dents to understand relationshipsbetween visual and verbal language.You may want to provide activitiesthat develop critical sensibilities ofstudents so that they may effectively(and affectionately) select and eval-uate their own communication events:their speech, writing, picture-taking,and visualizing.

You might state your own objec-tives upon entering a course in visualliteracy as "to learn, to understand,and to develop skills in visual com-munications, skills that will permitme to provide students with learningopportunities leading to visual liter-acy skills that extend students' effec-tiveness in reading, creative-imagina-tive expression, and presentations."

Student objectives might include:To be able to read visuals made for

intentional communication.To be able to plan visuals for in-

intentional communication.To be able to create visuals for

intentional communication.To be able to combine visuals and

verbals for intentional communica-tion.

A useful and important distinctionshould be made for students andteachers between structurethe anal-ysis of visual language and its ele-mentsand skillsthe developmentof a skill base to help youngsters

generate visual language statements:photographs, films, etc. Both areindependent of "subject matter,"yet both are necessary to the de-velopment of a visually literate ci-tizen. Skills keep visual languagestructure in action, invisible, so thatit does not become mere data. Thebasic structure of visual language isa set of relationships between visualthinking, visual reading, and visualwritingthe structure of discourseitself. It is vital to make the distinc-tion without fragmenting visuallearning; rather, connections betweenstructure, or knowledge base, andskills, acting upon that knowledge,must constantly be made dear.

Sequencing

A particularly fascinating exercisefor students in visual iteracy pro-grams involves the pupil in generatinga sequence of still pictures to com-municate intentionally a process, astory, a language event. Sets of pic-tures (Photo Story Discovery Sets, seep. 32) have been developed as se-quence models for teachers and stu-dents. While challenging the learnerto arrange the simple still picturesin a meaningful order, the sets alsoprovide the teacher with an unusualopportunity to study the sortingprocesssemantic an.3 linguisticand all the often unstated reasons

1. ."

alt&

kw)

.at :4,1

-41111111"'--".!

iC-"'"'"ftd 1111111-...itr.1,../

View

is

for picture choice and rejection.Paul Wendt in The Use and Mis-

use of Language3 suggests that "pic-tures are...surrogates for experience."Wendt further discusses the impor-tant sense of language control (andself-power) that may occur when ayoungster intentionally orders pic-tures to tell a story. Such a sequenceshows that a youngster has intern-alized the reality of the picturesand the structure. Youngsters select-ing and rejecting ("writing" and"erasing") still photographs are ex-ercising powerful control of the lan-guage experience and the past tenseof visual statement. The silent rejec-tion of a photograph may have im-portant semantic and cognitive over-tones for the pupil who "rejects" avisual referent he cannot success-fully internalize within that meaningcontext. In so doing, he brings innerorder to the communication. That'slanguage power!

3Hayakawa, S. I. (Ed.) The Use and Mis-use of Language. New York: Harper andRow, 1967.

. ./ d like you to arrange these pictures in as

many different ways as you can.""Then write a sentence telling a story of eachdifferent arrangement.""Now can you see that the pictures have subjectelements, predicate elements. and object elementsjust like the written sentences?"

-- from "A Visual Fable" filmstrip

13

Visual Literacy and the Camera

Any new classroom activity makesunique demands on the profes-

sional skill (and often the pa-tience) of the teacher. You are sud-denly thrust into a new role. You haveto extend your own professional skillsto handle the new material sensiblyand sensitively and at the same timeprovide linkages between the new cur-ricular activity and the on-going pro-gram. A classroom experience using-.isual language will take you awayfrom familiar terrainthe textbook,blackboard, and pencil. You will beplacing the tools of communicationinto the hands of students while youact as guide and counselor.

You may choose communicationtools in a great variety of media. Vis-ual literacy programs have been con-ducted by having students make vis-uals by scratching acetate, painting onrolls of paper, or what have you. Youmay want to consult your school's artdepartment or re',ource person forideas (rememberir.g that the goal is in-tentional communication, not decora-tio 1). Most visual literacy programs,however, are based on photographicor electronic media (still pictures, mo-tion pictures, videotape). The base ofmass communication is photographicand one of the goals of visual literacyprograms is to enable students to un-derstand and deal competently withthe modern photographic, electronicworld.

The camera is a visual pen we use

to write about the world we see and torecord some portion of reality thatwill transmit our thoughts by visualrepresentation to another person at alater time. Whether done with a singlepicture or a series of pictures is unim-portant. What is important is that welearn to "write" with the camera withmaximum clarity. Just as it is neces-sary to practice writing with words, itis "mportant to practice "writing" witha camera.

If you don't already own a cam-era, borrow or purchase one. The sim-plest one you can find will be satisfac-tory to begin with. Purchase a fewrolls of black-and-white film and usethem! Since most of us have used thecamera for many years to record "Un-cle Joe's visit" or the mountain peaksseen during the family vacation, wetend to look for such "special event"subjects and we find it difficult to usethe events of a routine day for makinga definite statement. Practice shouldhelp overcome this problem. Afteryou have tried a few pictures andhave at least overcome any hesitancyabout holding, pointing, and shootinga camera, you are ready to take thenext step.

Once you have decided to imple-ment a visual literacy activity in yourclassroom or school it will be helpfulto have a colleague to chare in the ex-periment. You should consult a visual-minded fellow teacher, the school au-diovisual department, the school

17

p r

4 -Z.

15

photography club and its sponsor. Avisit and talk with a local photo dealeris important, also. In the upper grades,there may be accomplished photogra-phers in the class, something to takeinto account when planning your pro-gram.

The Basic Test

Literally hundreds of shapes andsizes and qualities of cameras arereadily available in stores today. Theyrange in price from less than $1.00 tohundreds of dollars. If you are notone of the few who know what theyare looking for, it is advisable to seekhelp from someone who has workedwith cameras with children. A word ofcaution. Visual literacy is concernedfirst with visual communication andsecond with the visual as art. Theknowledgeable photographer willtend to emphasize photographic qual-ity which is not important to your pur-pose. What is important is to get acamera into the hands of as many stu-dents as possible and not to worry agreat deal about loss of or damage tothe cameras. The camera is a tool tobe used. If a student is told too manytimes to be careful, he could grow tofear the consequences of scratchingthe case or be so awed by the mecha-nism that the worth of the cameratomake picturesis never realized

If you get help from a phocographer in making a purchase, you .l,oulaacquaint him with the special consid-erations for cameras to be used bystudents. The following comments arenot technically complete but do giveyou some idea of what is availableand serve to introduce the fundamen-tal considerations to be taken into ac-count when mixing students with cam-eras.

Types of Cameras

Basically, all cameras are com-posed of a box with a lens in a hole(aperture) with some means (a shut-ter) for letting light through to thefilm. There are many refinements andvariations, but the simplest camera isa fixed-focus, single shutter speed,fixed f-stop (aperture) camera thatranges in price from $1.00 to $30.00.With a simple camera you can makefairly sharp pictures of still or slow-moving objects in outdoor light atmoderate distances.

Generally speaking, as prices goup you get more versatility and dura-

16

Na.

L

I.

-tattlbl4119I.

j

falasto

_ffin

bility and greater latitude in takingpictures of moving objects and undervarying light conditions. At a list pricerange of about $35 to $70 you can getfixed-focus cameras with automaticexposure settings. These cameras aremore versatile and, because the aper-ture and/or shutter speed changes au-tomatically according to light condi-tions, they tend to be more foolproof.

From $70 and up, you will findcameras with rangefinders that allowyou to focus through the viewfinderand lenses and apertures let you takepictures at closer range and vary thesharpness of the picture.

There are also self-processingcameras that produce a picture shortlyafter you have snapped the shutter.These cameras begin at about $17 listprice for the simplest type and offerthe variations available on other cam-eras as the price goes up.

Movie cameras also offer varia-tions that affect the range of picture-taking distances and lighting condi-tions. Prices for the simplest moviecameras begin at about $20.

Special Features and Accessories

There are many different kinds ofaccessories for cameras, but only a

1.4 .1.

1161

few will be of interest, especially atthe beginning.

Even simple cameras can take pic-tures at closer range with a close-upattachment. Close-up lenses are neces-sary for copying pictures so you willwant to know whether close-up lensesare available for the camera you areconsidering and whether you canmake or buy a stand on which tomount the camera for close-up copy-ing work.

Flash capability allows you totake pictures indoors with a simplecamera. Most cameras can be usedwith flash attachments or have built-inarrangements for taking flash pictures.If flash capability is not built in, theattachment usually adds $3 to $10 tothe basic price of a camera. The priceof the flash bulbs or cubes must alsobe taken into consideration.

A feature you may want to con-sider on movie cameras is a singleframe shutter release. This is a simpleoverride of the motion function in amovie camera that allows you to takeone picture at a time. It is useful formaking animated movies.

Film

There are two types of still pic-

tures usable in visual literacy pro-gr3ms: the color or black-and-whiteprint and the color slide transparency.You will want to get detailed informa-tion and advice from a local supplieror specialist, but here are some gen-eral characteristics worth consideringfor three sizes of film most commonlyused in still cameras.

or viewfinder. Also, make sure thehandling is comfortable and that theyoungster doesn't have to strain toreach and release the lever. Such aproblem can cause movement of thecamera body and result in blurredimages.

A clear viewfinder. Many cam-eras have very small finders and some

number of pictures per roll or cartridge

makes 2x2 slides (for standardprojectors)

color or black-and-white prints

relative print costs

relative film costs per picture

good for contact prints

good for enlargements

FILM SIZE

120 (roll) 126 (cartridge)

12 or 16 12 or 20

no

yes

medium

yes

yes

yes

yes

about the same

low

no

moredifficult

35mm

20 or 36

yes

yes

low

no

moredifficult

Movie film comes in differenttypes, sizes, and reel lengths. Costsvary according to local conditions andshould be checked with regional sup-pliers. Most student film production isnow being done with super-8 film andcameras. Some schools still use thebetter but more expensive 16mm. Bothcolor and black-and-white film isavailable in movie film.

Cameras for Students

The most important considerationin selecting a camera for student use ishow easily a student can handle it'.

While children as young as six yearshave demonstrated that they can ma-nipulate the settings on certain sophis-ticated cameras, it is nonetheless gen-erally true that the fewer decisionsrequired to take the picture the moreattention is paid to the pictute itself.The following are problem areas tocheck:

Ease of loading. Cartridge filmis the easiest to load.

The location of the shutter re-lease lever with respect to both thecamera lens and the viewfinder open-ing. Try a camera, or preferably, havea youngster of the age group you areworking with hold a camera and see ifhe can release the shutter withoutsticking unused fingers over the lens

have viewfinder lenses that requireaccurate eye positioning before youcan point the camera adequately.

Film advance and shutter inter-lock. This prevents double exposureand is desirable for young users espe-cially. This feature is not usuallyavailable on caineras under $5.

Mk 1, JOE_1

The instant picture making or self-processing cameras provide a finishedpicture almost immediately, a decidedadvantage if photo-finishing servicesare not readily available. Also, chil-dren tend to be impatient to see theresults of their efforts, so if yourbudget can stand the slightly highercost of camera and film, you maywant to consider this type of camera.

When choosing a camera, con-sider the type of film it uses and whatkind of processing you expect to use.Picture prints in color or black-and-white can be sorted and manipulatedeasily to develop variations of storiesand they are preferable when used inreading programs where picture-storyprojects have talking or writing as agoal. Captioned pictures make finedisplay items for bulletin boards. Theprojected slide transparency, on theother hand, has a great appeal toyoungsters and is useful when devel-oping oral language skills as well asbasic audiovisual communicationstechniques. Color prints or transpar-encies should be processed commer-cially. It is possible, but not necessar-ily preferable, to have studentsprocess their own black-and-whitefilm.

Cost is something you should facerealistically. Like any new program,visual literacy programs will almostinevitably create expenses you havenot had before. Buy whatever you buy

A

The insects are cutouts that are photographed, then moved slightly, then photographed again, andso on, to make an animated film. A single-lrame shutter release or. movie cameras makes animationeasy to do, but anima1*-- can also be achieved by very quickly prassing and releasing the motionpicture shutter release.

. 19 17

Even very young children can use sophis-ticated cameras, but the more help theyneed from adults and the more settingsthey must remember. the less attentionthey will give to the purpose of picture-taking communicating visually.

18

in the same way you approach otherschool purchases, with quality andsound educational experiences inmind. Choose sturdy simple camerasat the lowest price consistent withdurability and general quality (notcomplexity).

Film Processing

It is wise to get in touch with re-sources for service and supplies assoon as decisions about the learningprogram have been made. For thephotographic aspects of a visual liter-acy program, one of the most helpfulresources may be the photofinisherthe owner or operator of the filmprocessing plant at which the students'pictures will be printed. Large photo-finishing plants have access to nearlyall the materials and services you mayneed and they can sell to you directly,contracting on a long-term basis. Serv-ices and supplies you may obtainfrom the photofinisher include: cam-eras; film supplies priced not by theroll or order, but on the basis of aterm or year contract; processing andprinting service such that you can turnin film at 4 p.m. and pick it up (orhave it delivered) next morning; coop-eration in supplying information andguidance.

If you are unable to deal directlywith a photofinisher, you should con-tact a photo dealer or a local drugstore that provides photofinishingservices. You may be able to obtainspecial rates and services for yourprogram.

Student processing of film is timeconsuming and sometimes not very re-liable. Contact printing is the easiestand the larger film sizes are desirablefor both contact printing and makingenlargements. With older students, inschools with photography club facili-ties, student processing may workwell.

Books that Help

Basic and advanced photographymanuals are plentiful and should bereadily available. Try your local pho-tographic dealer, book store, or dfugstore, and don't hesitate to ask theproprietor for assistance. Avoid thetechnical manuals until you reallyneed them. Books on the fundamen-tals of making pictures, slides, or mov-ies are all that is required to getstarted. Check the bibliography (pp.24-25) for sources of assistance.

.! 20

Special Sources for Student Cameras

Most medium-size cities have avariety of stores offering inewensiveas well as better quality cameras. It is.of course, better to make purchases asfar up the line of quality as is possiblein order to get the versatility and de-pendability that is usually related todollar investment. In the beginning,howe'er, the inexpensive camera (!,-3to $5) may be acceptable, if you recog-nize that they may not last longer thana semester or two.

If your program has any promisefor involving several teachers, it ispossible to obtain case lot discountson cameras that are usually distrib.uted as priz.es or awards in incentiveprograms. Since you will be buyingsubstantial quantities of cameras, youmay reasonably expect discounts onyour purchase; speak to the owner ofthe firm you are dealing with aboutthis.

Listed here are some inexpensivecameras and camera sources that youmay wish to investigate. The list is inno way complete by serves as a start-ing point. Circumstances under whichsuppliers operate vary, so you willneed to check on the details givenhere.

Some Very Inexpensive Cameras

*The Workshop for LearningThings, Education Development Cen-ter, 55 Chapel Street, Newton, Massa-chusetts 02160. The Workshop offerscameras to some schools in its servicearea for $.75 each, film for $.25 perroll and a complete array of inexpen-sive equipment and materials for proc-essing your own film. The Workshophas a fine newsletter and easy-to-usemanuals. Cameras and processing kitsare available as Basic Kit with 12 cam-eras for $45.00 and Complete Kit with35 cameras, film, and processing for$120.00. They usually supply the DianaCamera which uses 120 film.

Snap Shooter Camera Company,9810 Ashton Rd., Philadelphia, Penn-sylvania 19114. Phone (215) 67o-4400. The Snap Shooter is a uniquecamera that accepts a 12o film car-tridge as the back of the camera. Al-though it has no shutter interlock, ithas a film advance register that 4-year-olds have used successfully. Thecamera either assembled or disassem-bled (easy no-glue construction) sellsfor $2.00 or in lots o: 25 cameras and

film for $1.50 pet camera. The com-pany also su7plies free visual lit,Tacyactivities suggestions. The camera hasno flash capability and has fixed-focus,shutter, and f-stop.

Power Sales Cmnpany, Box 113,Willow Grove, Pennsylvania I9000.Phone: (215) 659-2t,32. This companYsupplies case lots of the Diana Cam-era: camera$.55 each in lots of 72;flash attachments$.23 each in lots of72; 120 Agfa film$.20 per roll in caselots of 100. Film and flash attachmentsin other quantities are priced differ-ently. This camera has two shutterspeeds (instant and bulb), 3 f-stop set-tings, and three distance ranges of fo-cus. It has no shutter/film-advance in-terlock but has been successfully usedby 6-year-olds.

*Imperial Camera Corpora ion,421 North Western Avenue: Chicago,Illinois 60612. Phone: (312) 829-2424.This company makes the Instant Load900 Camera which sells for $3.50 eachin lots of 48. This fixed focus, f-stop,and shutter speed camera has the fol-lowing special features: uses 126 car-tridge film, has shutter/film-advanceinterlock, good viewfinder and posi-tioning of shutter release. It also ac-cepts standard flash cubes but thecubes are turned manually after eachshot.

Some Moderate Price Cameras

Eastman Kodak Company, 343State Street, Rochester, New York14650 (consult Yellow Pages for localdistributors). The Instamatic X-15 is afixed-focus, fixed f-stop camera thatuses 126 cartridge film, non-batterymagicubes, has double-exposure pre-vention. Lists for $20.95 but should beavailable at around $17 including aroll of color film and cubes. The Insta-matic 44, which lists at less than $10for the camera alone, is similar butuses battery-flashcubes; this model isbeing discontinued but may be avail-able.

GAF Corp., 140 W. 51st Street,New York, New York 10020 (consultYellow Pages for local distributors).The I36XF Color Outfit (includes oneroll of color film and magicubes) is afixed-focus, fixed f-stop camera thatuses non-battery flash cubes, 126 car-tridge film, has double-exposure pre-vention. It is unconditionally guaran-teed for one year by GAF, lists at$18.95, ,hould he available at about$13.

Ritz Camera, School and AudioVisual Saks Department, 607 I4thStreet N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005,(202) 638-3220 This company currentlyhas a Uhitel camera available forschool use at about $15. It uses 120film, has a variable focus lens (to

f-4.5), variable shutter speeds andflash synchronization. and a self-timer.

(Note: Prices and information given heremay have changed since this informationwas collected.)

19

F.r Some SuccessfulVisual Literacy Programs

Since the visual literacy move-ment emerged in 1966, a numberof schools and colleges have em-

barked upon projects or programsbased on the visual literacy concept. Itis remarkable, particularly in educa-tion, that nearly all projects have be-come permanent programs. These pro-grams now range f rom early childhoodeducation through college and be-yond. Some schools and systems haveextended visual literacy experiencesto the whole curriculum, K-12. Some,for reasons of their own, have re-stricted the offerings to children inparticular grades or at particular lev-els of development. Some of the pro-grams are of a special-education char-acter. Programs now exist for childrenhaving emotional problems, learningdisabilities, reading problems, motiva-tional problems, and for children whoare deaf. Children having special ad-vantages such as being bilingual havealso been exposed to visual literacyprograms. Finally, logically or not,having introduced visual literacy ex-periences to children with all kinds of"special" needs', there are even pro-grams for "normal"' children.

A few visual literacy programsare described below. Because of ti erange of programs, and the applica-tions in some cases so special, no at-tempt is made here to list all types.What are described are a few out-standing programs at a few of the pos-sible grade levels and application situ-ations. If you wish to obtaininformation about an application areanot covered in any of these descrip-tions, you can obtain additional infor-mation from the Center for VisualLiteracy, Taylor Hall, University ofRochester, Rochester, New York14627.

Grcen Chimmneys School,Brewster, New York

One of the earliest schools to be-come involved in visual literacy activ-

20

ities was Green Chimneys, a privateresidential school, under the leader-ship of Samuel B. Ross, Jr., head-master. There, children worked withthe earliest Photo-Story DiscoverySets and extended that work to theimprovement of spoken and writtenlanguage. The success of these ven-tures led the school to experimentwith having the youngsters take pic-tures themselves and use those pic-tures as a base for their own speech

-Ow

NOV'

459:;;Ir

and writing. Visual literacy activitiesat Green Chimneys are now very di-verse. They have been extended to allthe eight grades covered by the school.

Enfield High School,Enfield, Connecticut

The social studies program in En-field High School involves 11th and12th grade students in making slidesand tapes and movie documentariesabout problems of society. The proj-

11.-4.

It

Agie110.-

ect is characterized by a unique col-laboration between the students andtheir advisor, Franklin Gross.

Young people from this programhave developed visual and verbal ma-terial for such associations as the Na-tional Association for Mental Health.A remarkable, student-produced bro-chure called "Cry Help" explains howto do a visual community survey onmental health services for adolescents.

North Reading,Massachusetts

This junior-high screen educationprogram, now in its fourth year, is be-ginning to extend visual literacy expe-riences to a number of grade levels.This is a full-time program, with fiveclasses a day. The student filmmakingprogram was initiated by AnthonyHodgkinson, developed with the coop-eration of David Powell and, later,Charles McVinney. A report of theNorth Reading program is availableunder the title of "An Incident at An-dover:" Write to the Center for VisualLiteracy, Taylor I fall, University ofRochester, Rochester, New York 14627.

Bilingual Education, Yettem School,Project TESOL

The concept that strengtheningvisual language makes it possible tostrengthen a language of the home,such as Spanish, and thereforestrengthen a second language, such asEnglish, is one that was exemplified inthe project developed by the TeacherCorps, Rural-Migrant, of the Univer-sity of Southern California School ofEducation in Cooperation with theCutler-Orosi Unified School Districtin Tulare County, California. The hy-pothesis was that the chiid who "suf-fers from socio-economic-educa-tional -disadvantage" does have abank of environmental experiences,particularly visual experiences, whichare not adequately tapped by tradi-tional teaching techniques. Fot suchchildren, the camera can become aprimary means by which the child canconceptualize his ideas and thus sharehimself and his world with others. Onthe basis of pictures, it is possible forthe child to have the excitement ofdiscovery, interaction, and explora-tion of self in the external worldwhich are so essential to the learningprocess. The Mexican-American chil-dren at Yettem School were only 30 innumber, but as a consequence of theexperiences of those children, and of

the impact of the visual literacy pro-gram on them and their families, vis-ual literacy programs are now beingextended to many schools and tomany other educational situationsboth bilingual and otherwise. A primemover in this project, Patricia Hef-fernan-Cabrera, who was director,

a.

A4r"4,4L

Teacher Corps, Rural-Migrant, Schoolof Education, University of SouthernCalifornia 90007, has written a bookletabout this project, now a national pro-gram. (See reference, p. 24.)

Sodus, New YorkIn the summer of 1969, under a

grant from the New York State Cen-ter for Migrant Studies,State Univer-sity College of Arts and Science,Geneseo, New York, a pilot projectexamined the relationships betweenvisual literacy experiences and "tradi-tional" verbal language skills. Onehundred migrant pupils involved in a

six-week summer school were ran-domly assigned to central and experi-mental classes. Comparison of scoreson standardized reading tests and theLowenfeld test of Visual Haptic Apti-

ea

23

tude and Dailey Oral Language Facil-ity Test showed that none of the chil-dren in the project's experimentalclasses scored lower than the childrenin the control classes and most scoredhigher, in some cases, dramatically so.Results were interpreted is suggestiveof serious further study. Report avail-able from Roger B. Fransecky (Direc-tor, University Media Services Cen-ter, University of Cincinnati, 45221),who served as project director.

Milford, OhioThe English department of the

Milford, Ohio, schools with the coop-eration of other departments has de-veloped a sequential, K-12, visual lit-eracy program centered in the Englishlanguage arts area. A comprehensivecurriculum model linking visual lan-guage activities, visual perception ex-ercises, and student-produced visualmaterials has been developed. Re-search on the relationship between

visual training and performance onreading inventories was completedwith a sample of 319 third-, fourth-,and fifth-graders. Results were ana-lyzed to determine interaction be-tween grade, sex, and visual literacyexperiences. A report on the projectand curriculum description is avail-able from Roy Ferguson, Chairman ofEnglish, Milford School District, Mil-ford, Ohio 45150.

21

ODCSoS.rno Experimental Questions:

A Lift le About Research

vyithin the past few years some re-s;!archers have directed criticalattention to the effects of visual

literacy training on extending and en-riching oral and written language fa-cility, on developing self-concept, onheightening environmental awareness.Researchers have posited that whenchildren are trained to use their exist-ing "passive visual vocabulary" theycan handle verbal language processeswith more ease and purpose.

Researchers have studied the ef-fects of using visual literacy trainingstfategies with children who have hadlimitzd language experiences or havedifferent cultural backgrounds, ar d,consequently, inadequate develop-ment of total English language skills.Because a disproportionate amount ofemphasis is placed on verbal skill de-velopment, these children rarely havethe opportunity in school to draw ontheir rich and varied visual experi-ences. Deutsch,' writing about learn-ing and the disadvantaged child, sug-gests that learning is facilitated whena child's attention is drawn to "stimu-lation sequences." If some of a child'sverbal clmmunication skills are re-lated to a passive visual languagebase, then a relationship between vis-ual and verbal expressive skills is sug-gested.

Jerry Griffith and his colleaguesat Eastern Illinois University havemade use of linguistic measures oflength and structural complexity ofspoken language as dependent vari-ables in research investigation inwhich visual language behavior is theindependent variable.2 Several studieshave extended the metaphorical ap-proach posited by Turbayne who an-alyzes and details a relationship be-tween visual and verbal languagesystems. Most research studies haveexplored the relationship between vis-ual experiences and the verbal behav-ior associated with the visual experi-ence. Research contrasting the lengthand complexity of visually stimulatedoral language events, of the effects of

'Deutsch, M. "The Disadvantaged Childand the Learning Process." (See refer-ences, p. 25)

2Strandberg, T. E. "A Comparison ofthree Stimulus Media for Evoking VerbalLanguage Samples.- (See references, p. 25).

3Turbayne, Colin Murray. The Myth ofMetaplwr. New Haven: Yale UniversityPress, 1962. (Revised Edition: Columbia,S.C.: University of South Carolina Press,1970.)

training in visual sequencing, and ofthe relationships between pupil-generated pictures and the nature andspontaneity of language behavior,have occupied researchers since 1962.Further work needs to be done to es-tablish a viable visual language model.The taxonomy developed by Moore(Appendix B, pp. 30-31) is a step in thisdirection.

Perhaps the most useful review ofrelated research was completed byClarence M. Williams, professor ofeducation at the University of Roches-ter. Williams, who is also chairman ofthe Center for Visual Literacy, re-ported in 1970 a year's study of re-search in perception and perceptualdevelopment. He suggested a series ofnine propositions4 which should behelpful to anyone interested in under-taking research in visual literacy.Proposition I: Deprivation of earlyvisual experience can lead to visualproblems in the later life of the or-ganism.Proposition 2: Visual enrichment inearly life appears to make an orga-nism more successful in visual tasks inlater life.Proposition 3: It is probable that a

program of visual enrichment can im-prove learning if effectively imple-mented.Proposition 4: The ability to sequencevisual stimuli is related to the experi-ences (history) and the opportunitiesprovided for the learner.Proposition 5: Development of the"Glance-Curve" is related to sequenc-ing experiences and early reading-related experiences.Proposition 6: Hierarchical potentialin any pictorial scene or set of pic-tures is related to an organism's his-tory, sequencing ability, and develop-ment of verbal literacy.Proposition 7: The development of theability to engage in visual metaphoriccommunications and activities is re-lated to the development of verballiteracy.Proposition 8: There exists a range ofvisual literacy sophistication and thisrange is related to history and oppor-tunities.PrOposition 9: The ability to transfer

4Williams, Clarence M. "Nine VisualLiteracy Propositions and Some RelatedResearch.- In C. M. Williams and J. L.Debes (Eds.), Proceedings: First NationalConference on Visual Literacy. New York:Pitman Publishing Corporation, 1970.

back and forth among visual-visualmetaphors, verbal-verbal, visual-verbal metaphors is related to visualand verbal literacy development.

Implicit in these propositions, andin the discussion so far, is the ideathat visual literacy, itself, ought to bethe subject of research. So far, be-cause of the high esteem accorded tospoken and written verbal skills, edu-cators have tended to ignore the ad-vantages of developing children's vis-ual literacy. Especially after the earlygrades, there is a tendency to mini-mize the visual aspects of communica-tion and children are, in a sense,"weaned away" from pictures and il-lustrations, from drawing and illustrat-ing their own work. This attitude hasalso influenced researchers' selectionof questions for research projects.

Fortunately, there are areas of in-structionparticularly what is com-monly called screen educationwhere visual literacy per se is valued.An increasing number of schools andcolleges provide young people withopportunities for screen or film study,partly because of the value of visualliteracy alonenot to mention the cul-tural, aesthetic, and informational val-ues of film.

One impediment to researchers inthis area is that there are few answersto the question, How do you measurevisual literacy? As soon as the ques-tion of testing is raised and discussionbegins, it becomes apparent that manyof the so-called tests of verbal skillsare really testing cognitive skills.Then, we begin to see that some ofthese cognitive skills can be tested aswell or better by visual means. Thisraises exciting possibilities. Mean-while, however, the fact that handytests just do not exist is enough toshape many of the research effortsmade.

23

See Some FurtherBackground Reading

Vcisual literacy is more than puttingcameras in children's hands or givinghildren pictures to arrange in some

order. The following reading will help youdeepen and broaden your own understand-

ing of visual literacy. Each of these books,articles, or reports, was selected because itdevelops some fundamental point relativeto the concept of visual literacy. Annotationhas been provided where it seemed useful.

A. General ReadingAudiovisual Instruction, 1969, 14(8).

Debes, J. L. "The Loom of Visual Literacy." Pp. 25-27.Fransecky, Roger B. "Visual Literacy and Teaching the

Disadvantaged." P. 28-31, 118.One of the most significant areas of application of thevisual literacy concept has been compensatory educa-tion. One of the earliest projects was the one re-corded here in which the children of migrants, havingreading difficulties, achieved remarkable scores inreading based on standardized ,res.

Katz, Sheldon. "Turning the Kith ?r. with Media Meth-ods." Pp. 48-51.

Parkinson, Robert. "Gaining Visual Literacy ThroughIn-Service Training." P. 128.

Powell, David J. "An Experiment in Visual Literacy." Pp.32-33.

Birdwhistell, Ray L. Kinesics and Context. University of Pen-nsylvania Press, 1970. (Paperback)As a research social psychiatrist, Birdwhistell is ourmost profound student of body language and its im-plications. Birdwhistell's "Kinesics" deals with bodylanguage manifestations of inner inclinations to com-municate; visual literacy deals in part with inten-tional communication using body and object lang-guage. Accordingly, the introductory sections of thisbook, especially 1-11, 26-28, and in the Appendix, theintroductory note and section 1, are all pertinent.

Fast, Julius. Body Language. New York: Simon & Schuster,Pocket Book, 1971. (Paperback)

Entertaining reading along the theme that you betrayyour inner self with your body language and yourfriends betray themselves to you if you know how toread their actions. Deserves skimming.

Frostig, M. and P. Maslow. "Language Training: A Formof Ability Training." Journal of Learning Disabilities,1968, 1 (February), 15-24.

24

Haber, Ralph Norman. "How We Remember What WeSee." Scientific American, 1970, 222(5), 104-112.

Heffernan-Cabrera, Patricia. Visual Literacy and theClassroom, 1972 (Center for Visual Literacy, Rochester,N.Y. 14627.)

Hodgkinson, A. W. "The Scope of Screen Education,"Audiovisual Instruction, 1968, 13(1), 16-18.

Kees, Weldon and Jurgen Ruesch, Jr., Nonverbal Communi-cation. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1956.

Kelley, E. C. Education for What is Real. New York:Harper, 1947.

Kolers, Paul A. "Bilingualism and Information Process-ing." Scientific American, 1968, 218(3), 78-86.

Turbayne, C. M. The Myth of Metaphor. Columbia: Uni-versity of South Carolina Press, 1971. (Paperback)

Fundamental reading. Provocative reading! The bestsource of a philosophical and logical foundation forvisual literacy thinking. Read the introduction andthe chapters entitled "Ordinary Language" and "Vis-ual Language." The rest of the book is good readingtoo but the foreeoing recommendations are vital.Read for a firm understanding of the concept thatwhat we see or hear is not the reality, but a sign forreality which we "read."

Williams, Clarence M. and John L. Debes (Eds.) Proceed-ings: First National Conference on Visual Literacy. NewYork: Pitman Publishing Corporation, 1970.(Aysailable from the Center for Visual Literacy, TaylorHall, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York14627.

The only collection so Far of theory, construct, re-search, and practice. What has been considered andrejected, what has been tried and failed, as well as

gElps

what has succeeded can all be found in this book. If must reading. Some of the papers include classroomyou are constructing a program for schools, this is procedures detailed step by step.

B. Practical TechniquesThe following are handbooks or manualsthat go into the mechanics and details of or-ganizing some kinds of visual literacy pro-grams.Allen, Don. The Electric Humanities: Patterns for Teach-

ing Mass Media & Popular Culture. Dayton, Ohio:Geo. A. Pflaum, 1971.

Anderson, David R. and Gary Wilson. Visualize. (Instruc-tor and student manuals.) Dayton, Ohio: Pflaum/Standard, 1971.

Craig, Walter. Learning Photography. Columbus, Ohio:Grid, Inc. 1971. A 58-page linear programed text, my/in its second printing, presents the basic skills of cam-era operation. (4145 North High Street, Columbus,Ohio 43214.)

Goldman, Frederick and Linda R. Burnett. Need JohnnyRead? Practical Methods To Enrich HumanitiesCourses Using Films and Film Study. Dayton, Ohio:Pflaum/Standard, 1971.

Kuhns, William and Robert Stanley. Exploring the Film.Dayton, Ohio: Pflaum/Standard, 1968.

Larson, Rodger and Ellen Mease. Young Filmmakers.New York: Avon Press, 1969. (Paperback)

Lownders, Douglas. Film Making in Schools. New York:Watson-Guptill Publications, 1968. London: B. T. Bats-ford, Ltd.

Rynew, Arden. Filmmaking for Children. Dayton, Ohio:Pflaum/Standard, 19o1.

Spolin, Viola. Improvisation for the Theater: A Handbookof Teaching and Directing Techniques. Evanston,Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1963.

C. Research

The following are selected readings on re-search in visual literacy.

Ammons, R. B. and C. H. Ammons. Quick Test (QT). Mis-soula, Montana: Psychological Test Specialists, 1965.

Debes, J. L. Visuals Are a Language, (periodical). Roches-ter, N.Y.: Eastman Kodak Company, 1967 and after.

Deutsch, M. "The Disadvantaged Child and the LearningProcess." In Education in Depressed Areas, edited byA. Harry Passow. New York: Columbia University,Teachers College, 1963. Pp. 163-179.

Dunn, L. Manual for the Peabody Picture VocabularyTest. Minneapolis: American Guidance Service, 1965.

Fransecky, R. B. "The Effect of Visual Literacy Trainingon the Linguistic Development of Third, Fourth, andFifth Graders." Unpublished doctoral dissertation,University of Cincinnati, 1970.

Herman, D. T., R. H. Lawless, and R. W. Marshall. "Vari-ables in the Effect of Language on the Reproductionof Visually Perceived Forms." Perceptual and MotorSkills, 1957, 7, Monograph Supplement 2, 171-186.

Miner, L. E. "Scoring Procedures for the Length-Complex-ity Index: A Preliminary Report." Charleston, Ill.:Eastern Illinois University, Department of SpeechCorrection, 1968.

Morris, H. L. "Communication Skills of Children withCleft Lips and Palates." Juurnal of Speech and Hear-ing Research, 1962, 5, 79-90.

Prentice, W. C. H. "Visual Recognition of Verbally La-beled Figures." American Journal of Psychology,1954, 67, 315-320.

Randhawa, B. S. "Intellectual Development and the Abil-ity To Process Visual and Verbal Information.- AVCommunication Review, 1971, 19, 298-312.

Shriner, T. and D. Sherman. "An Equation for AssessingLanguage Development." Journal of Speech andHearing Research, 1967, 10, 41-48.

Strandberg, T. E. "A Comparison of Three Stimulus Me-dia for Evoking Verbal Language Samples." Unpub-lished master's thesis, Eastern Illinois University, De-partment of Speech Correction, Charleston, 1969.

Templing, M. C. "Certain Language Skills in Children:Their Development and Interrelationships." Instituteof Child Welfare Monograph Series, No. 26. Minne-apolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1966.

A more complete bibliography of vis-ual literacy research is available from theCenter for Visual Literacy, Taylor Hall, Un-

Mintun, S. "A Comparison of Three Stimulus Media for iversity of Rochester, Rochester, New YorkEliciting Verbal Language Samples from EMH Chil- 14627. In addition, the visual literacy mater-dren.- Unpublished master's thesis, Department of .

Ials handled by AECT may also be useful.Speech Correction, Eastern Illinois University,Charleston, 1968. ziee Appendix C, p. 32.

25

stiftv

i-,fx."

:460., -

Afterward

Visual literacy is a relatively new concept and both theory and practice are un-dergoing change. Much remains to be discovered. Much remains to be developed.

If you decide to involve yourself in activities in this field, please bear in mindthat what you are doing may be being done for the first time in that particular way. Con-sequently, your experience may be unique and significant to others. Do keep records ofwhat you do, and do plan to share what you learn with others carrying out programs inthis field.

This booklet suggests numerous places to go for additional information. To shareyour information with others, contact the authors of this booklet or the Association forEducational Communications and Technology, Visual Literacy Task Force. (Addresses

are given in the front.) We look forward to hearing from you. Immense opportunities existfor you and your students in this exciting new field. Visual literacy holds bold promisefor teachers committed to making sense of life to youngsters, to help learners ordermaterials of their own world, and to discover what has not yet been. In all visual activi-ties we echo Michelangelo who said at age eighty: "Ancora imparoI am still learning."

ZS 27

LAppendices

A. Some Modes of Visual Communication'

When we communicate ver-bally, whether speaking orwriting, we have in mind

some purpose, unstated or specified,which affects the way in which wepresent our message. As receivers of averbal message, we generally havesome idea of the purpose of the au-thor of the message. We can catego-rize the message as, for example, ashopping list, a description of a trip oran operation, a research report, a let-ter of complaint, directions for gettingto the airport, a short story, and so on.In teaching reading or writing we of-ten find it useful to ask our students toidentify the purpose of a message orto produce a message for a specificpurpose ("write a paragraph describ-ing your best friend," "compare agri-cultural with industrial society," "givethe sequence of events in cell divi-sion," etc.). Likewise, when we com-municate visually, whether as origina-tors or receivers of a message, we canidentify or categorize the message ac-cording to its purpose and select (orinterpret) visuals for that purpose.

The following are some suggestedpurposes or modes of visual commu-nication and some ideas about how toachieve those purposes visually.

Definition

In a dictionary we describe awordan action, concept, thinginwords. Visually, we would define anaction or thing or whatever in pic-tures. A collection of pictures that de-fine something would be a "piction-(Irv" definition, and a collection ofsuch definitions would be a "pic-tionary."

Description

When we describe something, wetell what it is like. We can do this with

28

pictures just as we can with words. Indescription, we can describe whateveraspect of a thing we want. In defini-tion, we want the "reader" of our vis-ual to be able, when he sees an exam-ple of what we are describing, to placeit in the category we are defining. Forexample, if we are defining dog for aperson who does not know what a dogis, we could not define a dog by show-ing a picture of our dog Rover; WPshould have to show many pictures ofdifferent dogs in many situations, per-haps comparing dogs with a similaranimal that the reader knows. How-ever, if we simply want to describeRover, a picture of Rover will prob-ably do the job.

Enumeration

Verbally, we select from a popu-lation items of every kind, making aneffort to miss none of them. In otherwords, we make a list. Visually, thesame thing is accomplished with aseries of photographs, each one repre-senting one individual or item in asituation.

Spatial Arrangement

We might express this kind of in-formation verbally in a pragraph orperhaps in verbal descriptions associ-ated with a map. Visually, we can doth.s by arranging pictures over an areathat corresponds approximately to thelocation of the real item or individualWithin the real space.

'This section is adapted from Debes, J.L., "Sorne Semantics of Visual Communi-cation." Unpublished paper presented atthe Conference of the International Sod-ety for General Semantics, Denver, Colo-rado, August 1968.

Comparison

Verbally, we identify aspects ofdifference between two similar itemsand by our verbal descriptions, drawclose attention to and appreciation ofthe differences. Visually, we do some-thing comparable, selecting a point ofview or points of view that emphasizethe differences.

Categorization

Verbally, we identify, throughcareful description and comparison,items or individuals in a populationthat are identical. Visually, the proc-

ess calls for comparison of visual as-pects of the individuals and the se-lecting-out of identice I members.

Traveling Eye (Exploration)

Verbally, a paragraph or severalparagraphs might be used to recount avisit, walk, voyage, into an unknownor relatively unexplored area. Thiscould be done in the micro as well asthe macro dimensions. Visually, thecamera can be moved around and intosuch a situation with comparable ef-fect.

Chronology or Process

For this semantic view of theworld the verbal communicator se-lects events and describes in the orderin which they happen those aspects ofthe events that lead developmentallyto the last state about which the com-municator wishes to comment. Visu-ally, the chronology or semantic se-quence presents challenges or difficul-ties. To someone unfamiliar withvisual communication it might seemsufficient merely to photograph each"stage" in order. Everyone who hasever tried, however, knows that thestringencies of visual ordering requirethe utmost care in the selection ofboth aspect and time. The skilled vis-ual communicator may not have readsemantics, but he knows with remorsethat Smith, is not Smith2 and Smith2is not Smith, and so on. The sad ex-perience of having to discard picturesnot quite right in chosen aspect or notquite right in moment of time hasmade him more wise. Perhaps no-where more than in photography doesthe rightness of Korzybski's character-ization of man as a time-binder seemmore plain!

Idealization

In the endeavors of man, the ef-fort to achieve something better is an

effort toward an idealperhaps un-consciously conceived, but an idealnonetheless. In describing a biologicalprocessfor instance, the develop-ment of a leaf of a particular treethe biologist can state what steps aretypical and what eventuation is typi-cal. In writing of these things, wechoose words to outline, logically orchronologically, the way things wouldbe if the "typical" or the best wouldoccur. By our choice of words, the or-der of our sentences, the clarity withwhich we see the process, we projectan image of the idealor an imperfectima... The same process occurs in vis-ual communication. The perfect run ofa downhill skier never occurs. But,from a carefully selected set of pic-tures something very close to the idealrun can be communicated visually.What is required is a careful selectionof aspect and time and elimination ofthe imperfect or atypical.

Directive Utterances

We spend much time in persua-sion or direction, telling people to dosomething or persuading them to do it.The nature of the verbal communica-tion depends upon the audience. Wedon't use the same selection of words,arrangement of sentences, or selectionof ideas for children as we do foradults, for housewives as we do forprofessional men. The goal is to getsomeone to do something we thinkshould be done either in concert withus, in group activity which does notinclude us, or alone. Visual communi-cation goals are similar and the selec-tion of visuals to direct or persuade,visuals that will appear cogent to theintended audience follow similarrules for success. The order in whichvisual statements are presented maynot be logical in order to be most co-gent. The intent may be to prey uponfears, prejudices, enthusiasms, loves,and so on in order to carry the point.

Fiction

Robert Louis Stevenson rewroteportions of An Inland Voyage eighttimes in order to create the preciseimpressions and moods he wanted.What he finished with bore little re-semblance to the voyage he actuallytook. It was a confabulation tailoredwith exquisite care for the feelingsand images that would be created inthe minds of his readers. Visual con-fabulations follow similar rules andrequire as great or greater attention.Theater-goers who have seen ElviraMadigan or The Plow that Broke thePlains know that they have seen thework of an author of fiction, whethervisual or verbal or both.

Personal Emotional Expression

Between an "ouch!" to a bark inthe shins to "how do I love thee, letme count the ways" is a gamut of ver-

bal expression from the inarticulate-spontaneous to the articulate-contrived, from lugubrious to noble.The primary source is strongly feltemotion; the primary intent is to letsomeone know how deeply the feel-ings are held. In visual literacy a simi-lar range occurs from the visual ex-pression of "ouch" to the visualstatement of the tenderest or highestfeelings, and the goals are the sameto share, spontaneously or deliber-ately, feelings strongly held.

29

B. Perceptual Development

As every teacher knows, childrendevelop abilities gradually, eachchild growing according to his

unique possibilities and circum-stances. Along with individual differ-ences, there is a general sequence ofdevelopment which enables an in-formed observer to estimate the de-velopmental level of a particular childor group of children. In designing in-struction or planning an instructionalprogram, it is necessary to knowwhere the students are, where theyhave been, and where they may be ex-pected to go in terms of the instruc-

tion. Otherwise, they may not benefitfrom the instruction.

Reprinted here is a proposed tax-onomy of perception' which tracec thedevelopment of perception from itsbeginning to full development. Thismodel is not limited to visual percep-tion, but includes auditory and otherperceptual modes as well. Perception,

'Moore, Maxine Ruth. The Perceptual-Motor Domain and a Proposed Taxonomyof Perception." AV Communication Re-view, 1970, 4, 379-413.

in this taxonomy, is viewed as opera-tional. It includes "awareness" (or at-tention) on the input end and "behav-ior" on the output end. Perception,then, is identified as a process of in-formation extraction, and its domaincomprises all forms and products ofbehavior concretely related to infor-mation extraction. (The perceptual-motor domain is distinguished fromthe cognitive domain in that the latterrefers mainly to judgments made frommemory and to memory operationsperformed in the absence of the stim-ulus.)

I. Sensation. Behavior that demonstrates awareness ofthe information aspects of the stimulus energyA. Detection and awareness of change. Detection

threshold measures in all sensory modes1. Ability to specify the attribute that has changed2. Ability to specify the direction of change3. Ability to specify the degree of change

II. Figure Perception. Behavior that demonstrates aware-ness of entityA. Discrimination of unity; discrimination threshold

measures in all sensory modes1. Ability to judge brightness as a property of the

stimulus under varying illumination2. Ability to judge distance and location of light

and sound3. Ability to judge tactile form qualities such as

hardness, sharpness, etc.B. Sensory figure-ground perceptual organization

1. Awareness of the relationships of parts to eachother and to the whole

2. Awareness of relations between the parts andthe background, matrix, or context

C. Resolution of detail1. ResponsE to detail within the sensory (visual

and auditory) worlda. Ability to judge size as a property of the stim-

ulus at various distancesb. Ability to judge shape as a property of the

stimulus regardless of orientationc. Tests of field-dependenced. Tests of spatial orientation

30

e. Other2. Response to detail within the sensory (visual

and auditory) fielda. Ability to discriminate symmetrical figuresb. Ability to discriminate asymmetrical figuresc. Ability to perceive rapidly successive bits of

informationd. "Nonsensory" figure-ground segregati...te. Other

III. Symbol Perception. Behavior that demonstratesawareness of figures in the form of denotative signswhen associated meanings are not consideredA. Identification of form or pattern and relation of

discrete information into visual, auditory, and tac-tile forms; recognition thresholds in all sensorymodalities1. Ability to distinguish curves from rectangles2. Ability to distinguish triangles from squares.3. Ability to identify letters and digits4. Ability to respond appropriately to gross facial

expressions5 . Ability to distinguish tones in a musical chord6. Ability to abFtract a melody line from its varia-

tions7. Ability to distinguish color components of a vis-

ual spectrum or composition8. Ability to respond appropriately to verbal direc-

tions9. Ability to respond appropriately to written di-

rections10. Other

B. Naming and dassifkation of forms and patterns1. Ability io recognize faces and identify people

by name2. Ability to identify simplifk ations and sc hematic

drawings3. Ability to name complex objects, pictures,

places, melodies, tastes, odors, etc.4. Ability to read and comprehend concrete nouns

and verbs denoting physical activity5. Ability to indicate similarities and differences

between visual, auditory, or tactile forms ortheir representations and to classify them

. Other

IV. Perception of Meaning. Behavior that demonstratesawareness of the significance commonly associatedwith forms and patterns and events and the ability toassign personal significance to them; interpretiveabilityA. Mental manipulation of the identified form or pat-

tern1. Ability to reproduce forms, tunes, or syllables

by memory2. Ability to overcome the constancies of bright-

ness, color, size, and shape3. Other

B. Ability to attach significance to a symbol and torelate symbols to achieve a significant synthesis1. Understanding of the various parts of speech;

comprehension of language2. Ability to make simple associations in all sen-

sory modalities; e.g., clouds mean rain, smokemeans fire

3. Ability to understand verbal imagery, similes,metaphors, analogies, and other figures ofspeechconnotative meanings

4. Other

C. Ability to attach significance to a series of eventsoccurring over a period of time1. Insight into cause and effect relationships2. Discovery of new relationships3. Ability to generalize, understand implications,

and make simple decisions4 . Other

V. Perceptive Performance. Behavior that demonstratessensitive and accurate observation, ability to makecomplex decisions where many factors are involved,and ability to change ongoing behavior in response toits ef fectivenessA. Demonstration of a successful a.'.1'!,tical or global

approach to problem solving in all areas of en-deavor

B. Diagnostic ability with respect to mechanical orelectrical systems, medical problems, artistic prod-ucts, etc.

C. Insight into personal, social, and political situa-tions where awareness of attitudes, needs, desires,moods, intentions, perceptions, and thoughts ofother people and oneself is indicated

D. Demonstration of artistry and creativity in anymedium

E. Other

aa

vare.

'CiNAT"`i

.,s

V .. ,I, :: NZ k

s 014.i'As:,,,,Ist,Itt

I

3

I im

k

1

31

C. AECT and Visual LiteracyThe Association for EducationalCommunications and Technol-ogy (AECT) is an organization of

professional educators, in the schoolsand elsewhere, who are responsiblefor the design and management oftechnology-based instruction and in-structional materials. The Associationtraces its origins to a group of educa-tors who were interested in visual in-struction. Over the decades, the orga-n iz a t ion's efforts to improveinstruction expanded to the many ap-plications of technology to the teach-i ng- learning process. And, sincepeople and how they learn are deter-mining factors in.any kind of instruc-tional system, the basic human func-tion of visual learning has remained acentral concern of the Association.

Recently, this concern has takenthe form of what is called "the visualliteracy movement." It began tenta-tively in 1965 and 1966 with corre-spondence and telephone calls amongAssociation members and others whowere working with visual means of in-struction. The appearance of the firstissue of Visuals Are a Language. in1967, focused these exploratory effortsin the office of Jack Debes at EastmanKodak.

Tnterest in visual literacy in-creased and at the annual meeting ofAECT in the spring of 1968 (AECT atthat time was called the Departmentof Audiovisual Instruction), someonesuggested there ought to be some kindof exploratory get-together. An infor-mal committee including Richard Ni-beck, deputy executive director ofAECT, was formed and a meeting washeld in August 1968 at the Universityof Rochester. It was at that meetingthat the decision was made to call thefirst national conference on visual lit-eracy, and AECT immediately becameone of the sponsors.

The first National Conference onVisual Literacy was held in March1969, at Rochester, N. Y. Since then,conferences have been held annuallyat Chicago in April, 1970, Asilomar,California, in March 1971, and at Cin-cinnati, Ohio, in March, 1972. Thenational organization of the samename was recently organized as a se-parate entity and includes AECT rep-resentatives on its governing board.

32

AECT, in addition to its contribu-tions to the National Conference, c 3n-ducts its own visual literacy activities.Programs related to visual literacy area part of the annual AECT conventionconference. It was at the 1%8 annualmeeting in Houston that the first ma-jor presentations were made bearingthe name "visual literacy." WithinAECT's organizational structure thereis a Visual Literacy Task Force whichrecommends, develops, and assistswith activities related to visual liter-acy. This booklet is one outcome ofthe Association's conccrn with visualliteracy.

The Association's publication pro-gram includes many materials usefulto educators interested in visual in-struction programs. The monthly mag-azine, Audiovisual Instruction, carriesfrequent articles describing visual lit-eracy programs, and the researchquarterly, AV Communication Re-view, includes reports of original re-search of significance to visual learn-ing.

Other materials produced or pub-lished by AECT on the subject ofvisual literacy include:

Audiovisual Materials

Photo-Discovery Sets. These sets ofpictures, each on a 31/2-inch squarecard, provide youngsters with theopportunity to "write" their ownstories by arranging the picturesin sequence. The incidents pic-tured are familiar to most chil-dren and provide variety in termsof complexity and judgments re-quired. One set, instead of invit-ing story-telling, encourages con-cept-development by requiringchildren to sort the pictures intocategories.

Making Sense Visually and How Doesa Picture Mean? are two filmstripsets that teachers can use to helpstudents understand some of theunderlying principles of visualcommunication.

A Visual Fable is a filmstrip set fororienting irstructional staff to vis-ual literacy programs. The visualsand recorded narration trace thedevelopment of visual literacy inan individual and suggest someways education can he:p enhance

34

individual visual lit,Putting New Excitement into School

Pictures is a filmstrip and recordset that presents some ideas forimproving communicationthrough pictures in school publi-cations.

The Shr ple Camera contains 12 film-strips and 5 manuals which makeup a 12-unit course suitable forteaching youngsters Fome basicsof picture taking. The course isdesigned for use by teachers andstudents who have had little orno photographic experience.

Rhetoric of the Movie is an introduc-tion to communication by motionpicture. The set uses six super-8films and an instructor's manualto present some fundamentals ofmovie making, relating the proc-ess to verbal communication.

The Growing of a Young Fihnaker isa 16mm film by and about a highschool dropout who became in-volved in a filmmaking programfor young people. It is of interestto high school students engagedin filmmaking and selves as orien-tation for teachers involvedvisual literacy programs.

Hey, Look at Me! shows elementaryschool children making their ownfilms in a community in Appa-lachia. The film is 16mm color.

This Movie is About Light is a 16mmcolor film showing a teacher andher inner city first graders whodevelop reading skills while mak-ing a movie about light.

Books

Research, Principles and Practices inVisual Communication presentsfundamental concepts of commu-nication, visual perception, anddesign based on research and the-oretical considerations.

Learning from Pictures suggests wayspictures may be used in teachingchildren at all grade levels, inmany different subjects.

(The above materials may be obtainedfrom the Association for EducationalCommunications and Technology. Forprices and ordering information, writeto AECT, Publications Department,1201 loth Street NW,Wat;hington,D.('.20036.)

Photo Crafts .

(Photographs are listed and described by chapters, left to right, top to bottom, in the order in whichthey appear.)

One. Boy painting, from AECT. Group, by Daniel J. Ransohoff, University Media Services Center,University of Cincinnati. Headstone, by youngster on sixth grade social studies field trip. Kittens.by eleven-year-old boy.

Two. Balloons, by Parkdale (Maryland) high school students for animated documentary film "The Artof Aerostation." Girl painting, from "How Does a Picture Mean?" (AECT), originally created byEastman Kodak, Marcel Marceau, courtesy of The Washington Post. Boys reading comics, from"How Does a Picture Mean?" (AECT), originally created by Eastman Kodak. "Stop" object languageseries, from "Making Sense Visually" and "The dog/plays with/the turtle" series, from "How Does aPicture Mean?" (AECT), originally created by Eastman Kodak.

Three. Contact sheet of pictures from the presantation "Ear to the Ground, Eye to the Future"; photosby teachers and administrators involved in University of Southern California summer institutes.Photo, and sequencing pictures into story form, series from "A Visual Fable" (AECT), originally createdby Eastman Kodak.

Four. Through a viewfinder, from "A Visual Fable" (AECT). Little girl, photo by James E. Parker, NorthCarolina Central University. from Audiovisual Instruction, December 1969. Girl shooting picture,photo by Ronald Linek, University Media Services Center. University of Cincinnati. Insects, by Park-dale (Maryland) high school students for animated film. Boy shooting picture, boy in snow, llama,by Vita and Arthur Pariente. Boy, photo by early elementary school child in Sodus (New York) SchoolSystem Summer School for Migrant Youth, from Audlovisua instruction, October 1968.

Five. Instructor Gerald Baltimore working with Parkdale (Maryland) high school students, photo fromAudiovisual Instruction, November 1970. High school students arranging slide sequences, photofrom Parkdale (Maryland) High School, courtesy of Gerald Baltimore. Boys looking at pictures,photo by early elementary school child in Sodus (New York) School System Summer School forMigrant Youth. Boy using VTR camera, from Audiovisual Instruction, November 1969

Six. Photo from "A Visual Fable" (AECT). originally created by Eastman Kodak. Boy drawing onslate, by Vita Pariente. Boy shooting picture, from "A Visual Fable" (AECT), originally created byEastman Kodak. Boy taking Lowenfeld test of Visual Haptic Aptitude, photo by early elementaryschool child in Sodus (New York) School System Summer School for Migrant Youth.

Eight. Group (used as basis for cover design). photo by Daniel J. Ransohoff, University MediaServices Center. University of Cincinnati.

Nine. "Yawn." photos from "How Does a Picture Mean?" (AECT), originaHy created by EastmanKodak. Collage artwork. by Parkdale (Maryland) high school student for a slide-tape production

PurpleHaze. . .A Deadly Experience with L.S.D." courtesy of Gerald Baltimore. Hammering eggs,courtesy of Eastman Kodak. Motion Picture and Education Markets Division. An infant's eye view,from "A Visual Fable" (AECT), originally created by Eastman Kodak.

.,