Visual literacy, as described by Yoram Eshet-Alkalai (a scholar from the Tel-Hai College in Israel), is most easily described as the recognition and translation inside the human mind, of icons in place of the traditional alphabet.
To illustrate, some examples of this that we are seeing more and more these days are the use of what are called "emoticons" by individuals while they are writing messages to indicate their current emotional state; which might otherwise be expressed as a written sentence.
Eg. =) is a way of showing that a person is in a happy mood, or wants to pass on the message of good will to the intended recipient of the message.
As we progress more and more toward the digital age, it is my firm belief that visual literacy will be the key to reaching plateaus otherwise unattainable by the antiquated methods currently employed by many educational faculties across the globe.
A report titled explorations (Visual Literacy in Higher Education), written in 2005 by Ron Bleed (a student hailing from Maricopa Community Colleges), speaks in depth about how the gap between younger generation kids and their teachers continues to widen. Especially in terms of communicating information, kids these days are learning in much different ways then their parents did back when they were in school.
It is largely suspected that the current supposed drop in literacy exhibited by this new generation (Generation X, and the Tweens), is primarily due to the scale on which they are being measured.
While the current teaching administration (largely consisting of Baby Boomers, or individuals from Generation Y) is still working with a curriculum that has its roots in traditional language instruction; kids are absorbing information visually via the internet, television, and other forms of mass media.
The truth is, many of these old platforms of learning that we currently rely on are very quickly becoming outdated. In the Maricopa Community College system changes are being made to incorporate visual literacy, and to revolutionize the way new students are taught to absorb content.
The next frontier for growth will be in the digital, not in the corporeal form. Currently, with our traditional alphabet and literacy structure, there are a great many limitations dictated by the basic nature of the medium with which it is communicated. However, in the digital world, truly limitless possibilities await us; the only barriers are that of lack of knowledge. Every day new breakthroughs are brought to light, and with them more opportunities for advancement.
The below video (taken from YouTube, and posted originally by MediaCircusDOTcom) demonstrates that the top ten likely in-demand jobs for 2010 will likely not have been available in 2004, and that they will probably require the use of technology that has not even been invented yet.
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How does visual literacy fit into this picture? It is how we will interpret all that the technological revolution has to offer. Our old methods of learning have taken us quite a ways, but if we are to grow as a species, we must acknowledge the necessity of moving forward. If we do not, we risk becoming stagnant as a society.
Times are changing, our understanding of visual literacy will dictate whether or not we are changing along with them.
Regards,
Ian Brinton
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This video really makes us think about technology and future .However , it is just a bunch of vague statements that don't really surprise me and are mostly too general to be useful in any way . I think that they try to persuade us the same way when predict the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteUnless you want to impress somebody on a party with a completely useless but interesting fact.
what is the point of this video?
well, let me know that they know mate very well.
The video listed in this post was intended specifically to illustrate the rapidly progressing technological environment which we all curently find ourselves in; which is really just an afterthought of the true subject of the article.
ReplyDeleteI will admit, not all of it serves the purpose of this article, but the intention of it was more to draw attention to the fact that it is likely that the old ways of learning will soon be outdated, but really nothing more.
Again, we are discussing Visual Literacy, and its impact on our society. The article very clearly states that Visual Literacy will play a large part in future learning initiatives put forth by educational facilities.
It will have to, because the limitiations inherint in our current linear alphabet will only allow us to progress so far.
As you have not actually commented on the article in any way, I tend to think that you only watched the video, and as such maybe missed the point.
Your last point is interesting Ian; it almost proves the point that we are definitely more inclined to "shift away from the alphabet" by watching videos rather than reading. Even as your instructor, I'm drawn in by the video more so than the written aspect simply because it's so much more visual!
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