LEARNING ARTIFACT 2: VISUAL LITERACY

Justin Roberts11/03/2008EME2040

What have I learned so far?

Every image we see, be it online, print, or in media…is really made up of tiny dots.

The core of Visual Literacy consists of things like hue, lines, saturation, and motion.

Some websites aren’t as legitimate as they seem. You can tell where some websites are originally from, like

.uk means it’s a United Kingdom site. You can also find out who a site is registered to, which

helps with legitimizing the information found on that site. Visual literacy means the ability to understand messages

composed of pictures Visual literacy can be decieving, making a model in an

advertisement look better using photo editing software

What I have learned cont. More and more information is moving to

a digital format to an analog format Digital is leaps and bounds more

efficient than analog PDA’s could be used in the classroom,

despite always being told to put mine away!

Reactions I was surprised about the Dove

Commercial. What prevents more companies from doing stuff like that? What about the countless people whose self esteem is affected by images like that?

I thought the fact that all the pictures we see ever are made of millions of tiny dots, the scale kind of blows your mind!

Reactions Cont. The ability to find out who a website is

registered can be good and bad. The good is how it helps curious browsers find if the site can be trusted. The bad is how “big brother” that ability can be.

I thought the list of website tags (.edu, .gov, .com) was helpful. I know for a fact I have judged a sites credibility on these and used them for papers.

On the same note, those sites may have been a bad decision, something like Martin Luther King.org could have come up.

So how does this affect me?

The news is becoming a very visual based medium

Graphs, over the shoulder graphics, and CGI demonstrations offer viewers an easier way to understand a story compared to just words.

Photo editing can become a big liability if it got out of control. If pictures, or video, were doctored, then an organization would lose credibility at a blinding speed

How does this affect me cont.

Using a spreadsheet application would help with anything from planning a story, to keeping record of video, to listing certain sources.

The sharper the resolution of picture and video, the more pleasing to the viewer

Having more information on digital media equals a faster transfer to a computer. This speed means money for news reporters and organizations.

Over-The-Shoulder Graphic These can help tell viewers what the story is about at a

quick glance

Graphs Graphs convey information to viewers that would

otherwise be confusing if just spoken through a reporter.

CGI Re-creations These can visually recreate events if there is no video of

that event happening.

Any Questions? What are some of the drawbacks of the

digital switch? Will more schools allow PDA’s in the

classroom, or will they continue to be viewed as a distraction to students?

What are some of the ethical concerns with teaching students how to photoshop?