CHAPTER 5
VISUAL PRINCIPLES
Ø The roles of visuals in instruction
Visuals definitely play is to provide a concrete referent or ideas. Words don’t look or sound (usually) like the thing they stand for, but visuals are iconic –that is, they have some reseblance to the thing they represent. Iconic i.e more easily to be remembered as compared to words. Visuals can also motivate learners by attracting their attention, holding their attention, and generating emotional responses.
Visuals can simplify information that is difficult to understand. Diagram can make it easy to store and retrieve such information. Finally, visuals provide a redundant channel; that is, when accompanying spoken or written verbal information they present that information in a different modality, giving some learners a chance to comprehend visually what they might miss verbally.
Ø Visual literacy
The term literacy once was used only to refer to reading and writing of verbal information, the term of visual literacy to refer to the learned ability to interprer visual messages accurately and to create such messages.
Visual literacy can be developed through two major approaches:
• Input strategies: Helping learners to decode, or “read” visuals proficiently by practicing visual analysis skills.
• Output strategies: Helping learners to encode, or “write” visuals –to express themselves and communicate with others.
· Decoding: Interpreting Visuals
Seeing a visual does not automatically ensure that one will learn from it. Learners must be guided toward correct decoding of visuals. One aspect of visual literacy, then, is the skill of lnterpreting and creating meaning from surrounding stimuli.
• Developmental Effects
Many variables effect how a learner decodes a visual. Prior to the age of 12, children tend to interpret visuals section by section rather as a whole. In reporting what they see in a picture, they are likely to single out specific elements within the scene. Students who are older, however, tend to summarize the whole scene and report a conclusion about the meaning of the picture.
• Cultural Effects
In teaching, we must keep in mind that the act of decoding visuals may be affected by the viewer’s cultural background. Different cultural groups may perceive visual materials in different ways.
• Visual Preferences
In selecting visuals, teachers have to make appropriate choices between the sorts of visuals that are preferred and those that are most effective. People do not necessarily learn best from the kinds of pictures they prefer to look at. For instance, research on picture preferences indicates that children in upper elementary grades tend to prefer color to black and white and to choose photograps over drawings; younger children tend to prefer simple illustrations, whereas older children tend to prefer moderately complex illustration.
· Encoding: Creating Visuals
Another route to visual literacy is through student creation of visual presentation. Just as writing can spur reading, producing media can be a highly effective way of understanding media.
Most older students have access to a camera. For example, you could encourage students to present reports to the class by carefully selecting sets of the camera, which can help them to develop their aesthetic talents. The video camcorder is another convenient tool for students to practice creating and presenting ideas and event pictorially. Or, students can scan photos or drawings into a computer-generated presentation using software such as PowerPoint.
Ø Goals of Visual Design
For purposes of information and instruction, good visual design tries to achieve at least four basic goals in terms of improving communication:
• Ensure Legability: The goal of good visual design is to remove as many obstacles as possible that might impede transmission of your message.
• Reduce Effort: As a designer you want to convey your message in such a way that viewers expend little effort making sense out of what they are seeing and are free to use most of their mental effort for understanding the message itself.
• Increase Active Engagement: Your message doesn’t stand a chance unless people pay attention to it. So a major goal is to make your design as appealing as possible –on get viewers attention and to entice them into thinking about your message.
• Focus Attention: Having enticed viewers into your display, you then face the challenge of directing their attention to the most important parts of your message.
Ø Processes of Visual Design
Teachers, designers and others who create visual and verbal / visual displays face a series of design decisions how to arrange the elements to achieve their goals. We will group these into three set.
1. Elements: Selecting and assembling the verbal/visual elements to incorporate into the display.
• Visual Elements
- Realistic
Realistic visual show the actual object under study. For example, the color photograph of a covered wagon.
- Analogic
Analogic visuals convey a concept or topic by showing something else and implying a similarity. Teaching about electricity flow by showing water flowing in series and parallel pipes is an example of using analogic visuals.
- Organizational
Organizational visuals include flowchart, graph, maps, schematics, and classification charts.
• Verbal Elements
Most displays incorporate some type of verbal information in addition to visuals.
- Letter Style
- Number of Lettering Styles
- Capitals
- Color of Lettering
- Size of Lettering
- Spacing Between Letters
- Spacing Between Lines
• Elements That Add Appeal
- Surpise
- Texture
- Interaction
2. Pattern: Choosing an underlying pattern for the elements of the display.
• Alignment
• Shope
• Balance
• Style
• Color Scheme
• Color Appeal
3. Arrangement: Arranging the individual elements within the underlying pattern.
• Proximity
• Directionals
• Figure-Ground Contrast
• Consistency
Ø Visual Planning Tools
• Storyboard
In storyboard, you place on a card or piece of paper a sketch or some other simple representation of the visual you plan to use along with the narration and production notes that link the visuals to the narration. After developing a series of such cards, place them in rough sequence on a flat surface or on a storyboard holder.
• Types of Lettters
The letters are easy to use because most come with an adhesive backing; however, they are rather expensive.
• Drawing, Sketching, and Cartooning
Drawings, sketching, and cartoons are visuals that can enhance learning.
Ø Digital Images
As computer technologies advance, creating visual image has moved into the digital world. Students may use digital cameras to create originals or may transfer images into digital formats using scanners.
• Digital Cameras
• Scanners
• Photo CDs
• Caution When Editing Images
