Designed for professionals who design and develop instructional materials, this paper identifies specific and general strategies that educational technologists can employ in their media productions to enhance aesthetic awareness. A brief overview of aesthetics and aesthetic education is provided, including definitions and various approaches to…

Quality of life and self-determination are important values in the field of intellectual disabilities however they may be difficult to facilitate with persons who have limited communication skills. In fact, many studies provide evidence that these persons have less opportunity to make choices and express their preferences. To help practitioners…

Discusses the use of quick-image activities in which the teacher flashes one particular image consisting of dots on the overhead projector screen for three seconds, hides it from view, then asks students to tell how many dots were shown and to describe what they saw. (ASK)

The overhead projector (OHP) is described as one of the simplest and most versatile resources available to the language teacher, yet one that is frequently undervalued and underutilized. It can be used to support classroom practice in many ways: enhancing and expanding group and pair work; stimulating the use of target language by pupils; ensuring…

The use of picture line-up activities, classroom exercises in which students must place a series of pictures in correct order, is discussed. The advantages of use of a picture series instead of simple pairs are examined, a basic activity is described, and ideas for implementation, adaptation, and follow-up are outlined. The basic activity uses…

Sixteen severely-to-profoundly hearing-impaired students, aged 7-8, received training using a curriculum for remediating monotone voice. Some students also used visual or tactile sensory aids. All students evidenced marked improvement in remediating monotonous pitch, with those using the curriculum in conjunction with a tactile display showing the…

Visual organizers also called graphic organizers, formal organizers, and visual strategies are visual representations of concepts and ideas. When used in classrooms, they provide students with tools to make thought and organizational processes visible, and they serve as organizational frameworks to promote thinking and language development. This…

Intended as a guide for teachers, this book discusses ways to exploit the intersections between the visual and the verbal to teach writing. Chapter 1, "Seeing Writing in a Visual World" (Eric H. Hobson), establishes the book's major premises. Chapter 2, "Postcards: Inside/Out" (Joseph F. Trimmer), describes engaging students in a whole course of…

This article collects some of the many ideas that were generated in one of the workshop options at the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit Materials Conference. The ideas it presents illustrate the purpose of the workshop, which was to explore, discuss, and plan ways of using objects and visual material as a source for generating ideas and…

Traces the changes in the visuals used in U.S. history textbooks since the 1900s, concentrating on contemporary texts. Provides questions educators can use in assessing the educational value of textbook visuals. Critiques current textbook visuals, and suggests ways that they enhance understanding of educational information. (RW)

Reports on a study conducted in Spain in which the environmental preferences of 11 to 14-year-old children were examined using a collection of photographs. Results include the indication that the environmental attitudes of children attending a 15-day nature camp changed noticeably in at least five different aspects. (TW)

Natural history facts and concepts were presented to 160 multiaged individuals through tactual and/or visual interpretive stations along a nature trail. Individuals were tested to indicate knowledge retention after the trail experience. Visual, tactual, and visual/tactual approaches proved to be equally effective treatments in most cases.…

A pictograph and icon-driven training program has been specifically designed for educators who are responsible for teaching the developmentally disabled regarding the safe use of hazardous chemicals. In alignment with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it offers "reasonable accommodation" by those who educate and train this special…