Developing digital literacy skills is essential for 21st century learning, working and living. Emerging mobile technologies provide affordances that can be leveraged to advance these skills in a school educational setting. Digital literacy in the context of this paper encompasses media literacy, visual literacy, technology tools literacy and…

Integrating art (paintings, sculptures, photography, and other types of images) into second language (L2) instruction, can have a positive effect on language acquisition and developing intercultural understanding. As the instructor provides visual scaffolding, learners at all proficiency levels have the opportunity to engage more deeply with L2…

This article provides a practical guide for teaching visual analysis to university students. By adapting Serafini's curricular and pedagogical framework for teaching multimodal representations to incorporate self-reflection, I evince how visual analysis can be taught in a writing course and similar introductory courses. Using a photograph that…

Democratic societies require a citizenry skilled in argumentation. At present, the written argument maintains primacy among communicative modes. Because of its cognitive demands, written argumentation is often difficult to teach. A multimodal approach to writing instruction carries the potential to assist struggling learners. This article outlines…

The purpose of this article is to provide teachers and students useful methods for utilizing the power of comic books as literacy sponsors in ELA classrooms. Given the continued boom in the popularity of comics in popular culture, this provides a relevant way to introduce students to visual and critical analysis. Engaging in meaningful analysis of…

Explicit pedagogy that focuses on visual design and composition principles can affect students' responses to and understanding, interpretation and analysis of images, as well as the creation of their own visual representations. This article considers the why, the what, and the how of teaching various visual elements of art and design to students…

This article describes a novel approach to teaching novice Biochemistry students visual literacy skills and understanding of some aspects of protein structure using the internet resource FoldIt and a worksheet based on selected Introductory Puzzles from this computer game. In responding to a questionnaire, students indicated that they (94%)…

External representations (ERs), such as diagrams, animations, and dynamic models are vital tools for communicating and constructing knowledge in biochemistry. To build a meaningful understanding of structure, function, and process, it is essential that students become visually literate by mastering key cognitive skills that are essential for…

Seventh grade students entering South East Junior High in Iowa City come from eight elementary feeder schools, as well as from schools around the world. Their information literacy skills and knowledge of reference sources vary, but since all seventh graders and new eighth graders are required to take one trimester of Visual Studies, all entering…

Deconstruction is a critical literary theory which focuses on the unintentional meanings of a text and aims to achieve an unprejudiced, value-free vision of the social and political power structures in society that combine to produce the text. The development of such critical skills in advertising students will deepen their ability to judge the…

Visual learning has long been recognized as an integral process in educating biology undergraduates, who must develop specific visual skills and knowledge in order to communicate and work in the extensive visual culture shared by practicing biologists. Student experiences with field observations and the development and application of verbal/visual…

This book describes a 2-year project, an aesthetically focused experimental kindergarten emphasizing instruction in perceptual skills to stimulate acute sensory awareness (which would theoretically help the children become more academically able), and use of the arts as an instructional vehicle. The open education model stresses classroom centers…