The corporate takeover of the Internet has moved literacy into uncharted territory. Couched in capitalist metaphors of liberation, choice, utility, and desirability, an expanded communications network that provides quick and easy access to vast amounts of information appeals to the national psyche. The commodification of literacy as a result of…

The World Wide Web allows users to interact with a graphic interface to search information in a hypermedia and multimedia environment. Graphics serve as reference points on the World Wide Web for searching and retrieving information. This study analyzed the culturally constructed syntax patterns, or codes, embedded in the icons of library…

The introduction of affordable multimedia computers with CD-ROM capacity, videocassette recorders, and connections to the Internet and the World Wide Web have expanded opportunities to help society develop visual literacy. Art images are a natural choice for the teaching of visual literacy. At Northern Illinois University, a course was added in…

Quality education is often impeded by lack of instructor time and by a failure to provide instruction that is individualized and at the point of need. Integration technology into course development can alleviate these problems, but only if the technology is easy to learn and supports a systems approach. In implementing a Web-based Technical…

This article reports on two academic courses related to visual literacy: Videology and the Internet. The two projects are examples of how young learners can be educated and prepared for a visual world via courses in visual literacy. The article provides an overview of the impact of television on American society, describes each project, discusses…