Cognitive research has shown that the human brain processes images quicker than it processes words, and images are more likely than text to remain in long-term memory. With the expansion of technology that allows people from all walks of life to create and share photographs with a few clicks, the world seems to value visual media more than ever…

This paper discusses the role of digital technology within the cognitive revolution of the perception of images. It analyzes the traditional values placed on images as a source of cognition. These values are discussed in terms of the ethical and social issues raised by the use of digital image manipulation in so far as the digital era is falsely…

One theoretical model for understanding the visual event suggests that a visual event has both a surface (descriptive) and a deeper (experience) level of understanding. Both levels are needed to comprehend and appreciate images, with each level affecting the other. A person's perspective is an important part of the visual event, which depends upon…

A study was conducted investigating whether a sequence of visuals presented in a serial manner differs in connotative meaning from the same set of visuals presented simultaneously. How the meanings of pairs of shots relate to their constituent visuals was also explored. Sixteen pairs of visuals were presented to both male and female subjects in…

One of the most basic theoretical areas in the study of visual communication and visual literacy is the nature of representation. Some of the important research in this area is reviewed in this paper, and a model of representation is developed that satisfies many of the philosophical concerns. The paper begins with a discussion on the relationship…

This paper examines how visual information strategies may be used to facilitate the development of mental models. Topics covered include: definition of mental models; mental models and visual information; mental modeling concepts; power of modeling, including examples related to physical science, mathematics, writing, and depth of processing;…

Unlike the linear, serial process of reading books, learning to "read" television is a parallel process in which multiple pieces of information are simultaneously received. Perceiving images, only one aspect of understanding television, requires the concurrent processing of information that is compounded within a symbol system. The…

In order to enhance the understanding of visual literacy, one of its constituents, visual learning (VL), is examined in terms of underlying assumptions, hypothesized behaviors, and implications of both assumptions and behaviors. Assumptions are: (1) VL encompasses all changes in behavior arising from the individual's responses to visual…

Investigates the supportive side of current technology in the visual process of learning and the issues instructional designers must address to utilize these capabilities and maximize their effects. Provides an overview of visual memory and discusses information processing and analogic reasoning, cognition and visual information processing, visual…

This collection covers a variety of workshops and presentations related to the research, theory, technology, or implementation of some aspect of visual literacy. More than 40 authors are represented, with 12 of the papers dealing directly with television. The document begins with an overview and a keynote address by Neil Postman. Individual papers…

Preparing students to be both constructors and consumers of visual information will be an important responsibility for all teachers. This will mean giving learners the tools to go beyond what is merely visual to the deeper, human meanings that lie beneath. One important way that educators can prepare students to be wise visual consumers is to help…

This document includes 46 papers presented at the International Visual Literacy Association Conference on topics ranging from prehistoric cave paintings to technology of the future. Major sections are devoted to research and theory, education, computer technology, and phototherapy. Emphasis is on increased understanding of opportunities available…

Individual differences in perceptual information processing were tested using 327 ten year old children, with verbal tasks representing successive information processing and spatial tasks representing simultaneous information processing. Three sets of tasks, (1) visual/reconstruction (V/R), (2) visual/verbal (V/VL), and (3) verbal/reconstruction…