Competency in visual literacy (VL) is crucial for effective visual communication, and thus for living and working in a visually saturated environment. However, VL across disciplines is still marginalized in higher education curricula. This tendency is partly caused by the lack of knowledge and agreement on what it means to be visually literate.…

The twenty-first century hosts a well-established global economy, where leaders are required to have increasingly complex skills that include creativity, innovation, vision, relatability, critical thinking and well-honed communications methods. The experience gained by learning to be visually literate includes the ability to see, observe, analyze,…

In this article, the author describes the life and works of Lida Cochran, the matriarch of visual literacy. Lida was practicing "visual literacy" long before there was an association devoted to it. Lida has worked with the AECT, ECT Foundation (the Cochran Internship is named for her husband, Lee Cochran), and the International Visual Literacy…

Social media environments and online communities are innovative collaborative technologies that challenge traditional definitions of information literacy. Metaliteracy is an overarching and self-referential framework that integrates emerging technologies and unifies multiple literacy types. This redefinition of information literacy expands the…

Many researchers from different disciplines have explained their views and interpretations and written about visual literacy from their various perspectives. Visual literacy may be applied in almost all areas such as advertising, anatomy, art, biology, business presentations, communication, education, engineering, etc. (Pettersson, 2002a). Despite…

This article reports the result of an action research study that explored the need for visual literacy as an additional instructional input for students creating technology integration solutions. The introduction of visual literacy concepts is useful in two ways. First, it raises visual considerations to the conscious consideration of students.…

In this article, the author has advanced the view that the world is currently on the threshold of a new status quo--the hegemony of the image. Yet, this seems a mixed blessing, for people, and especially young people, are not equipped with the necessary critical viewing and thinking skills to survive it. Nevertheless, this unfortunate situation…

Author defines what visual literacy is and consequently how it should be measured. (Author/HB)

Examines sources available for developing a theory of visual literacy and attempts to clarify the meaning of the term. Suggests that visual thinking, a concept supported by recent research on mental imagery, visualization, and dual coding, ought to be the emphasis for future theory development. (FL)

Reviews historical thinking about visual literacy; addresses the issue of setting visual literacy's parameters; provides a rationale linking individuals in an otherwise multidisciplinary movement; proposes a redefinition of visual literacy; and postulates proposals designed to foster further development and understanding of the theoretical…

We employ an array of terms to denote the visual; however, we have not yet agreed on a clear framework for understanding the function and relationship between visual concepts. I propose a literacy approach to the visual so that as educators, researchers, students, and practitioners, we acquire more than skills that rely on changing definitions and…

Describes two hours in the life of an eight-year-old to demonstrate that children acquire information and develop language skills from multiple sources. Argues that the conceptualization of literacy must be broadened from reading and writing skills to a definition that recognizes the layering of information and that includes all forms of the…

This study reviews historical thinking about visual literacy, addresses the issue of setting visual literacy's parameters, and provides a philosophy to link individual theories in this multidisciplinary movement. The report examines the roots of the visual literacy movement and the seminal literature in the field. It includes a categorizing of…

Examines two issues: whether different modes of presentation used by communication media require their own unique brand of literacy, and whether the consequences of one kind of literacy, e.g., television literacy and all of its skill components, may affect those of another kind. (MBR)

A visually literate person's lexicon for interpreting visual statements, without regard to medium, could include an eclectic array of possibilities. Some definitions and demonstrations of the various approaches are presented. The premodern, or connoisseur's approach, is characterized by a central concern with the assessment of quality, and such…