This study examined the cognitive and neural development of attention switching using a simple forced-choice attention task and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Fourteen children and adults made discriminations among stimuli based on either shape or color. Performance on these trials was compared to performance during blocked trials…

Visual selective attention is the ability to attend to relevant visual information and ignore irrelevant stimuli. Little is known about its typical and atypical development in early childhood. Experiment 1 investigates typically developing toddlers' visual search for multiple targets on a touch-screen. Time to hit a target, distance between…

In most elementary classrooms, students with autistic characteristics are too often dismissed from the literate community. The autistic child is frequently asked to practice memorizing sight words while classmates are introduced to literature. Although autistic children are increasingly being taught in general education classrooms, they are often…

This article explores the synergy that can be created when concept-mapping techniques are used in collaboration with the construction of PowerPoint presentations to increase the richness of the learning experience. Some weaknesses of the typical PowerPoint format are highlighted with a description of how they can be overcome through a more…

Autism is a life-long, complex developmental disorder that causes impairment in the way individuals process information. Autism belongs to heterogeneous categories of developmental disabilities where neurological disorders lead to deficits in a child's ability to communicate, understand language, play, develop social skills, and relate to others.…

Besides phonotactic principles, orthographies entail graphotactic rules for which the reader must convert a phonological representation on the basis of spelling adaptation rules. In the present study, the learnability of such rules will be investigated with reference to Dutch. Although Dutch orthography can be considered highly regular, there are…

Based on the premise that the primary ways individuals make sense of the world is through observation, analysis, imagination, and feeling, this work suggests that through the use of graphics, students can experience these functions as they interact with reading and writing activities. Graphics encourage students to read more closely, make visual…

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…

Images of society reflect the stereotypes and the realities of gender tracking, often separating males from females. The messages of gender separation begin early, laced throughout society in many ways. This paper expresses different points of view about the relationships between males and females, the computer culture, the influence of mass…

Teachers today are faced not only with oversized classes, but with students of varying abilities who differ in the ways they process information. The fostering of diverse styles of learning has been neglected in the teaching of mathematics. The use of journal writing as a vehicle for assessing students' understanding of material provides an…

Environment may be regarded as a form of communication, with environmental linguistics becoming a new discipline that will have to be explored. Its goal is to demystify some of the constructs that contribute to the built environment as a communication tool. Treating the built environment as a language requires a recognition of its dynamic nature.…

A media attribute approach was used in a study which hypothesized that compositional syntactic placement may bridge the processing link between the learner's cognitive capacity and the demands of a simple concept attainment task. Compositional syntactic placement refers to the relative horizontal position of the primary symbol or object within a…

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…

A collection of works focusing on the use of video instruction in the English as a second language classroom includes a preface that touches on the copyright issue (C. J. Brumfit)and the following articles: "Video and English Language Teaching in Britain" (Frances MacKnight); "The Potential and Limitations of Video" (Dave…

Researchers investigating the cerebral information processing of visual stimuli have usually followed the pattern of stimulating the subject's eyes with light and observing accompanying changes in brain wave patterns. Such visually evoked responses (VERs) have been found to discriminate bright from dull children and dyslexic from normal readers.…