Visual Literacy & the Internet

Visual literacy and the use of the Internet impact my teaching and my students and my learning process daily in my classroom.  More students are visual learners than are auditory learners.  When both elements are combined, there is a stronger possibility of more students being reached.  As a teacher my desire is to reach every one of my students.  Each one has the capacity for gaining knowledge and using that knowledge to expand their horizons.  How do I accomplish this?  Provide opportunities for my students to grasp concepts, analyze what they are learning, and to use that knowledge to create and reach for new knowledge.

To engage my students I use PowerPoint presentations, pictures, and video clips.  I was able to download a video of a tour of a fire station to show my students and compare with the story we were reading for A Trip to the Firehouse.  My colleagues and I use scientific awards that are a picture with a sentence description.  The students then save these and it gives them a visual and description that they have access to learn and it serves as a reward as well.  Using pictures I am able to help students come up with a topic sentence and details to help them build and organize their writing.  I use pictures and PowerPoint presentations to demonstrate spelling, sight words, and vocabulary words.  These visuals help the students understand the words they are learning and their meaning with the pictures and symbols. Our English Language learners understand even better and more clearly when visuals are connected to the auditory and written words.

Here is the video of the tour of the fire station we viewed.

I want to utilize WebQuest activities more in my class.  I would like to get my students engaged and communicating using Edmodo.  Implementation of virtual field trips and Skype for the classroom to have guest speakers would improve engagement and bring more learning experiences to my students.  I have explored ePals and would like to implement the use of the program to have my students communicate with students in another state.  My desire with the Internet is for my students to use the Internet to expand their horizons and to become critical thinkers and to learn to use scholarly communication.  

Reference:

• A Tour of Fire Station 6. Perf. Firefighters of Station 6. YouTube, 2011. Film.