Visual and Digital Tools for Impressive Teaching Learning Process
Visual learning is one of the best methods for teaching of thinking skills and helping to organize ideas. Visual diagrams help students make connections and transfer knowledge. They help students recognize patterns, interrelationships and inter-dependencies among and between new concepts. Visual diagrams create a “learn to think” and “learn to learn” attitude. “Learning to think” (how to think?) and “learning to learn”(how to learn?) are the essential skills of learner’s success.
Proverbs, sayings and quotes on visual literacy
“One seeing is better than a hundred times telling about" - Old Chinese proverb.
“A picture is worth a thousand words” (an old adage).
“Every picture tells a story.” (an old saying).
“The use of visual tools creates a shift in classroom dynamics from passive to interactive learning for all to see.” (D. Hyerle, 1996).
Definition of visual literacy
Visual Literacy is “the ability to understand and use images including the ability to think, learn and express oneself in terms of images”.
Visual intelligence
People learn visually by observing, perceiving, watching, connecting, drawing, showing, communicating and structuring their thoughts. The better you learn to appreciate colour, harmony, balance, symmetry, repetition, direction and so forth, the more you’ll learn from what you see and the more you’ll enjoy life. Visualization is a two-way street. You can create pictures as well as look at them. Verbal literacy depends on learning grammar, rhetoric, and vocabulary. Visual literacy encompasses understanding color, tone, line texture, proportions, boldness, symmetry, repetition, accent and media.
Visual tools
Physical models, Mental pictures, interactive visualization, imaginary visualization and stories, pictures, sketches, diagrams, images and pictographs and Kinesthetic activity
Visual maps
Brainstorming webs; graphic organizers; concept maps and mind maps
Benefits of visual tools
visual tools provide one mechanism to direct and focus attention. Visual tools give an instant picture of relationships of ideas and complex meaning. Visual tools improve presentation. Visual tools proved to be more persuasive. Visual tools facilitate recall and retention.
Educational benefits of visual tools
Graphic Organizers are visual representations of knowledge. It is a frame used to organize information. GOs are also referred to as: knowledge maps, story maps, cognitive organizers, advance organizers, concept diagrams and thinking maps. Visual tools help in organizing the thought process. They help rearrange text and useful in summarizing the information. They clarify thinking and locate and remember facts/ideas. They present the big picture or view information in a meaningful whole. They show inter-relationships among ideas.They reinforce understanding and integrate new knowledge.
Kinds of graphic organizers (GOs)
• Bubble map
• Double bubble map
• Circle map
• Chain of events
• Clustering map
• Cycle map
• Brace map
• Venn diagram
• Interaction outline
• Problem/solution
• Persuasion map
• Time – order chart
• E-chart
• T-chart
• Flow chart
• Tree chart
Benefits of Graphic organizers as valuable instructional tools
They help to organize, link, integrate and communicate large amounts of information more easily. They allow easy editing and drawing different perspectives. They are flexible and endless in application. They are underutilized in teaching - learning situation. They are ideal for many types of learners because GOs use short words or phrases. They offer greater retention and reduce instructional time. They can be used in all phases of learning from brainstorming ideas to presenting ideas.
Technology integration is the use of technology resources (computers, Internet etc.) in daily classroom practices, and in the management of a College. Computer based education refers to any kind of computer in educational settings. Computer technology is becoming increasingly important for education at every level. The computers make it possible to access, represent, process and communicate information in new ways. The computers make it possible to search and organize information, analyse data, represent ideas, simulate complex systems and communicate with others. They also enable new ways of teaching – learning , new activities, new products and new types of learning. Computers are cognitive tools; Computers are performance support systems (PSSs). Computers offer multi-media ways for obtaining large amounts of information, e.g., CD-ROMs and web sites.
Computers can be used in two ways
1. The computer as a classroom tool
2. The computer as a subject of instruction.
E-learning applications
On - line students group: allows students to interact with each other
On - line lecturing: allows faculty to interact with students
On - line counseling: helps students in decision- making
On - line libraries and resource center: providing text, documents, articles for reference.
Multimedia tools
Students who use multimedia tools are active learners. Students reflect these kind of tasks throughout their life. Students work collaboratively, not only with each other, but with researchers and teachers.
Power point Presentation
It provides a platform for incorporating a variety of different kinds of multi-media file types: images, video, audio and animations. It is neat and clean and it allows for portability of materials. It is easy for professors to update, saving them time and energy.
Hypermedia tools
An approach to information storage and retrieval that provides multiple linkages among elements. It allows the user to navigate easily from one piece of information to another. It consists of a database of information structured as nodes or frames. It links between the nodes that allow rapid movement through the information and a user interface. Hypermedia tools are useful for exploring a large database of information, accessing elaborations on core information and promoting a ‘rich’ learning.
Hypertext tools
The linking of information together by highlighted keywords that have been marked up creating paths through related material from different sources such as footnotes and encyclopedias. Hypertext has the ability to connect related documents. Hyperlink is a connection among documents in a hypermedia and hypertext format.
Simulation tools
A computer simulation attempts to reproduce real-life situations. Simulations feature a combination of text and graphics ,using dialogue and inquiry to guide the student through a situation. Simulations also can bring about higher-order synthesis and analysis skills.
Tutorials
They are one of the most common types of computer-assisted instruction. Tutorials are “page- turners” similar to textbooks. The one-to-one tutoring and feedback provided by a tutorial can make it an excellent tool for improving student knowledge. Drill-and-practice programs work well in increasing student knowledge through repetition, usually through cues.Students can repeat sections, helping individualized instruction. Drill-and-practice programs provide automatic feedback to learners.
Interactive video and video Conferencing applications
The interactive video refers broadly to software that responds to certain choices and commands by the user. A typical system consists of a combination of a compact disk, computer and video technology. Videodisc systems store video pictures, still pictures, and sound on discs that users can control with a videodisc player. These systems can provide the interactive capabilities of computers and the motion-picture capabilities of videos.
Video Conferencing is a method of performing interactive video communications over a regular high speed internet connection. It is a medium where individuals or groups can meet face-to-face in real time to interact and exchange ideas. It requires a fast speed internet connection, a microphone and a video camera. Since it was introduced, communication technologies have improved exponentially.
A digital library is a collection of textual, numeric, graphic, audio and video data stored in digital form, indexed and logically linked for ease of retrieval. The user can access information from anywhere in the world. Digital library allows ease of search and retrieval of information.
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