week 11

New Literacy Notes
*I am assigning a biome and having students search for pictures on the internet and create a comic strip using comic life*
1. What am I learning about my new literacy?
a. Visual Literacy includes diagrams, maps, tables, time lines and story boards. In my case, visual literacy will also include a comic strip.
b. In regards to traditional literacy, visual literacy is closely related. If one is not able to comprehend it would be difficult to understand what a time line would mean. Also, most time lines, tables, maps etc are labeled and not knowing how to read text would make understanding visual literacy merely impossible.
c. Visual literacy, like the traditional literacy is very diverse. Visual literacy expands beyond pictures and diagrams. I would not think of a time line to be part of visual literacy but I have learned this is actually very common. Also, there are the broad names (diagram, map, story board) but then there are TONS of different types of diagrams or maps expanding the use of visual literacy even more.
d. Visual literacy can be used across all subjects, but it is necessary to be clear and concise. Also, label whenever appropriate. For example, a map is pointless without a legend and a graph is irrelevant without the labeling of the x and y axis.
e. I am surprised how broad visual literacy is. Like traditional literacy, there are many different definitions and beliefs of what visual literacy entails.
f. In my placement, my students mostly have visual literacy. Although many of them cannot read, they make graphs with pictures, color in charts for the weather which are both uses of visual literacy. I think in the kindergarten level, visual literacy is crucial.
2. What am I learning about my new technology?
a. I find myself reading the tutorials a lot to familiarize myself with comic life. It is a complex program, but very useful once I become fluent.
b. It is hard to remember what all the buttons mean and how to format pictures. This will become easier as I practice more.
c. Comic Life is not like a lot of other technologies I have worked with. I do not know how to crop pictures and reformat. However, much like using a website, Comic Life requires navigation. I have found myself “lost” and not knowing how to get back to the area I was working in.
d. One thing I have noticed is that Comic Life is pretty common sense developed. Whenever I wonder where something is or how to do something, I usually only have to try a few times. I do not know if this is because I have some sort of technological fluency or if it is due to the simplicity of how the program was developed.
e. Students in my placement would not use Comic Life. I could do my initial idea with the use of magazines and have the students make a collage that is relevant to their specific topic.