The ubiquitousness of images in the digital era highlights the importance of individuals' visual communication skills in the 21st Century. We conducted a literature review of visual literacy initiatives in academic institutions to illustrate best practices for imparting these skills in students. The literature review identified five categories of…

This paper briefly reports the outcomes of an action research inquiry on the use of blogs, MS PowerPoint [PPT], and the Internet as learning tools with a science class of sixth graders for project-based learning. Multiple sources of data were essential to triangulate the key findings articulated in this paper. Corresponding to previous studies,…

This case study reports on the Digital English project, an experimental course in academic writing piloted with international students on a year-long pre-sessional programme. Inspired by Ulmer's (2003) "Mystory" project and Gauntlett's (2007) "Lego" research, the course concerns itself with the students' exploration of self at…

Visual literacy, the ability to interpret and create external representations (ERs), is essential to success in biochemistry. Studies have been conducted that describe students' abilities to use and interpret specific types of ERs. However, a framework for describing ERs derived through a naturalistic inquiry of biochemistry classrooms has not…

This exploratory study investigated student reaction to the use of cartoons as advance organizers for online discussions in an online course. A convenience sample of 15 students participated in the study by contributing cartoons, participating in online discussions, and completing a survey. Overall, survey results indicated student reaction to the…

Quality and meaningful Visual Art education provides opportunities for learning and holistic development to all children at school. Research projects in this regard highlight the problems that teachers experience in this field. The contribution of higher education in the training of educators to provide for teachers in Visual Art education is…

This paper argues that pedagogic efficacy of multimedia packages (interactive multimedia presentations) cannot be achieved by experimental research in the absence of a detailed pedagogical screenwriting framework. Following a summary of relevant literature, such a framework is offered, consisting of micro-level design guidelines. The guidelines…

Scholars have argued that imprecise data graphics, specifically those displaying decorative dimensionality of data, may lead to inaccurate interpretations. Empirical tests of decorative dimensionality have produced mixed results. The literature also suggests that the effects of decorative dimensionality may depend on the cognitive demand of a…

Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures communicate or can be "read," a more and more highly prized skill in our educational landscape. The outcomes of the pilot study conducted with undergraduate teacher candidates engaged in Illustrator Studies are analyzed to broach aesthetic concepts and explore creative teaching pathways…

Using course materials to promote visual literacy skills is an important aspect of undergraduate science education. A comparison study was undertaken to determine the composition of visual representations, specifically representations of data generated from experimental research, found in general biology and discipline-specific textbooks compared…

The arts disciplines (visual arts, music, theatre, and dance) merit and require formal study. Policy makers should support studies in the arts as core disciplines, as specified in the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)," the federal legislation that sets policy and appropriations for public education. The arts merit and…

This research uses cognitive load theory and theories of visual literacy to provide a theoretical underpinning for techniques to improve students' ability to recognise designers' styles in higher education. Using a lecture followed by tutorial format, students were required to learn the characteristics needed to identify a designer's work either…

The so-called millennial learners who currently populate college classrooms are purportedly digital natives whose repeated exposure to a host of new technologies has allegedly resulted in enhanced skills in several areas, including those related to technology and visual communication. By extension, the argument has been made that digital natives…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify student and staff experiences with online learning at higher education (HE) using the software Elluminate Live! Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts a qualitative approach, focusing on the reflections of participants (student and teacher) collated over a 12 month period of piloting online…

Multimodal learning materials are frequently met in education assuming enhanced learning outcomes. This study examined whether contrasts in such materials are likely to support reading comprehension for all readers. Young adults (n = 46) met either text-only or text+picture material. Participants (19 with low phonological awareness [PA] and 27…