This study investigated the ability of color and motion to elicit and maintain visual attention in a sample of children with cortical visual impairment (CVI). It found that colorful and moving objects may be used to engage children with CVI, increase their motivation to use their residual vision, and promote visual learning.

This paper introduces an evaluation tool prepared to examine the quality of visuals in course-books. The tool is based on Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (i.e. Generative Theory) and its principles regarding the correct use of illustrations within text. The reason to generate the tool, the development process along with the…

Describes an evaluator's experiences in three art workshops for fourth graders at the Carnegie Museum of Art. Workshop participants demonstrated significant intellectual growth and visual learning. (AM)

Critiques an experiment by M. Arlin, M. Scott, and J. Webster (see EJ 206 153) in which their pictures as an aid to learning hypothesis contrasts with the focal attention hypothesis supported by research by H. Singer, S. J. Samuels, and J. Spiroff (see EJ 105 648). (MKM)

A recent survey of 60 commercial computer assisted instruction (CAI) programs found that most of the programmed lessons used few or no graphics to communicate the main points. An Instructional Graphics Checklist was developed to reflect the research findings about the use of pictures in instruction and to serve as an informal evaluation instrument…

Reports on a study of what children actually bring to the act of reading picture books in terms of their expectations, their reading or life experience, or their understanding of artistic styles. (TB)

This brief article identifies software that supports visual spatial intelligence, a characteristic of many intellectually gifted children. Such software should be complex, flexible, and include visual components. The review of five software titles provides information on appropriate ages, computer compatibility, and source, as well as an…

The goal of the Agam Program is to teach visual literacy to preschoolers. The Agam Project implemented the program in Israel in 1983. This report summarizes the second cycle of research on the program, which was conducted in 1985-87. The Agam Program integrates visual concepts with specific skills and develops specific cognitive processes. The…

A parallel distributed processing model of visual word recognition and pronunciation is described. A key feature is the assumption that there is a simple, uniform procedure for computing a phonological representation from an orthographic representation for irregular words as well as regular words. (SLD)

This paper addresses the scarcity of research on depictions and layout in sex education materials. It is argued that pictures and layout can inform an analysis of social stratification based on visual access. This process of social organization is located using four theoretical models. However these models do not lend themselves to a close reading…

The first of a three volume report on a project to develop and apply quantitative procedures to measure motor and sensory/motor growth in nonhandicapped and severely/multiply handicapped children presents 17 papers delineating ways to measure motor function. The following motoric functions are considered: visual fixation, visual tracking, visual…

The authors review their work on helping physicaly handicapped persons gain spatial cognition through the interactive graphics learning environment of a computer LOGO system. The findings are said to demonstrate that the LOGO tasks are a viable part of a school curriculum for students with cerebral palsy, as shown by severely/profoundly…

The use of visuals in facilitating language learning is investigated by first looking at the effects of both visual and auditory perceptions on the ontogeny of language. This paper then samples the growing body of research and data on the ways in which visuals facilitate first language learning. The use of visuals in teaching/learning is examined…

This study focuses on the effects of map display and modality on learning geographical maps in a computer-based environment. Participants were randomly assigned to four versions of a computer program created by crossing two levels of map display (hypertext vs. rollover) with two levels of modality (audio vs. audio and text). Results showed that…

The article offers guidelines to educators evaluating controversial therapies and applies them to four such therapies: tinted lenses as a cure for dyslexia; orthomolecular treatments for learning disabilities; pharmaceutical intervention for dyslexia; and visual training for children with learning disabilities. (DB)