Provides a profile of Paul Robert Wendt who was interested in using technology to teach students how to succeed in higher education by improving library and information skills. Highlights include his educational background; work in films; teaching in higher education at Southern Illinois University (SIU); work in programmed instruction and visual…

Visual images are not simply embodiments of social reality; they are indeed ideological sites embedded with powerful discursive sociopolitical meanings that exert strong influences on the ways in which people live their lives. The author of this paper describes the Ad-Deconstruction Project, which challenged students to integrate aesthetic…

Films in English are extremely challenging for those studying English as a foreign language. In this study, an attempt was made to make an English film more comprehensible by asking subjects to read an abridged version of the novel the film was based on before seeing the film. Subjects reported that reading the book first increased…

Objective: Students will identify several unique characteristics of verbal vs. visual messages, including the superior ability of language to communicate objective, factual, philosophical content in past, present, and future terms; and the superior ability of visual images to communicate social-emotional meaning and concrete information limited in…

This handbook, written for teachers, art teachers, and parents of young children, describes actual elementary school classroom experiences. Each anecdote is juxtaposed with a simple explanation of its philosophical and psychological rationale. Symbolic representation of the environment through art making is seen as a natural language, a…

The speech contained in this document originally accompanied a slide presentation on the altered photographic image. The discussion examines the links between photographic tradition and contemporary visual imaging, the current transformation of visual imaging by the computer, and the effects of digital imaging on visual arts. Photography has a…

This paper defines visual literacy, provides a synopsis of the current research on political awareness among today's youth, and shows how using political cartoons with children and adolescents will enhance their political cognition. It introduces the political cartoon, defining and describing what makes a political cartoon particularly effective…

This paper illustrates and explains the relationship between drawing ability and spatial and visual-perceptual ability; it defines those terms and explores their connection to intelligence and information processing as well as their potential implications for education and training. Discussion covers results of recent studies, which suggest that…

A picture can be interpreted in different ways by various persons. There is often a difference between a picture's denotation (literal meaning), connotation (associative meaning), and private associations. Two studies were conducted in order to observe the private associations that pictures awaken in people. One study deals with associations made…

The interactive multimedia application described here attempts to provide learners and teachers with a common frame of reference for communicating about visual media. The system is based on a list of concepts related to composition, and illustrates those concepts with photographs, paintings, graphic designs, and motion picture scenes. The ability…

The purpose of this in-progress study is to try to find commonalities between visual proficiency and artistic performance. In order to assess visual proficiency, a test of spatial ability is being developed and pilot tested. Student performance on the test will be recorded and examined in relation to two traditional measures of student art…

A study examined teachers' actual use of media and pictures in their teaching of geography in the secondary schools of five countries (a previous study focused on representations). About 180 teachers from Australia, Greece, Japan, Sweden, and the United States responded to a questionnaire concerning how often they used various types of media or…

Educators should be encouraged to develop elementary school students' knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the visual arts in an integrated approach to curriculum development in the schools. Instruction in the visual arts is frequently presented in isolation from other subjects, but resources are available to support reinforcement in…

By combining the use of an existing teleconferencing network with new computer-based video technologies, the University of Wyoming has enhanced its ability to provide distance educational opportunities for students at remote sites across the state. The new computer-based audiographic system was tested during the fall semester of 1988 during the…

This report provides suggestions on how a language arts mass media and visual 1iteracy skills assessment program might be structured to ensure that school districts meet the Common Curriculum Goals of the public elementary and secondary schools in Oregon. This report includes: (1) a list of Common Curriculum Goals that relate to mass media and…