Friday, July 13, 2012
Talking Pictures Challenge
This first week of challenges was great fun. I was very excited to use my own photos, things that are meaningful to me, to create visual texts/stories. As I began reading through the material on visual literacy I immediately began to realize that my 'old school' definitions for terms like 'text' are in need of a face-lift. My gutt response to the definition of visual text as "anything from diagram to documentary" sent me on a google search for the definition of text. This is what I found...http://www.answers.com/topic/text. The gist of this is that my reading teacher understanding of what text is (the printed word) needs augmenting to fit into 21st century education. I'm very glad to know this!
In regard to the challenges this week, I am VERY excited to use all of these visual tools with students. My reading students have always created hand-made books using their own language, drawings, stickers, and handwriting. These original books are meaningful and motivating for my early and struggling readers. This past school year my students used digital cameras to take photos for illustrating their books...I thought this was a big step into the 21st century! Well now, it seems that there are LOTS more tools out there for my kids to use in text creation and I can't wait to give them access to them! Pictures With Text and Pic Collage are two tools that I believe are very easy to use, will foster independence and empower students. I look forward to discovering more!
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I too can see these apps on this iPad working well with many students both struggling and enriching.
ReplyDeleteMakes me think we might be able to trick them into learning easier. I am excited to get some of the apps or programs working for me.
I think as we move ahead there is much to be excited about. These are very useful tools for augmenting and supplementing...thankfully they are somewhat easy to use. We all know the kids will latch onto this even faster than we do!
ReplyDeleteI think you make some good points...I always do. I am wondering if using an iPad to have kids write their own books will allow a greater focus on the '"text" and less on the photo taking, program following, etc. since the iPad is so self contained.
ReplyDeleteI think that you are right and that digital tools require an augmented notion of what "text" is. I am finding this summer that many of my notions about text I was "comfortable" reading are changing: found myself unexpectedly early for an appointment and was sad that my kindle was sitting at home with a half read book on it, then had an aha moment and downloaded the book to my phone. It even synced to the page I was on at home. I merrily read away the extra 30 minutes. Ten years ago, reading onscreen at all was "impossible" for me-- I printed out everything I had to read. Now I understand the conventions of onscreen text and it doesn't phase me. Still-- what a huge change!
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