Prior to this project, I didn't necessarily understand that there were multiple types of literacy. After choosing and further researching visual literacy, I learned that while I've acknowledged this type of literacy in the past, I didn't know it had its own category of literacy. The dictionary definition of visual literacy is "is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image." In the self-contained special education classrooms and resource rooms I've observed in or been placed in, no matter the age group, there are signs throughout the room labeling things throughout the classroom, such as "chalkboard," "door," "restroom," "drinking fountain," "teacher's desk," etc. with both the word and a picture to represent the word. I've always wanted to incorporate this into my future classroom. Little did I know, this is considered visual literacy. In addition to inside the classroom, knowing that a blue sign with a white wheelchair on it is a handicapped parking space, and only cars with handicap permits hanging from their rearview mirror can park in them is also an example of visual literacy. I am surprised that this type of literacy isn't present in general education classrooms, specifically younger grade levels. Although I haven't experienced many general education placements throughout my TE classes, I am placed in a first grade general education classroom now that doesn't have many examples of the labeling type of visual literacy. I suppose if I went into the kindergarten classroom down the hall in my placement school, I might find this type of visual literacy, however, first grade is only one year off.
I am still researching other examples of visual literacy, especially because I know that there are plenty more. I chose to utilize ScrapBlog as my technology because I felt this best represented visual literacy. Like a paper scrapbook, it includes pictures in addition to words, so that viewers will hopefully better understand visual literacy.
Similar to Kaitlin, I didn’t know that there were so many different types of literacy before being introduced to the new literacies exploration project. While Kaitlin wasn’t aware that some of the literacy that she has been exposed to in the past was actually considered visual literacy, I felt the same way about emotional literacy once I learned more about what emotional literacy entailed. I am glad that Kaitlin has seen visual literacy very prominent within the special education settings that she has been in as I think that visual literacy is very important to students with disabilities, and I agree with her in that general education students can benefit from visual literacy as well. I feel that the literacy I have been learning about, emotional literacy can be taught along with visual literacy as understanding others emotions depends on visual cues such as facial expressions or actions of others. I am excited to learn more about visual literacy though Kaitlin’s ScrapBlog presentation. And, along with learning about visual literacy I am excited to learn about all of the different literacies that my classmates are learning and see how they are related to what I am learning about emotional literacy, and consider how to include the different types of literacies in my future teaching.
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