Using Images as a Powerful Gateway To Learning

[Sam Gliksman]

Most of us grew up in an age where knowledge and information were primarily conveyed in textual format. Think of the encyclopedias we used. Photos were used but largely as an enhancement to articles that were text-based. Worse, the high cost of full color printing meant that the images that were used were usually in black and white.

 

Research has long shown however that people memorize and learn more effectively when information is presented visually and in color. Studies demonstrate that people can be exposed to images for a few short seconds and still retain 90% of the information after a few days (1).  Further, we live in a digital world today that is saturated with visual media. Images and video are the language of the YouTube generation. Most classrooms however are still largely the same as they were when we were students. We still depend primarily on aural and textual forms of information transmission in school - either by a teacher lecturing at the front of the room or by reading from a printed textbook.

 

One of the educational strengths of the iPad lies in its ability to collate and present media from all parts of the world. It allows the user to connect visually to compelling information and events as they are occurring. The use of imagery affords educators an exceptional opportunity to stimulate thought and discussion about important events. Used appropriately it will also leave lasting impressions on students and deepen the quality of classroom interaction.

 

We were all horrified by the terrible tragedy of the recent earthquake and tsunami that overwhelmed Japan. These are critically important educational moments and it's important to discuss them with your students - whether you approach them from a scientific or sociological perspective. It's one thing to describe what happened in Japan but imagine the impact of opening your discussion by displaying the images below:

 

Photographs from Asahi Shimbun, Reuters  and Yomiuri Shimbun, AFP/Getty Images

 

Asking students to describe what the girl in the photo may be thinking or feeling enables them to connect on both a cognitive and emotional level. What must it have felt like to live through that experience? You can describe the cause and impact of a tsunami but a discussion of the immense force it would have taken to bring that ship atop the house would elevate that discussion to a far more meaningful and memorable level.

 

Accessing Images

 

There are many iPad apps that offer a daily stream of high quality photography. If it's news imagery that you're seeking then some of the best apps include:

• Reuter's Galleries
• The Guardian EyeWitness 
• News360  

All allow you to scan the news by browsing galleries of high quality photos connected to the events. In each case, the images are not intended as a replacement for the more detailed reporting of the event. Instead, they act as an excellent gateway to the information and as a powerful stimulus for discussion. Users can always click on the image to get more detailed reporting.

 

 

Activities 

Creative teachers can develop a wide variety of activities around the images. Some ideas to get you started may include:

• asking students to write a short paragraph guessing the story behind the image
• having students come up with a list of adjectives to describe the image
• asking students to create a mini-poster combining the image with a short statement
• creating a mini-poster by combining the image with a quotation from a famous person
• asking students to "report" the event by scripting and recording a podcast
• have students find images that speak to them and explain why
• ... I'm sure you'll have lots of your own creative ideas. Add them in the comments section below.

 

Finally, the use of images is not limited to current events. They can and should be used throughout the curriculum. Whether you use search engines such as Google Images or any other resource, the integration of extensive visual media in the curriculum will deepen educational experiences and facilitate more effective classroom exchanges and learning.

 

Sam Gliksman

[e-mail]

Twitter: @samgliksman

 

(1) Standing, L., Conezio, J., & Haber, R. N. (1970). Perception and memory for pictures: Single-trial learning of 2500 visual stimuli. Psychonomic Science, 19(2), 73-74

 

 

[Sam Gliksman]

Great point Leah. Visualizing concepts works across all fields of study and most definitely includes Sciences. We have traditionally relied on a heavy text based approach - largely because technology of the time made text the most convenient means of expression. Digital imagery is all around now and it's the language of our students and society. iPads make it easy to access, take and distribute images that are vital in explaining and communicating.

[Leah Lacrosse]

Using pictures in science is key in my classroom. With the iPad, I can have students pull a pic into an app like DrawingPad and show me the science that they see in the picture. Students will annotate over top, diagram, and add to pics to show what science concept they are thinking of. Ideas will range from the current topic being explored to topics from the past. Pictures jump start so many ideas and questions! The iPad makes it that much more accessible to SEE the SCIENCE in pictures. I will use everything from pictures from the Internet, digital pics from class experiments, to artists work. (@MaryAnnReilly) amazing tool to use with students!

[Mike Clare]

So much of our learning is visual and so many visuals bombard us everyday.  One skill we can teach students is to "read the image" and look at how the image informs our understanding.  The Critical Thinking Consortium out of The University of British Columbia has some great exercises to help learner understand the intent of the image maker.  

The images shown were powerful indeed and I liked the suggested use of those images but how do we teach our students how to be informed users of images and recognize the authour's intent?

[Nicole Lakusta]

Great post! Reminds me of the critical thinking challenge our lead teachers put forth to our schools a couple of months ago. We had five separate images (these were either on a Google Doc or printed out on separate sheets of paper) in which small groups of students were to write ONE line in cinquain-style and pass on the image to the next group. Some great poems and discussions occurred!

 

Another site that I like to use (no app yet) for current events images is the 10x10 site.

 

The instructions for the Earth Day Collaborative Cinquain Poems were:

Intro: in a group (divide room into five different groups), you will work on five different cinquain poems. You will be assigned one image to start your Line 1. Then the following poems will be Line 2, then Line 3, Line 4 and Line 5.

Line 1 -  one word for the topic
Line 2 -  2 words to describe your topic
Line 3 -  3 words that describe actions relating to your topic
Line 4 - 4 words that describes feelings relating to your topic
Line 5 - one word that is another name (synonym) for your topic

[Daniel Mullings]

Great Blog thats come on a day when I'm using Hospitality and catering images as a starter in an Ofsted inspection.

Starter

Matching image/text card activity in groups of 4 students each student will be shown a card with a statement and question, they then have to find the images from a slideshow of images and answer the question.All the groups have the same images and questions.

The images are of food-equipment-hotelrooms

 

Assessment for learning :Group feedback and share responses

 

Daniel