Webinar:
Visual Media Literacy
Intro
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Best Practice #1 — Analyze Visual Media and Multimodal Communication
Analyze a range of visual media that use non-verbal cues like gestures and facial expressions to convey meaning across cultures and eras. Have students select a piece of media and adapt it using the comic maker by modifying or adding these cues to enhance the narrative. See the handout for detailed instructions, activity variations, and differentiation strategies.
Best Practice #2 — Visual Narratives Without Text and Gaps in Comics
Explore wordless storytelling by examining examples like wordless comics, picture books, and short films such as David Wiesner’s Flotsam. Have students create short comics that rely solely on visuals—using imagery to develop narrative structure and leave gaps for viewers to infer missing actions or dialogue. See the handout for detailed instructions, activity variations, and differentiation strategies.
Best Practice #3 — Decode Visual and Multimodal Messages
Analyze persuasive media that blend images and text to reveal layered messages. Have students create two visual campaigns—one solely with images and another that integrates text. See the handout for detailed instructions, activity variations, and differentiation strategies.
Recap
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Associated Research
Aljalabneh, A. A. (2024). Visual media literacy: Educational strategies to combat image and video disinformation on social media. Frontiers in Communication, 9.
Bock, M. A. (2023). Visual media literacy and ethics: Images as affordances in the digital public sphere. First Monday, 28(7).
Cabrera, P., Castillo, L., González, P., Quiñónez, A., & Ochoa, C. (2021). The impact of using Pixton for teaching grammar and vocabulary in the EFL Ecuadorian context. Teaching English with Technology, 18(1), 53–76.
Matusiak, K. K., Heinbach, C., Harper, A., & Bovee, M. (2019). Visual literacy in practice: Use of images in students’ academic work. College & Research Libraries, 80(1), 123–139.
