Visual Literacy

Part of being a good writer is understanding the impact images have in your work. What you write should be supported and enhanced through your choice of imagery.

Simple as 1, 2, 3 -- choose an effect, upload an image, then either save, email, print, blog or upload to a social networking website. Some effects available: Photo to Sketch, Alien Vision, Amazing Goo (this one allows you to click & drag your mouse to 'morph' parts of the image) NOTE: Though most effects are free, there is a paid Pro version which "As a member, you get access to the latest effects, additional image hosting storage, and option to save high resolution images (where supported.)". Can upload jpegs, gifs & pngs NOTE: Who owns the coypright on the generated images? For all effects, other than Museumr and Celebrity Paparazzi, the owner of the original photo is the owner of the processed result.

Spoonflower Kids fabric designs a few are by young children and very beautiful. This is a lovely project.

From the National Gallery of Art, allows kids to play with art. Interactive, can play over art do do similar tricks like Photoshop on pictures

Gone are the days of children sneaking comics past diligent parents and teachers watching out for sub-par literature. The comics of today not only have plenty to offer, they are gaining well-deserved recognition and awards. Take advantage of the natural affinity children have for comics and use them as a powerful teaching tool in your classroom. The following tips, tools, and resources will get you started.

WordSift is a tool that was created primarily for teachers. Mainly, think of it playfully - as a toy in a linguistic playground that is available to instantly capture and display the vocabulary structure of texts, and to help create an opportunity to talk and play with language.

Shidonni is an innovative startup, developing the next generation of creative 'virtual' worlds for kids. Shidonni is providing a safe environment where kids and their parents can create imaginary worlds and animals, play games and interact with friends. Shidonni is based on unique proprietary patented algorithms and using Microsoft Silverlight.

continuing on from brainstorming...

Hope this is useful if you haven't already seen it before...

An interesting video tutorial shared via a blog (Ollie Bray) with reference to visual literacy and presentations. Some very pertinent points for educationalists.

British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 37 No 5 2006 761-783 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2006.00560.x Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Oxford, UKBJETBritish Journal of Educational Technology0007-1013British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, 20052005375761783Articles Developing a comprehensive metric British Journal of Educational Technology Developing a comprehensive metric for assessing discussion board effectiveness Robin H. Kay Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Email: Robin.Kay@uoit.ca Abstract The use of online discussion boards has grown extensively in the past 5 years, yet some researchers argue that our understanding of how to use this tool in an effective and meaningful way is minimal at best. Part of the problem in acquiring more cohesive and useful information rests in the absence of a comprehensive, theory-driven metric to assess quality and effectiveness. Based on an extensive review of the research, the following variables were used to assess traditional discussion board use: thread, location of message within thread, author (student vs. educator), subject line clarity, time of posting, response time from previous message, number of times message was read, number of words, primary purpose, message quality, difficulty level of topic, knowledge level, processing level and use of external resources. These variables proved to be effective in assessing 12 key areas of discussion board use. It is argued that this kind of metric is essential if we wish to advance our understanding of online discussion boards for both educators and researchers. Overview The use of online discussion boards has grown extensively in the past 5 years (Cooper, 2001). While this tool is viewed as revolutionary by some researchers (Hara, Bonk & Angeli, 1998; Li, 2003), others argue that our understanding of how to use online discussion in an effective and meaningful way is limited (Blignaut &

My Wordle for online Teaching module Robin Kay's Abstract 'Developing a comprehensive metric for assessing discussion board effectiveness'

Share this video with students to see if they realize it's fake.

YouTube spoof, but can your students tell that?

YourTake.org is an online tool that allows people to share their opinions (their take) on an issue based on a particular point of view. It clearly organizes steps to reach a conclusion through clarification and an action plan.

Interesting online tool that visually enhances the ability to see various points of view when discussing a topic.

Search engine that pulls up social media info as well as general web: Flickr, YouTube, Twitter sorted by type. Lots of info all at once.

via EdReach.us Edceptional podcast

VUE provides a flexible visual environment for structuring, presenting, and sharing digital information.