The end of week one has brought a lot of learning and growth in the field of visual storytelling… here’s what I learned!
I learned about how the word literacy doesn’t just mean being able to read words, but also relates to how images are interpreted. As a future educator, it was exciting to see different ways to make classrooms more equitable.
I tried out a new photography technique and reflected on how it went. Using tips from our weekly page, I refined my skill and ended up with a pretty good photo.
I went on a 15-minute Photo Safari in my backyard and took some pictures using new skills that I learned through readings and online research. This was something that brought me out of my comfort range because of the time limit… I don’t do well under pressure!
I reflected on my safari photos; shared my favorites, successes, and what went right.
I created daily on Twitter, enjoying broadening my mind each day with a new prompt.
I started creating Visual Assignments that gave me the opportunity to choose how I spent my time. I some chose assignments that were within my comfort zone as well as stepping out and creating what made me uncomfortable.
But most importantly, I learned the value of visual storytelling. I’ve always been a “visual” learner, most of the time grasping information from art and photos than from words, so this week valuable for me to realize that there are other people who think/learn that way too. As someone who is going to teach history in the future, I know that there is value in photographs and paintings, often portraying information to students who may not have realized the point through text.
We live in a society today where it is so easy to show off parts of our lives and our stories online. We sit behind screens and share about our lives to others, telling that story. Whether it be through social media, photos, blogs, websites, museums, movies, etc., there are always going to be ways to gather information in ways rather than just through words.
This week, I feel that I did complete the assignments and requirements. Beyond the stuff mentioned in this post, I have been trying to be more active on my social media sites by liking classmates posts, posting photos, etc. Connecting with people feels good! Especially when we’re in quarantine!
I had trouble this week when I was starting to write out my assignment posts. When I was doing the first one and trying to figure out the format it was so difficult! Eventually I found out the methods that worked for me. I also have still been getting used to WordPress and how to add the menus to the home page. Somehow I had three menu pages linked to the same page and I had to work out how to fix that.
I enjoyed this whole week! I really love photography, so getting to reintroduce that into my days has been exciting. My favorite thing I did this week was getting to try out some new tips/techniques to create the photo with spots on my face!
The biggest takeaway from this week would probably be from the YouTube video about Visual Literacy. The fact about how students gather information differently depending on their socioeconomic factors really blew my mind! It’s definitely something I’ll go into teaching thinking about. That is one of the larger societal issues that comes from this part of the week… how can I help to make my students more visually aware and show them the benefits that come from being visually literate?
In terms of things I would change, I didn’t realize how long each Visual Assignment write-up would take me. As I did more, I got more used to them, but they took me quite a long time. I’ll definitely space them out more over the week in the future.
Question… I still can’t figure out how to embed anything relating to Flickr into my posts… does anyone know how to do this?
More to come…
