Group Tools 2- Images Reflection

http://larsonart.wikispaces.com/Visual+Literacy 

Images have been used in education for many decades, in school resources, television, books, newspapers and internet. In the 21st century digital imaging is all around us.This allows us more easily accessible technology to incorporate in our teaching.

In modern teaching there is an extreme importance in catering to diverse learning styles. Visual learners, one of seven learning styles, benefit from the inclusion on pictures, maps and colour in their learning. Knowing that selected students gain knowledge and successfully learn from the simple inclusion of visuals in the classroom means, as teachers need to ensure we constantly revise the TPACK framework. We need to ensure we frame our teaching in ways that all students will learn.

The activities we were asked to complete this week included the resizing and uploading of images. I used Photoshop as I found it was an effective and easy to use program. I found it very useful for websites, wikis and blogs which had restricted size uploads.  My example can be found on my Wiki.

There are many issues we must be aware with when using and uploading images online:

Permission: All multimedia should gain approval from the creator before being used.

Child Safety: "Images of children that would enable them to be identified (for example, in a school uniform, outside their house, with their name) should not be published on the Internet without the consent of their parent." (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2010). 

Copyright and Licensing: All images taken from the internet need approval and references if protected under copyright. For more information regarding copyright on any materials please refer to the Australian Copyright Council.

Despite these issues, images can be an effective tool in education if appropriate, well scaffolded activities are created.  By incorporating effective pedagogy, students (especially visual learners) will gain greater knowledge.  In my area of music, images can be used to:

• Take photos of stage set up for future use
• Take photos of school music events: such as musicals, performances etc.
• Compose music to tell a story, inspired by the image
• Naming famous composers/musicians, birth dates, styles etc. 
• Identify band lay outs
• Identify instruments 

Bellow, i have created a SWOT analysis of images in education:

Strengths Helps Visual Leaners Visually engaging- grabs students attention Removes large amounts of reading Allows creativity	Weaknesses Can distract from content if not used effectively Time consuming- getting permission
Opportunities Allows student to learn different forms of technology Can open opportunities for student engagement	Threats Breaches of copyright Child safety

Resources

Horsfall, B. (2010). Images of Children and Young People Online.  Retrieved from http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/sheets/rs18/rs18.html.