31st Annual Student Research Conference
Visual Multi-Modal Projects, Visual Literacy, and Description
Christina M. Belt♦
Dr. Summer Pennell, Faculty Mentor
Our students are surrounded by and employ visual modes of expression every day, but do not always get to utilize these modes of expression at school in favor of more traditional written literacy. This can leave students without the strategies to unpack visual media messaging. It can also send them the message that their predominant modes of communication are not as valuable as purely written expression, which is increasingly untrue in a changing media landscape. Through the visual multi-modal project, my goal was to both legitimize the use of images as a communicative mode and to increase students’ abilities to use and understand images while also improving their writing by allowing the images to inspire more creative and descriptive writing output. As my students worked to produce these multi-modal projects, I found that they demonstrated a strong command of visual imagery, examined their lives in new ways, and produced more detailed and intentional writing as a result.
Keywords: visual literacy, writing, description , expression
Topic(s):English MAE Intern
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 401-1
Location: MG 1000
Time: 2:30