June 19, 2008

Literacy is all about interpreting symbols.  Letters or images on a page are symbols that form words that we have a common understanding about.  However, its not just enough to be able to understand the words in isolation.  The reader or viewer needs to have a connection with the message that the media is trying to present.  Edgar Dales's cone of experience presents the idea that person cannot understand the symbols unless he or she has had some doing or observing of the concept. This leads into the use of audiovisuals being used to help a student understand a concept out of a textbook.   Literacy is about using thinking skills to understand the message.

Both visual and media literacy deal with this idea of interpretation.  Using the communication theory it is important to remember that the field of experience has influence on how a person understands the message.  Visual literacy deals only with what can be seen.  Whereas, media literacy could include sound.  Being visually literate also includes being able to create symbols or images.  Media literacy has five core concepts to aid in the understand of the product the media is presenting.  These are authorship, format, audience, content, and purpose.  A questions I have is that these concepts are also needed to comprehend the written word.  What is the author's purpose (to inform, entertain, or persuade), what is the format (book, article, how-to-paper) who is the audience (adult, adolescent, young child), content (fact or fiction), Who is the author? (what do we know about who wrote it).  In the literature book that I use in teaching my classes all of these core concepts are addressed before the students is given the short story to read.  This helps them to understand the story.