EDLS 618. PRODUCTION & EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL MEDIA

EDLS 618. PRODUCTION & EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL MEDIA Fall 2009

Unit 1. Design Module 2: Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Making Connections • Having reviewed models for instructional design and theories of learning, what is the next step? • Understanding how to actually get started in the process of developing instructional materials is essential. • Three basic questions: • How do I get started? • How do I know that the visual works the way I want it to work? • How do I get comfortable with design if I do not have artistic skills? • First of all, there are no “pat” rules for visual design. • Rather, there are heuristics that can serve as guides, even though these “rules of thumb” do not apply in all situations.

The "ACE" Model • Identify instructional function • Identify content classification • Consider artistic or heuristic approach • Generate the visual idea • Work with Principles, Actions, & Tools (PAT) ANALYZE CREATE EVALUATE • Assess effectiveness • Assess efficiency • Assess appeal Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Analyze Analyze Create Evaluate • The fundamental task is to identify the instructional purpose for the visual. • Consideration must also be given to: • The students • The task the students are to complete • The instructional objective(s) for the visual • The three principles of selection, organization, and integration assume a high level of importance. • Clarify the objective(s) – selection • Provide well-organized and comprehensive information (organization) • Create a context that will facilitate understanding of the overall message and the organization (integration) Module 2. VIsual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Analyze Analyze Create Evaluate Consideration should also be given to Levin’s classification of the functions of visuals: • Decorative – to enhance aesthetic appeal • Representation – to make information/content concrete • Organization – to facilitate logical understanding of the information • Interpretation – to explain difficult concepts/information • Transformation – to enhance recall and remembering of concepts Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Analyze Analyze Create Evaluate Content Classification • Facts – an arbitrary association between two things; names, symbols, labels, places, dates, definitions, descriptions of objects • Concepts – categories used for grouping similar or related ideas. • Principles or Rules – describes a relationship between two concepts • Procedures – an ordered sequence of steps a learner must execute to complete a task; simple or complex “how-to’s” • Interpersonal Skills – verbal and nonverbal skills for interacting with other people • Attitudes – predispositions to behavior Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Create Analyze Create Evaluate • Translate the analysis into a physical form: visual, auditory, or kinesthetic • Convert goals and objectives into something visual: • Moving design from a conceptual form to a physical form • Two important tasks to be completed: • Generating the visual idea • Implementing the PAT model Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Create: Generating the Visual Idea Analyze Create Evaluate • A blank sheet of paper and a blank mind! • Where do you start generating ideas? • Know and think through the topic • Brainstorm and list all ideas/concepts related to the topic • Scan widely for ideas: magazines, paintings, book covers, websites, posters • Let your subconscious work for you without undue pressures (the best ideas often come at the most unexpected times AND from the most unexpected places!) • Try a number of approaches at generating and “visualizing” your ideas Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Create: Synectics Analyze Create Evaluate • Synectics (Gordon, 1961) provides an approach to creative thinking that depends on looking at, what appears on the surface as, unrelated phenomenon and drawing relevant connections. • The main tools: analogies or metaphors. • The approach, often used in group work, can help students: • develop creative responses to problem solving, • retain new information, • generate writing, and • explore social and disciplinary problems. • It helps users break existing mind sets and internalize abstract concepts. Synectics works well with all ages as well as those who withdraw from traditional methods (Couch, 1993). http://www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/synectics.html Module 2. VIsual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Create: Synectics Analyze Create Evaluate “Trust things that are alien, and alienate things that are trusted.” (William Gordon) • Analysis and definition of the problem • Spontaneous solutions • Reformulation of the problem • Creation of direct analogies • Personal analogies (identification) • Symbolic analogies (contradictions) • Direct analogies • Analysis of the direct analogies • Application to the problem • Development of possible solutions Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Create: Synectics Analyze Create Evaluate • “…creativity can be developed in most people but is often stifled by the ‘hard thinking’ norms of logic and rationality.” (Lohr, p. 77) • Process involves divergent, preferably generative, thinking • Generative thinking - A cognitive process for deciding what to pay attention to, what it means, and what to do about it. • Divergent thinkers – consider relevant material, often discard it and look for different, seemingly irrelevant, connection-making material • Generative thinkers – open to divergent thinking initially, but eagerly search for connections that make things workable. • Two recommended metaphor-provoking ideas for visual ideas: • Making the familiar strange • Making the strange familiar • Pages 78-79 in textbook Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

PAT Analyze Create Evaluate Principles – there are three fundamental principles that guide the process of visual design and development: • Selection – underscores the importance of visually separating important from less important information • Organization – supports developing designs that contain clear directional cues • Integration – relates to the importance of helping learners perceive things holistically and discern the relationship of the whole Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

PAT Analyze Create Evaluate Actions – the component that emphasizes the skillful use of four actions that are used to change the elements in instructional information to better convey and idea or concept: • Contrast • Alignment • Repetition • Proximity Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

PAT Analyze Create Evaluate Tools – Lohr refers to tools as “survival basics,” the core elements of design • Type (typography) – focus attention • Shape – provide context and meaning • Color – create contrast in images; highlight elements • Depth – contrast and realism • Space – disconnect content; group headings with content Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

Evaluate Analyze Create Evaluate • Evaluation assumes (correctly) that any visual is subject to change • Evaluation should focus on three areas: • Teacher/learner cues – see it through the eyes of the learner • Learner-friendly characteristics – usability test for: • Effectiveness • Efficiency • Appeal • Weeding out extraneous elements – diamond design process or snowman design process Module 2. Visual Literacy and Design: Part 2

References Synectics • Synectics: A Brain Storming Tool http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/ET650_online/MAPPS/Synectics.html • MyCotEd - http://www.mycoted.com/Synectics • Write Design Online http://www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/synectics.html • Danielle’s Lesson Plans http://web.centre.edu/edu/Student_pages/Kelley/lessonplans2.htm Module 2. VIsual Literacy and Design: Part 2

EDLS 618. PRODUCTION & EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL MEDIA