The main crux of the argument for using visuals is simply that visuals can often convey what words alone cannot. The most prevalent example I can think of is when I’m driving. If I come to a stoplight, it isn’t as though there are words trailing below the red light that says “Stop now.” The red light is a visual that conveys much more than just a simple red light. It tells us, if we’re approaching from afar, to slow down. It tells us to look in our rear view mirror to check that the people behind us are stopping also. It also makes me think of children’s books that are wordless. We used these in my Grammar & Writing class last semester and it astounded me just how much a picture could convey. Of course, there’s the cliche adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but in this class and through the readings, I’ve discovered that this is so very true.
Visuals play an integral role in communication. When I read the articles for today and saw that even body language are included in visual literacy, I was astounded. It was then that I realized just how much we use visuals to communicate. I often “talk with my hands”–I’ll wave my hands to show my excitement, I’ll jab my hand to emphasize a point, I’ll cover my face if I don’t want to talk. Visuals can also play an important role in technological communications. One would be hard-pressed to find a website that didn’t contain visuals. I’d like to think this isn’t simply because people have such short attention spans that we need pictures to grasp our interest longer but rather because visuals can so enhance the story that a website is trying to tell.
Visuals play an integral role in my daily life. As I’ve said before, I enjoy writing and reading and telling stories. Even through a few days in this class, I’ve already learned how well visuals can help tell a story. This intrigues me and I look forward to investigating this more. Visuals play an important role in my education as well. There are certain concepts in my English classes or my Education classes that can best be conveyed with visuals. Even yesterday, in my General Methods course, we had to pictorially represent concepts for a field unit we were to plan for our future students and how it would help us become a more effective educator. This provides a nice segue into answering the question of how visuals will be important in my career. I plan on becoming an English teacher and I know that not everyone can learn best while reading. I also know that writing isn’t simply words on a page anymore. One can do a visual project that speaks more than they could ever have said with their words. As a teacher, I will use the overhead, I will use PowerPoints, I will use the chalkboard/dry erase board. I will also probably utilize a website that my students can access. All of these things require visuals to work and I know that I will be able to communicate best if I properly utilize all of the visuals at my disposal.