What is visual media and information?
- materials, programs, applications and the like that teachers and students use to formulate new information to aid learning through the use, analysis, evaluation and production of visual images.
· What are the types of visual media (provide an example picture)
- Overhead projector slides/transparencies.
- Overhead projector slides/transparencies
Overhead projector slides/transparencies are displayed on the overhead projector (OHP) - a very useful tool found in most lecture and seminar rooms. The OHP projects and enlarges your slides onto a screen or wall without requiring the lights to be dimmed. You can produce your slides in three ways:
pre-prepared slides : these can be words or images either hand written/drawn or produced on a computer;
spontaneously produced slides: these can be written as you speak to illustrate your points or to record comments from the audience;
a mixture of each: try adding to pre-prepared slides when making your presentation to show movement, highlight change or signal detailed interrelationships.
White or black boards can be very useful to help explain the sequence of ideas or routines, particularly in the sciences. Use them to clarify your title or to record your key points as you introduce your presentation (this will give you a fixed list to help you recap as you go along). Rather than expecting the audience to follow your spoken description of an experiment or process, write each stage on the board, including any complex terminology or precise references to help your audience take accurate notes. However, once you have written something on the board you will either have to leave it there or rub it off - both can be distracting to your audience. Check to make sure your audience has taken down a reference before rubbing it off - there is nothing more frustrating than not being given enough time! Avoid leaving out of date material from an earlier point of your presentation on the board as this might confuse your audience. If you do need to write 'live', check that your audience can read your writing.
Handouts are incredibly useful. Use a handout if your information is too detailed to fit on a slide or if you want your audience to have a full record of your findings. Consider the merits of passing round your handouts at the beginning, middle and end of a presentation. Given too early and they may prove a distraction. Given too late and your audience may have taken too many unnecessary notes. Given out in the middle and your audience will inevitably read rather than listen. One powerful way of avoiding these pitfalls is to give out incomplete handouts at key stages during your presentation. You can then highlight the missing details vocally, encouraging your audience to fill in the gaps.
A flip chart is a large pad of paper on a stand. It is a very useful and flexible way of recording information during your presentation - you can even use pre-prepared sheets for key points. Record information as you go along, keeping one main idea to each sheet. Flip back through the pad to help you recap your main points. Use the turning of a page to show progression from point to point. Remember to make your writing clear and readable and your diagrams as simple as possible.
Video gives you a chance to show stimulating visual information. Use video to bring movement, pictures and sound into your presentation. Always make sure that the clip is directly relevant to your content. Tell your audience what to look for. Avoid showing any more film than you need.
Sometimes it can be very useful to use artefacts or props when making a presentation (think of the safety routine on an aeroplane when the steward shows you how to use the safety equipment). If you bring an artefact with you, make sure that the object can be seen and be prepared to pass it round a small group or move to different areas of a large room to help your audience view it in detail. Remember that this will take time and that when an audience is immersed in looking at an object, they will find it hard to listen to your talk. Conceal large props until you need them; they might distract your audience's attention.
http://www.le.ac.uk/oerresources/ssds/presentationskills/page_57.htm
What is the difference between formally and informally produced visual media?
- Visual media produced by formal organizations such as schools, government, and established media/publishing outfits are considered formally produced. Other visual media are considered informally produced.
What is the purpose of visual information?
- The primary purpose of visual information is to gain attention, create meaning, and facilitate retention. (Show at least one example for each purpose and ask learners their reactions or responses to each one).
· What are the different visual design elements?
- The building blocks or basic units in the construction of a visual image. (Show visual media and information that incorporates most of the design elements. Point out why these elements are important). The Design Elements are:
a. Line – describes a shape or outline. It can create texture and can be thick or thin. Lines may be actual, implied, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or contour lines.
b. Shape – usually a geometric area that stands out from the space next to or around it, or because of differences in value, color, or texture. Shape may also be organic.
c. Value – the degree of light and dark in a design. It is the contrast between black and white and all the tones in between. Value can be used with color as well as black and white. Contrast is the extreme changes between values.
d. Texture – the way a surface feels or is perceived to feel. Texture can be added to attract or repel interest to a visual element. Visual texture is the illusion of the surfaces peaks and valleys, resulting in a feeling of smoothness or roughness in objects.
e. Color – determined by its hue (name of color), intensity (purity of the hue), and value (lightness or darkness of hue). Color and color combination can play a large role in the design. Color may be used for emphasis, or may elicit emotions from viewers. Color maybe warm, cool, or neutral. It plays a major role in our visual perception, as it influences our reactions about the world around us. It is therefore important to create color palettes that evoke the appropriate audience reactions. Color has three properties.
f. Form – a figure having volume and thickness. An illusion of a 3-dimensional object can be implied with the use of light and shading. Form can be viewed from many angles
What are the visual design principles?
a. Consistency of margins, typeface, typestyle, and colors is necessary, especially in slide presentations or documents that are more than one page.
b. Center of interest – an area that first attracts attention in a composition. This area is more important when compared to the other objects or elements in a composition. This can be by contrast of values, more colors, and placement in the format.
c. Balance – a feeling of visual equality in shape, form, value, color, etc. Balance can bisymmetrical and evenly balanced, or asymmetrical and unevenly balanced. Objects, values, colors, textures, shapes, forms, etc. can be used in creating balance in a composition.
d. Harmony – brings together a composition with similar units. If for example your composition was using wavy lines and organic shapes, you would stay with those types of lines and not put in just one geometric shape. (Notice how similar Harmony is to Unity - some sources list both terms).
e. Contrast – offers some change in value creating a visual discord in a composition. Contrast shows the difference between shapes and can be used as a background to bring objects out and forward in a design. It can also be used to create an area of emphasis.
f. Directional Movement – a visual flow through the composition. It can be the suggestion of motion in a design as you move from object to object by way of placement and position. Directional movement can be created with a value pattern. It is with the placement of dark and light areas that you can move your attention through the format.
g. Rhythm – a movement in which some elements recur regularly. Like a dance, it will have a flow of objects that will seem to be like the beat of music.
h. Perspective – created through the arrangement of objects in two dimensional space to look like they appear in real life. Perspective is a learned meaning of the relationship between different objects seen in space.
http://teachtogether.chedk12.com/teaching_guides/view/250
