Using Audio and Visual Tools to Enhance Instruction

By: Margaret Black

Overview

This article was written to help teachers understand how audio and visual tools can be used to enhance instruction both before the digital age and currently.

Old School

When we think of AV materials used in classrooms before the digital age we are referring to:

• Cassette tapes

• Overhead projectors

• Filmstrips and slides

• Televisions

Audio is still the dominant mode of instruction in most classrooms

Listening

• Teachers need to teach listening skills

• Focused listening can be taught through games

Listening

• Listening begins with being able to hear

• Straining causes fatigue and frustration

• Be sure you can be heard

• There are amplification systems to enhance teacher voices

Each Modality you use in instruction causes new dendrites,

pathways, to be formed in the brain

Multiple pathways make recall easier.

For students who have difficulty listening, audio tapes can help

Tapes can be used for:• Talking books• Multimedia clips• Oral history• Oral journals• Interviews

Telephones can also be used as an audio learning tool

So can Radio and Broadcasts

Internet Radio can enhance instruction in every area of the

curriculum

CD’s and DVD’s

CD’s and DVD’s have replaced cassettes due to their better quality and great storage capacity

MP3’s and WAV files

• Wav files are large and can take a long time to download. They are used for shorter recordings

• MP3’s are compact and often used for songs and longer recordings

Visual Communication

“Children acquire and visual literacy skills throughout their educational experience. Regardless of what you teach, you will have an impact on the visual skills your students attain…how you design, arrange, and present visual information to learners will affect their visual literacy set, positively or negatively.”

~Audio and Visual Technologies p.9

Positive Impact

Clear consistent information will help learners build visual literacy skills

Negative impact

Confusing or disconnected information will not only make the content you present suffer but also a student’s visual literacy development

All teachers should study the basics of visual communication

6 words 6 Lines Rule

The brain has difficulty processing more than six words in a line or six lines at a time. This is important to keep in mind when creating presentations.

~From Visual Literacy: Learn to See, See to Learn by Lynell Burmark

Sans Sarif

Sans Sarif Fonts also cause less processing strain and can be read from further away.

Visual Elements Include:

• Graphics

• Symbols

• Real objects

• Organizational tools

• Backgrounds

Text Elements include:

• Words chosen

• Font styles and sizes

• Font colors

Affective Elements

These can elicit a response from the viewer like humor, sadness, or surprise.

Warning! Danger!

Irrelevant and disconnected images and text send mixed messages and make it harder for the viewer to interpret and retain the message.

Considerations include:

• Coherence and consistency

• Portion and contrast

• Unity and direction

• Keep in mind the big picture. What are you trying to convey?

Non Projected Visuals include:

• Real objects

• Models

• Exhibits

• Print

• Photographs

Displays

• Bulletin boards• Flip charts• White boards• Magnetic boards, felt

boards• Electronic white

boards not only display but capture images

Projected Visuals include:

• Overhead projector

• Slide projector

• LCD displays

• Digital projector

• Document Cameras

• Motion Video

An advantage of projected visuals is that the teacher can maintain eye

contact with their audience

Multimedia

Multimedia consists of:• Audio• Visual• Text• Graphics• Sound • VideoInto a single coherent presentation.

Brain Based Research supports greater learning with the use of

Multimedia

However, presentations must be congruent and coherent in their

design

Summary

Integrating audio, visual, and multimedia elements into your teaching will result in greater learning. However, it is crucial that the overall presentation is clear, cohesive, and consistent

References and Additional Resources

• “Audio and Visual Technologies”

• Visual Literacy: Learn to See, See to Learn by Lynell Burmark

• Engaging the Eye Generation, Visual Literacy Strategies for the K-5 Classroom by Johanna Riddle

• Visual Tool Box Blog

• http://visual-lit.wikispaces.com/