Images in Place of Words: Worth a Thousand

What does this picture mean to you?

A picture is worth a thousand words is what we're always told and I think it holds true. It's like some things you can't describe with words - there are no words for, but a picture tells you all you need to know. And sometimes it's not even that, sometimes it's just that a picture brings a new level of meaning to a situation or to a place - a new level of connection. 

WHY USE IMAGES?

With that in mind, consider the importance of using images in teaching. Consider the deeper level of meaning students could find. Not only that, but some students are visual learners, so thinking about how, as educators, you don't limit your reach to students. Some students are going to learn better with images, as the words won't make as much sense as the meaning they find in the pictures. 

Let's not even just consider how students look at and interpret images, but the way we could communicate with images. As educators, we are always asking our students to be creative with their presentation/demonstration of knowledge. So why not encourage students to use images to demonstrate knowledge. One of the first things I learned in elementary school about presentations was probably how to add images into PowerPoint slides. So yes, although cool PowerPoints with images are lots of fun - how else can we utilize them? 

USING IMAGES

• One of my favorites is going to be visual biographies - what a fun idea. I saw this idea on another blog post and loved it. I think this is a fun way to introduce yourself to the class, but also have the class introduce themselves to you and each other. I think this could also be a great activity to do for learning about important people, family trees, etc. 

• Infographics - Use images to teach about a topic. This is a great one especially for science topics or comparing and contrasting. 
• Storyboarding - This is a great one for planning or telling stories through imaging. 

BUT HOW DO THEY READ IMAGES?

Teach your students to look closely at images. What is happening? Who is in the picture? Where is the picture taken? What things do you notice? How do you think people in the photo may be feeling? Why do you think that? Facial expressions? How are they dressed? Who took the photo? Was it a staged photo or a casual photo?

These types of questions encourage students to look closely at images and think deeply about the context behind them. 

APPS

Some apps to look into are:

• Canva
• Storyboard Creator
• Piktochart
• Venngage
• Adobe Spark