Running Head: MEDT 7490 FINAL REFLECTION

MEDT 7490 Final Reflection

Emily Pickering epicker1@my.westga.edu
University of West Georgia
November 25, 2016

MEDT 7490 FINAL REFLECTION

This course has been full of valuable learning experiences! I really enjoyed that in the
very first assignment, we were required to create a compilation of images showing evidence of
the elements and principles of visual literacy. Before this course, I had a weak understanding of
visual literacy. I used to think it simply meant having an appreciation for art. While this is not
entirely false, visual literacy is so much more. I now know the elements and principles that
contribute to the beautiful pieces of art appreciated by so many. More importantly, I now feel
that I truly understand the elements and principles of which I need to be mindful when creating
quality visuals to enhance my instruction. Ineffective instruction is often the result of lacking
visuals or of poorly designed visuals. In the third assignment, I really enjoyed getting to use
Storyboard That for the first time. I knew about the tool before this semester. However, I had
not let myself use it as I feared my creation would be too busy or purposeless. With my
knowledge of the visual literacy principle of similarity, reusing characters and backgrounds from
one panel to the next helped to ensure there was rhyme and reason to my comic.
As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, one glaring issue with visual literacy is that
educators do not use the elements and principles to their advantage when designing visuals to
enhance their instruction. This is due in part largely to a lack of awareness of these elements and
principles. Many educators, as the title of one of our course texts would indicate, erroneously
believe white space is our enemy. Simplicity really is sometimes the best policy. When
analyzing a commercial for the sixth assignment in the course, my eyes were really opened to the
tactics of persuasion. Many shady tactics that are used in advertising today have been used for a
number of years. Sadly, many individuals fall like sheep for the persuasive tactics of advertising
companies and political committees without giving any thought to why they perceive messages

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the way they do. An awareness of the components of persuasion, as outlined by Aristotle many
years ago, can give individuals what they need to thoughtfully analyze media messages.
All that I have learned this semester will definitely be used to enhance my classroom
instruction. My students will benefit from visuals that are more thoughtfully designed around
the visual literacy elements and principles I have learned. Being more comfortable with comic
strip generators, I now feel that I can design productive experiences where my students generate
comic strips to complete a project. I also feel that I could take what I have learned and transfer it
to any variety of suggested careers that are promoted on the university webpage that describes
the M.Ed. Media (Instructional Technology) degree program and possibilities. As I learned
about the components of media literacy, I turned and taught them to my own children. With the
onslaught of political ads during the recent presidential campaign, my young son became very
interested in why candidates and parties behaved the way they did. My knowledge of the
components of media literacy enabled me to effectively answer my sons questions. I plan to
take this knowledge and make a more concerted effort to educate my elementary students on how
to effectively interpret media messages.
I have personally grown and learned a lot in this course. As I mentioned earlier in the
course, previously, I would enjoy art museums with my husband and would enjoy discussing
photography with him. Now, after concentrated opportunities to examine elements and
principles of visual literacy, I have a framework with which to discuss and enjoy art more
specifically.
The greatest challenge I faced in this course was ensuring that I produced quality
products for each assignment. When trying to balance two courses, a family, and a full-time job,

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I would often try to work ahead. When working ahead, I would sometimes rush and not allow
time for as much fine-tuning of my work as I would have liked. The pacing of the course was
appropriate; I just struggled sometimes with using that time effectively. The other significant
challenge I faced in the course was altering plans due to Hurricane Matthew. While not caused
by the course, this series of challenges was part of the course for me.
It is difficult to say what I enjoyed most about this course because there was so much!
Thankfully, I have been blessed with many fun learning opportunities throughout. Each project
of the course resulted in the creation of a product that I could use with my students. If it didnt,
then it resulted in an enlightened mindset that would otherwise enhance my instruction for my
students. At no point did anything feel like an exercise in futility. Also highly enjoyable about
the course was the extra credit scavenger hunt presented during our last SecondLife meeting.
The embedded PowerPoint in the meeting, as well as the scavenger hunt question placards, gave
insight into educational gaming that is more than drill-and-kill practice opportunities.
It is extremely difficult to think of any improvements I would suggest for this course. It
was a lot of fun to do the SecondLife scavenger hunt. Perhaps more opportunities like this
would be a good idea. In sticking with the name of this course, Visual and Media Literacy in
Teaching and Learning, it did sometimes feel as if visual literacy was the more emphasized
literacy. Media literacy was the driving force behind the Assignment Six analysis of a
commercial. However, in retrospect, I now see where the storytelling using an assigned
sequence of images in Assignment Two did involve a degree of analyzing the message a
photographer was trying to convey. Given the vocabulary and persuasive techniques we learned
during Assignment Six, it might be nice to see that assignment come before Assignment Two.
Though, so many elements and principles of visual literacy were also involved in Assignment

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Six. This is what makes the question on course improvements so difficult to answer! Overall, I
have thoroughly enjoyed this course. MEDT 7490 is a requirement for the M.Ed. Media
(Instructional Technology) of which I am in pursuit. Even if it werent, it has proven valuable
and enjoyable enough that I would recommend it without reservation to any of my peers. Dr.
DAlba is clearly a subject matter expert who is highly effective in engaging others to learn her
content.