The web makes it possible to create a community of learners. This could be especially beneficial for users of VizAbility. Such learners have undertaken the task of expressing themselves visually, and this skill cannot be mastered without comprehensive and quantitative feedback from other people.
A database repository could store the work of learners who wish to solicit feedback, and the website would alert returning learners of like mind to newly arrived work as they log in to the site. Learners would be able to submit work that is a product of their interaction with the CD or other work that is relevant to their particular situation. A businessperson might submit a slide depicting cash flow that she is designing for a presentation. A teacher might submit a representation of an abstract mathematical concept. An architect might submit a sketch of a building. A graphic designer might submit the url of a website he is designing. A second grader might submit a sketch of his hand.
The key idea of VizAbility is that all of the different kinds of people above can learn from each other by sharing and critiquing each others' ideas. They can gain valuable practice communicating their thoughts visually by doing so in a situation relevant to their particular situation. The format of a database repository would allow learners to submit their own visual work and observe that of others.
In addition, the next generation VizAbility website would have a forum for discussion among learners, and possibly a dynamic "from the experts" section in which experienced visual thinkers share their reflections. There could also be an "expert of the week" section in which various learners on the site are profiled.
Giving users a chance to communicate with experts and with other learners who are trying to incorporate visual thinking into their daily practices, will give them an opportunity to learn the discourse associated with visual culture. By learning the discourse associated with visual culture, learners will be enculturated into the ways of making sense that are characteristic of visual communities.
By learning the discourse and the terminology associated with visual culture, learners will become visually literate. This will allow them to share experiences more effectively with experts. The discourse will support students' learning of the "communities of practice" associated with visual thinking.
Theoretical Perspectives
The theoretical grounding for the proposal of a web database repository comes primarily from the modern "sociohistoric" theory of learning. As Robbie Case summarizes, "Despite our focus on individuals as learners, learning processes are primarily social in nature, that is, it is the patterns with which we interact in organized environments . . . that determine how much and what kind of learning occurs." Indeed, numerous studies have been done on the "situated" nature of education. The thrust of this sociohistoric perspective is that education is about context as much as content, and one's identity as a learner and as part of a community of learners has a large impact on the experience and the effectiveness of the learning that occurs. "Knowledge is seen as the creation of a social group, as it engages in its daily interaction and praxis, and both adapts to and transforms the environment around it; learning is seen as the process of being initiated into the life of a group, so that one can assume a role in its daily praxis."
Viewed from the sociohistoric perspective, the design of the environment in which visual thinking is to be learned is as important to the effectiveness of the learning as nature of the visual thinking exercises. However, VizAbility is used in many different kinds of environments and it is not possible or even desirable to impose educational structure; the thrust of the CD is that the learner should create the structure herself. A web learning environment, however, can provide necessary interaction for isolated learners without constraining their physical environments or learning styles.
The teaching of a discourse to learners is advocated by Roseberry, Warren, and Conant of TERC. From a sociocultural perspective, they say that engaging in discourse helps learners to see subject matter as a "socially and culturally produced way of thinking and knowing, with its own ways of talking, reasoning, and acting; its own norms, beliefs, and values; its own institutions; its shared history; and even its shared mythologies." By learning a discourse learners will learn how to make sense in ways that are characteristic of their community. This agrees with VizAbility's goal to users make their ideas more visible and understandable by other people.
Feenberg has been observed that the educational quality of virtual interaction often exceeds that afforded by a traditional classroom. Learners who are shy in traditional classrooms tend to present themselves more boldly in virtual space. This can be maximized for VizAbility via creation of an environment in which learners can remain anonymous or create fictitious profiles for themselves, but still can get valuable feedback on projects that are meaningful to them.
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