by I found myself thinking after reading David Jakes’ post from May of 2008…which is what a good blog post should do-get you to thinking. David said in his post:
Emotion, depicted through visual means, sells the message.
This is what we’ve been talking about in this class at great length. Emotion is what sells our messages. Using visual imagery (whether it be photos or videos) is a way to help ‘sell our message.’ Looking back at a previous post talking about International School Brussels ‘brochure without words’ that is exactly what they were after. ISB wanted you to feel something when you looked at their brochure. Sitting around a table with a group of colleagues discussing the imagery in the brochure was an interesting experience. Each of us sitting there had responded strongly emotionally to different parts of the brochure…yet we all consistently responded emotionally (in a positive way) to what was trying to be communicated.
David goes on in his post to talk about the power of visuals and how this now gives us (and our students) a competitive voice.
Visuals, when combined with other multimedia, provide individuals with a competitive voice. One that can be heard. One that can be measured. One that says “here I am, and here’s what I think, here is what I have to contribute. Now what do you think?” Kids have meaningful things to say, so challenge them to produce visual content with purpose and with pride. Help kids understand that the world is more connected then ever, and that producing visual content like this becomes even more powerful…
In education we constantly talk about how to engage our students, how to make learning meaningful for them. This is how we do it; we provide them with that ‘competitive voice’ that David was talking about. Understanding this new digital age comes with not just understanding the connectedness of our world, but also grasping the power that each individual has to leave her mark on that same world. Utilizing visual means, we have the ability to let our voices be heard and to sell our message.
