A Public Service Announcement! ;)

A Public Service Announcement! ;)

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

"Yes We Can" Engage in Visual Literacy

So, after the electoral votes tallied in favor of Obama, you immediately turned off your televisions and radios and eagerly awaited the transcript of Obama's victory speech and McCain's concession, right? It was hypertext that moved you to tears when you read about the 106 year old lady voting in Atlanta. It was the print out that inspired you more than you've been inspired in years, correct?




Not for most of you. Admit it: it was the visual, the auditory experience that made this so critical a moment. SEEING him take the stage, hearing his words, noting the expression in the audience's faces. Noting how the press visually represented the votes, the results, and how they framed the speech events that came shortly thereafter. If only for a moment, admit that on this day, listening, speaking, visualizing and visually representing made up the bulk of your READING experience. Sure you went straight to CNN afterwards; sure you blogged and e-mailed and twittered once you heard the news. You engaged in a complete, multimodal literacy experience. As the nation rediscovered its potential for change in the 21st century, you pulled from all of your critical literacy skills and fully read it, savored its visual cues, its print, and its auditory stimulus.

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