Using Visual Aids as Educational Tools

I truly believe that visual prompts are necessary in any educational setting as it helps a person not just get the concept of what you are teaching or viewing; but also lends the "picture" into their brain. That way when the brain goes to get that lesson to review it, there is more than just one reference point for this lesson that the person has grasped.

Of course we have all seen flash cards and you probably remember them from childhood. But, just because they are used to teach young children; don't interpret this to mean that these cards cannot be an effective learning tool for people of any age. For example flash cards are still used by music teachers also, they may be computerized now, but they are still being used for teaching. After all if you are still remembering the ones you have seen, that pretty much makes my point for me.

When reading a book or an article, it is amazing to read through a book or article that has no pictures, and have total imagination to the relevance and then read this book again looking at the author's pictures. Whether it is fiction or non fiction, it really influences our opinions. We also may enjoy the pictures or we may totally dislike them. Sometimes when I have seen illustrations that were too abstract it took away from the data I was reading. There have also been times when the author has put in pictures or photographs that were so stunning that it was actually distracting from the information presented. That can also influence what you get out of that book or article. There is a balance that needs to be achieved between the raw data and the pictures that are put in print to make the over all presentation memorable.

A video enhances the whole experience of what a person is going to remember or put in their long term memory bank. Again, this could be a good or bad experience of what is being presented to someone. There are times when you want to use a video for shock value, like in the auto accidents that make people more aware of how dangerous a situation really can get.

In the quote "The pen is mightier than the sword", I do take this statement to mean that the "words" that the pen has written are the power. But, if you follow up those powerful words with a picture, if you add visualization you are able to amp up the memory of the event or teaching.