{"id":2296,"date":"2006-11-18T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2006-11-18T11:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=2296"},"modified":"2026-10-20T11:12:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T11:12:57","slug":"learning-objects-the-return-of-the-visual-to-active-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=2296","title":{"rendered":"Learning Objects: The Return of the \u201cVisual\u201d to Active Learning?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Originally published on:\u00a0<\/strong>November 14, 2006<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent issue of New Chalk Talk<\/em><\/strong> (Volume 6, Issue 2), I relied upon John Berger\u2019s pioneering work Ways of Seeing<\/em><\/strong> (1972) in order to suggest the primacy of \u201cvisual texts\u201d in the learning relationship and especially with regard to our continuous concern, as educators and facilitators of the learning process, to enhance critical thinking and self-learning.\u00a0 Upon reflection, however, I came to realize that I may have been using a massive-sized hammer in order to knock in a drawing pin.\u00a0 Let me explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider one of our science or engineering colleagues who has completed a conventional lecture to be delivered to undergraduate students.\u00a0Consider the fact that she\/he has paid careful attention to his audience, the style used, organization of thought, etc. Nevertheless, a final reading of the text generates a feeling of unease as she\/he reads paragraph after paragraph and page after page and realizes that there are no graphics or visuals whatsoever.\u00a0 You will suspect a ruse now as you know only too well that it is practically unthinkable that this would actually happen.\u00a0 Scientific texts rely so heavily on \u201cvisuals\u201d that, in fact, most scientists design the \u201cvisuals\u201d even before engaging with the text, and in many instances the text is not much more than an elaboration upon the \u201cvisuals\u201d.\u00a0 It is the various \u201cvisuals\u201d that exemplify the research involved and the data that needs to be communicated; in graphs, tables, etc.\u00a0 Similarly, our colleagues in economics, art history, geometry, physics, chemistry, media studies and so on would find it impossible to communicate knowledge without some use of \u201cvisuals\u201d.\u00a0 Thus, you would rightly ask yourselves what the point of an issue dedicated to the use of \u201cvisuals\u201d in learning!\u00a0 Of course you are right.\u00a0 From Euclid\u2019s geometric forms and then to the most recent semiotic approach to the study of urban graffiti, scholars have relied heavily on \u201cvisuals\u201d of all forms in order to convey analytical accounts of our conceptual and physical environment.\u00a0 Nevertheless, I will argue below that there are two critical issues that still need to be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First<\/strong>, and despite the fact that we have made use of \u201cvisuals\u201d as a vital element in our communication for centuries, since early cave drawings and graphics, we have yet to \u201cmaster\u201d the art of using \u201cvisuals\u201d in communication.\u00a0 There are, of course, several exceptions, such as in the area of art, media, etc., but in general, academics are far from being competent in the use of \u201cvisuals\u201d for learning purposes.\u00a0 This is partially due to the fact that, as humans evolved and the primitive cave drawings and graphics became alphabets, we dedicated many centuries to perfecting written and oral communication: literature and public discourse.\u00a0 It is only recently that \u201cvisuals\u201d have experienced a rebirth, and this has coincided with two significant developments: the dramatic expansion of digitized modes of communication (ICT) and the enhanced respectability within academia of epistemologies relying upon semiotics and post-modernist conceptual frameworks.\u00a0 Thus, it can be argued that we are presently only at the portal of a new and unexplored communication arena where conventional textual and oral forms are already being challenged by a large variety of \u201cvisuals\u201d and the end result cannot be foreseen.\u00a0 Let us be inquisitive and enter the arena in order to witness firsthand the forthcoming grand spectacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second<\/strong>, there is presently a significant confusion in the minds of many in academia and beyond, as to what \u201cvisuals\u201d are.\u00a0 In fact, the confusion is so acute that many use a number of different terms such as \u201cvisual\u201d, \u201cvisual rhetoric\u201d, \u201cvisual literacy\u201d, \u201cgraphics\u201d, \u201cimage\u201d, \u201cgraphic design\u201d, etc. interchangeably and with little or no appreciation that they signify very different approaches and methodologies.\u00a0 This, of course, inhibits the development of better skills in the use of \u201cvisuals\u201d or, for that matter, a better understanding required in different disciplines and circumstances.\u00a0 \u201cVisual rhetoric\u201d, for example, is a very recently developed analytical framework which does contrast the visual image to the text and oral form, but also draws on semiotics and thus acknowledges such images as rational expressions of cultural meaning (Handa, 2004).\u00a0 As such, it demarcates a new disciplinary space within academia for scholars who have a specific interest in looking at non-textual artifacts when exploring complex social reality.\u00a0 Therefore, it is clear that it has little to offer a scholar who wishes to use \u201cvisuals\u201d in order to illustrate how molecules in motion in effect constitute nanomachines<\/em>.\u00a0 Furthermore, it is of little help to an instructional designer who wishes to use both visual and graphic material in order to assist an economics professor to convey complex, conceptual issues related to what is money, how depreciation is calculated, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is beyond the scope of a very short essay such as this to attempt to elaborate on the various and in some cases, contested definitions of what all the different terms noted above actually mean or reflect in academic practice.\u00a0 Nevertheless, it is possible to identify one particular use of \u201cvisuals\u201d and indicate how it can enhance learning without reference to semiotic theory or any other complex, analytical frameworks.\u00a0 In fact, it can also be suggested that for those of us who have yet to \u201cplunge\u201d into the ocean of \u201cvisuals,\u201d it is possibly best that they are used solely as illustrations<\/strong> of textual material and\/or as a means of enabling us to \u201csee\u201d<\/strong> what the human eye is unable to see, such as nanomachines <\/em>(chemistry & engineering), black holes <\/em>(mathematics & physics), landscapes<\/em> (topography), etc.\u00a0 Furthermore, \u201cvisuals\u201d (both static and dynamic) can also enhance learning in such areas as language acquisition, history, economic trends, voting patterns, etc.\u00a0 Here, \u201cvisuals\u201d are used in order to elucidate a particular issue or concept and, as such, the \u201cvisual\u201d is in fact a virtual image of what we have already acknowledged as being reality through research.\u00a0 In other words, the \u201cvisual\u201d does not itself constitute a problem requiring deconstruction and analysis.\u00a0 This, of course, is very different from \u201cvisual rhetoric\u201d or \u201cvisual literacy\u201d which are disciplinary approaches to the study and understanding of social reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is for the above reasons, therefore, that it is best to refer to such \u201cvisuals\u201d as \u201clearning objects\u201d<\/strong> and move away from the fact that they may well involve visual or graphic material.\u00a0 \u201cLearning objects\u201d in whatever form or shape are intended to facilitate and enhance the learning process itself and thus need to be carefully \u201cdesigned\u201d<\/strong> in order to achieve this objective.\u00a0 Furthermore, not all concepts or aspects of social reality can be illustrated or exemplified in a \u201clearning object,\u201d and thus it is critical to consider carefully what can be.\u00a0 Thus, it is possible to suggest that the use of \u201clearning objects\u201d follows a process which starts with a faculty person identifying a concept, an aspect of social reality, a chemical process, etc., that s\/he wishes to elucidate further.\u00a0 Furthermore, the faculty person needs to identify what are the \u201clearning outcomes\u201d to be derived from students engaging with such a \u201clearning object\u201d, and then it can be designed in order to achieve both objectives.\u00a0 Thus, it is the design of such \u201clearning objects\u201d that constitutes the most important role of a teacher.\u00a0 It is here that the professional quality of the educator is appreciated and, of course, what should constitute the focus of continuous professional development for faculty.[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designing appropriate \u201clearning objects\u201d is a highly complex and professional activity in which a variety of skills have to come together in order for them to achieve the desired effect of stimulating and enhancing critical thinking amongst students.\u00a0 Not to do so is to present students with learning objects whose quality will detract from the actual learning process.\u00a0 CLT, of course, is capable of providing such support to faculty at AUC and welcomes anyone who is interested in exploring the role of and\/or producing \u201clearning objects\u201d for their respective courses.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/u><\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Handa, Carolyn, ed. (2004) Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World<\/strong>, <\/em>New York, Bedford\/St. Martin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berger, John (1972) Ways of Seeing<\/strong>, Hamondsworth, Penguin Books<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/strong><\/a> It should be pointed out that learning objects are also referred to sometimes as \u201cbites of learning\u201d, \u201clearning packages\u201d and\/or \u201clearning activities\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published on:\u00a0November 14, 2006 In a recent issue of New Chalk Talk (Volume 6, Issue 2), I relied upon John Berger\u2019s pioneering work Ways … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":3150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,180],"tags":[154],"class_list":["post-2296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-learning","category-volume-6","tag-issue-6"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC_8436.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2296"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3155,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296\/revisions\/3155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}