Improving Pre-Service Teachers' Visual Literacy through Online Photo-Sharing Applications

This study aims to investigate how pre-service teachers' visual literacy skills are affected by their use of online photo management and sharing applications like Flickr. Two approaches are used to develop the visual literacy skills of pre-service teachers through Flickr. The first is to help them decode visuals through practicing analysis techniques, and interpreting and creating meaning from visual stimuli. The second is to help them encode visuals as a tool for communication. Visual literacy tests, participants' logs, photograph evaluation instruments, and interviews are used to assess the improvement in the participants' visual literacy skills. The results of the analysis revealed that the pre-service teachers' skills in interpreting, understanding, and appreciating the meaning of visual messages were enhanced through online exchange and interaction by means of photo management and sharing applications. They were able to communicate more effectively through applying the basic principles and concepts of visual design.