Modern creative tools of teaching English using digital media images

Modern creative tools of teaching English using digital media images. Olha Hryhoryshyna. English teacher of Lyceum “Mobil”

I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to be at the forefront of the digital media revolution. Ross Levinsohn. In the world we live in is, technology is literally everywhere and the kids adapt to it more than anyone else. Traditional methods for teaching are already going through a transformation to adapt to the needs of 21st-century students and to enhance the professional practice of teachers. The digital future is literally happening now.

How Can Students Use Digital Images In School And For Learning?Visual Biographies. This can be a fun and effective way for students to use imagery as a tool to express themselves, foster creativity, and learn about their classmates. Photo Essays. Teachers and students can get creative in how they wish to incorporate images. However, using images as one of many ways to measure understanding not only taps into student ingenuity and resourcefulness, but also emphasizes quality in all facets of student work. Visual Storytelling. Students can brainstorm as a class or in groups, feeding off each other’s inductive reasoning. Photojournalism. Photojournalism can be a very powerful way to engage students in deep and complex issues. It is also an effective way for students to communicate their own opinions and encourages them to choose images that draw attention to issues that are important to them. Vocabulary Building. This is a simple, but effective way to get kids thinking creatively about what they see in images. Educators may even transform the exercise into a game, assigning points to students who come up with the most creative descriptions or analogies

Using Pictures1. It has to be appropriate. For example, the following criteria will need to be considered: - age of students. - geographic locale of usage. - past "real" experiences of students. - past vicarious experiences of students.2. It has to be appropriately sequential.  That is, the content of the picture has to have some consistency/commonality with the experience-base of the students.  That is, when the teacher is selecting a visual, the background experiences of children will be a determining factor in that selecting process. For a primary child, for example, the most effective picture will be one which has identifiable life-experience content.  Subsequent pictures can have reduced amounts of life-experience content and greater amounts of other, experience-based (e.g., previous pictures) content.3. It has to be appropriately complex.  We need to avoid simplicity, or visuals which patronize.  If the visual does not have some complexity, then children will likely simply dump their perceptions from the images into their already existing cognitive categories and no learning, no seeing, occurs.

Some Notes on Utilizing Pictures in Lessons1.  Do Not Provide Closure2.  Accept the Child's Perception3.  Use Child Responses as A Catalyst for Questioning4.  Provide Positive Feedback5.  Ask Easy Questions to Reluctant Students6.  Don't be Afraid of Stimulating, Challenging, Even Difficult Questions7.  Post the Picture

Typical Questioning Routes to Take When Using Pictures in Classroom. Teaching1. What do you see in this picture?2. How do you feel when you look at the picture?3. What do you like about this picture?4. What do you dislike about this picture?5. Does this picture have some parts which are more interesting than other parts?  What are they?  Why are they more interesting?6. What is the setting?  Where?  When?  Date?  Season?7. Is there any action - describe.8. Are there main figures?9. What is the relationship between the main figure(s) and the minor figure(s)? 10. What is the relationship between the figures and the setting? 11. What feelings are exhibited in the picture?  Do they "fit" the picture? 12. Talk about shape, line, light and shade, color, tone, texture, balance, repetition, variety, etc., especially in a 'painting" or other "work of art'. 13. What is this picture about? (Some pictures are really "sententious"; other less so). 14. Include both sensory and sentient experiences in discussion. (Sensory Experiences:  touch, smell, taste, sight, sounds.  Sentient Experiences: [emotional content?] fear, happiness, pleasure, loneliness, longing, sadness, love, hate, etc.)

My lessons

Conclusions. In today’s classrooms, teachers need every resource at their disposal to attract the attention of their students. As students are being constantly visually stimulated, the use of imagery in the classroom can be a very useful and effective tool. Images allow students to tap into their inherent creative nature while promoting attention to detail, critical thinking, and resourcefulness. It also allows students to process deep and complex issues in the abstract, and mentally stimulating ways. It makes sense that every classroom incorporates compelling digital images in some way, as it is a very efficient method in advancing student learning and achievement.

Referenceshttps://www.teachthought.com/technology/5-smart-ways-use-digital-images-classroom/https://www.mun.ca/educ/faculty/mwatch/vol2/ryan2.htmlhttps://ii.library.jhu.edu/2013/04/19/teaching-with-images/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320993198_Teaching_and_Learning_with_Pictures_The_Use_of_Photography_in_Primary_Schoolshttps://www.mvorganizing.org/why-are-pictures-important-in-teaching/