Visual and Media Literacy Put Into Practice

Abstract

In this chapter, the author explores the concept and teaching potential of visual and media literacy and discusses the creation of digital visual narratives as a means to develop critical media literacy. Based on an example from her university class, the author argues that a hands-on approach of creating digital visual reader-responses to literary texts is a highly beneficial tool to not only develop but also experience visual and media literacy. In the process of creating digital visual narrations using the Web 2.0 application Pixton, students additionally reflect the representation of the protagonists' ethnic and cultural identity within the text and in their surrounding environment, thus fostering intercultural awareness.. This creative reader-response approach allows combining literary literacy with the development of visual and media literacy in digital learning settings.