Senses

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What do you say? They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” The they credited with this famous phrase include Napoleon Bonaparte, Frederick R. Bernard, Confucius, and Tess Flanders.

Last Saturday, we went to English Harbour for Antigua’s annual Sailing Week. It's an event that brings sailors to the island for competitive races, concerts, Caribbean food, and other tourist-friendly activities. We've lived here for five years but never ventured to Sailing Week.

The header picture came from the opening night parade.

When I look at the photo, I imagine several scenarios. Perhaps, the children are fascinated with the carnival dancers and the musicians. The possibility of feeling bored is also an option.

Children often complain about not having enough activities. They don't realize that down moments foster creativity and insight.

A photo of our Sail Trek Interview (sailtrek.org)

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The woman with the camera in the orange shirt is part of a film crew for the streaming show Sail Trek. We did an interview with her moments before the dance troupe arrived.

What do you see?

Pictures capture different moments and emotions for the viewers. For example, one person sees entertaining, artistic displays of movement and music in the header image. On the other hand, another viewer perceives boredom and frustration.

Can you count the number of people in the photo with cameras? Look at the picture again and identify the people with their arms crossed. Evidence of excitement and dullness lies in their body language.

Pictures influence perspectives. Choose images that reflect your topic and the audience’s attributes if you want to encourage connection.

With regard to teaching and identifying visual resources to support lesson plans, the right pictures play a vital role in your message. You want to be selective. Copying the first image that appears on Google is not the best route to take in making valuable learning experiences.

There are also copyright infringement and quality control issues with grabbing random pics from Google. Instead, consider photos from platforms such as Unsplash or Shutterstock. The pictures you find will increase the chances of identifying clear images that capture students’ interests.

Another option is to use the pictures you own. Anyone with a smartphone can take a decent shot with the built-in cameras.

Instead of presentation slides with massive amounts of text, use a picture. Allow the image to say a thousand or more of your words. In fiction, they say, "Show, don't tell."

Use images to reinforce what you want your students to hear during class.

Allow for opportunities to interpret photos that help to make what you say clearer. If you fill each slide with paragraphs, some of your students will rewrite every word and ignore your explanation.

Provide the space to store meaningful moments in the memory banks of students. Aim to appeal to two or more senses. One picture can provide tangible motivation to do something with the knowledge and skills you share.

Last weekend, during the drive to English Harbour, my family and I talked about a recent swimming event and soccer. In April, my oldest and the youngest competed in a two-mile open water race called Shark Bait Swim. My middle child reserved his energy for the football (soccer) game on the lawn.

I made a video to share some Sailing Week, swimming, and football memories with you.

Incorporating video into lesson plans is a little more complicated. But we can save that topic for next week. Subscribe here to receive next week's blog post in your inbox and other gifts for joining this community of thinkers and innovators.

While you wait for my first email to arrive, check out this month’s vlog episode below.