Elements of Visual Design

• Reading informational text helps students practice analysis and interpretation skills.
• Varying formats of informational text, such as graphs, charts, primary sources, brochures, and manuals, expose students to diverse content presentations.
• Informational text satisfies children's curiosity by explaining how and why things work, feeding their need for knowledge and understanding.
• Informational texts create meaning and facilitate retention of information.

Elements of Visual Design

• Line describes a shape or outline, creates texture, and can vary in thickness; it can be actual or implied using horizontal, diagonal, or contour lines.
• Shape is a geometric or organic area standing out from its surroundings due to differences in value, color, or texture.
• Value refers to the degree of lightness and darkness in a design, creating contrast among elements.
• Texture is the perceived surface feel, whether smooth or rough, resulting from the illusion of peaks and valleys in objects.
• Color is determined by hue, intensity, and value.
• Color is used for emphasis or to evoke emotions in the viewer.
• Form is a figure with volume and thickness, viewable from multiple angles, where the illusion of a 3-dimensional object can be implied using light and shading.

Design Principles and Elements

• Emphasis gives importance or value to a part of the text-based content, achieved by making text bold, italicized, heavier, darkened, lightened, or enlarged.
• Appropriateness refers to how fitting or suitable the text is for a specific audience, purpose, or event, using fonts like Times New Roman, Arial, Rockwell, Edwardian Script, or Jokerman.
• Proximity describes how near or far text elements are from each other.
• When two things are closely related, bring them close together.
• Alignment is how the text is positioned on the page, whether left, center, right, or justified.
• Organization involves a conscious effort to organize text elements on a page, ensuring they are connected even when separated.
• Repetition achieves unity in the entire design by consistently repeating some typefaces throughout the page.
• Contrast creates visual interest by using different elements such as white text on a dark background, large fonts with small fonts, serif and sans-serif fonts, thin elements with wide elements, and cool colors with warm colors.

Audio Information and Media

• Radio broadcasts are live or recorded audio sent through radio waves to reach a wide audience.
• Music consists of vocal or instrumental sounds combined to produce beauty, harmony, and emotional expression.
• Sound recordings capture interviews, meetings, or events.
• Sound clips/effects are artificially reproduced sounds for dramatic presentations.
• Audio podcasts are digital audio/video files or recordings, usually part of a themed series, downloadable from a website.
• Audio information can be stored on tapes, CDs, USB drives, memory cards, computer hard drives, or in the cloud.
• MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3) is a standard format for consumer audio, used for music transfer and playback.
• M4A/AAC (MPEG4 Audio/Advanced Audio Coding) is an audio coding standard for digital audio compression.
• WAV is a Microsoft audio file format for storing audio bit streams on PCs.
• WAV is a standard file format for game sounds.
• WMA (Windows Media Audio) is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft and used with Windows Media Player.
• Decibel (dB) is the unit of sound measurement.
• Hertz (Hz) is the unit of sound frequency.
• Phon is a unit of subjective loudness.
• Volume is the intensity of a sound.
• Tone is the audible characteristic of a sound.
• Pitch indicates how high or low a sound is.
• Loudness refers to the magnitude of the sound heard.
• Sounds give instructions, provide feedback, and personalize or customize experiences.
• Dialogue is speech, conversation, or voice-over.
• Sound effects are sounds other than music or dialogue.
• Music consists of combined vocal or instrumental sounds.
• Mixing involves balancing and controlling multiple sound elements.
• Pace controls timing, editing, and the order of events.
• Stereo imaging uses left and right channels for depth in sound recording and reproduction.
• Transition manages the shift from one segment or element to another.
• Hearing is simply perceiving sound by the ear.
• Listening requires concentration to process meaning from words and sentences, leading to learning.

Motion Information and Media

• Motion media is visual media that gives the appearance of movement.
• Motion media combines graphics, footage, and videos with audio, text, and/or interactive content.
• Informal motion media is created by individuals for personal use.
• Formal motion media is created by professionals following industry standards in editing.
• The steps in formal production of animations start with writing the story, then the script with dialogue is recorded.
• Animators sketch major scenes and fill in the gaps, add background music and details, and render the drawings.
• Film is a series of moving graphics/images with recorded sound.
• Television is a telecommunication system for transmitting visual images and sound.
• Interactive video involves user interaction.
• Sources of motion media include the internet, film and television studios, broadcast channels, video channels, and libraries.
• To determine the credibility of the motion media, it is important to assess the validity of information, its source, and the relationship of the author to the event.
• Smoothness of video is assessed when movements are not smooth; when an action seems to jump from one position to another, as if some action was missing.
• Lighting coverage matches is a way to detect the shadows, the source of light determines the size and direction of the shadow
• Consistent scale and size of objects in the image has to be assessed.
• The visual media must be proportional and near objects should be larger and objects further away should be smaller.
• Motion media captures motion for repeated viewing, shows processes in detail and sequence, enables learning with emotions, cuts across cultures, and allows scene recreation.
• Compared to other forms of visual media, the viewer cannot always interrupt the presentation and is more costly.
• Data may be presented best using still images. Examples are graphs, diagrams, and maps.

Elements of Motion Media

• Speed: Fast movements give vigor; slow movements convey lethargy or sadness.
• Direction: Indicates movement from one direction to another. Also refers to growing or shrinking objects.
• Timing: Can be objective (measured in minutes, seconds, days) or subjective (psychological). It clarifies or intensifies meaning.
• Transition: Used to switch between scenes.
• Sound and Color: Adds meaning to the motion.
• Blurring: In animation, blurring can provide the illusion of fast movement, often used to censor information.

Manipulative Information and Media

• This refers to handling, managing, or influencing information through media like magazines, journals, blogs, web pages, and videos, often to gain an advantage.

Media Manipulation

• Activism is a practice or doctrine with emphasis on direct vigorous action, especially supporting or opposing one side of a matter.
• Consumer confusion occurs when consumers lack confidence in their purchasing decisions, which may result in difficult marketing.
• Crowd manipulation involves using crowd psychology to engage, control, and influence the desires of consumers to make them believe their product is great.
• Hoaxes involve misleading public stunts, frauds, or scams attracting attention, often seen in fake news or e-mail manipulation.
• Propaganda attempts to influence a community's attitude towards a cause by presenting only one side of an argument.
• Commonly created by governments or organizations, this incudes using slogans or misquoting.
• Gatekeeping is when information being filtered for dissemination, and the public is only informed with a portion of information.
• Celebrity endorsements are used using celebrities as ambassadors that attest to a product’s effectiveness.
• Psychological manipulation is a method used by advertising agencies to influence the audience's beliefs, emotions, motives, or reasoning.
• Fear-mongering involves spreading frightening rumors to instill unnecessary fear.
• Manipulative information/media can boost an image of a person, product, or service, filter public information, and provide control over the information publicized.
• Manipulative information/media can be biased to protect an image, mislead with facts, and hide truths.

Multimedia Information and Media

• Multimedia is the seamless digital integration of text, graphics, animation, audio, still images, and motion video.
• Multimedia provides individual users with high levels of control and interaction.
• Multimedia is more interesting and can be delivered in different modes.
• A slideshow presentation displays photographic slides or electronic images in a series.
• Audio-visual presentations include both sound and visual components, such as presentations, films, TV programs, and live theater productions.
• An overhead projector (OHP) uses light to project an enlarged image.
• Smartboards allow user input via touch detection.
• Multimedia is electronic/digital, interactive, and stimulates the visual and auditory senses.
• Multimedia can be played, projected, recorded, and/or accessed using computer applications.

Different Uses of Multimedia

• Education uses gamification, lectures, online learning.
• Entertainment creates movies and animations.
• Industry presents products/services, advertisements.
• Medicine uses simulations and medical presentations.
• Teachers or lecturers use multimedia to present lessons that appeals to auditory and visuals senses.
• Motivational or public speakers use multimedia to present, inform, influence, motivate, and entertain their audiences.
• Salespeople use multimedia to display and showcase their products or services.
• Multimedia presents information in an organized and interesting manner, empowers speakers, and presents information creatively.
• Limitations of multimedia include overwhelming the audience with too much information, reliance on technology, power requirements, and the potential for compromised quality if preparation is rushed.