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VisualVocab

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Visual Vocabulary

The following is my Visual Vocabulary Presentation.  The actual presentation involves animation, but when uploaded into slideshare.net some of the animation was lost.  Check it out anyway!

Visual vocab

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Technocentric Design Theory

Visuals can help learning in many ways.  The power of visual aids is immense, because while doing different tasks, we are almost always seeing things.  Our eyes help us interpret lots of information, so reaching out through visuals is a great tool.  However, visual design must be taken into account whenever creating types of instruction using visuals or graphics.  The main goal of any type of instruction is for the student or observer, to learn and understand the material.  Visuals may often help this goal, but only if used in the correct way.  Different types or theories of design help figure out the best way to present information in a useful way.

Technocentric design theory is one theory or way to present information visually.  Encyclopedia.com defines technocentrism as “An over-identification with computer technology at the expense of human relationships.”  When applying this definition to visual design, it seems that the technocentric design theory will use lots of technology, which may be at the expense of an effective instructional product.  Rieber (2000) explains that technocentrism is when “a certain technology is put at the center of the process and all subsequent design decisions are based on their relationship to that technology” (p. 31).  This basically means that when using a technocentric approach, the user decides upon using a certain type of technology and then uses all possible features or gadgets possible with that technology to create a design.  It is possible that this results in an effective design, however, many times designers fall into “technocentric traps”, and forget about the purpose of the instructional product.

Rieber (2000) describes an important idea to always keep in mind, that “There are times when pictures can aid learning, times when pictures do not aid learning but do no harm, and times when pictures do not aid learning and are distracting” (p. 15).  This statement can relate to not just pictures, but any new gadget or additional feature that some technology may be able to contribute.  Sometimes, these additions may be distracting and may actually take away from the overall design of the product.  It is important to always remember the learner and his or her needs, and not just think about the technology and its capabilities.

Take a look at this comic, and see how it relates to the technocentric idea.

http://bokardo.com/images/comics/techno-centric.gif

References

DARREL INCE. "technocentrism." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Retrieved September 15, 2010 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-technocentrism.html

Rieber, L. P. (2000). Computer, Graphics, and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.nowhereroad.com/cgl/chapter1/index.html

Piclit

First Post

Welcome to my first blog post! This should be the start of a fun class! Yay =)