Wrt 160 Visual Literacy Critique

Spalter and van Dam’s article, Digital Visual Literacy, argues that in order for students to receive a well rounded education, it is necessary to bridge digital visual literacy with traditional textual and mathematical literacies. Through rhetorical appeal, Spalter and van Dam effectively persuade their intended audience to support their argument. The authors of the article successfully gain the reader’s trust by establishing their own credibility. Spalter and van Dam open their article by giving their background; “Anne Morgan Spalter is a Visual Computing Researcher in the Brown University Computer Graphics Research Group and an Adjunct Lecturer; Andries van Dam is the Thomas J. Watson Jr. University Professor of Technology and Education and Professor of Computer Science, both at Brown University” (Spalter and van Dam, 2008). Their background exemplifies ethos, or ethical appeal. The authors are able to convince readers that they are trustworthy based on their impressive background and qualifications. The essay aims it’s argument at an educated audience, specifically an audience of scholars. Spalter and van Dam state, “We hope that our framework of disciplinary areas and experiences with different instructional approaches, as well as materials provided online, will aid those of you undertaking this vital work” (Spalter and van Dam, 2008). The authors target an audience that takes interest in education and learning techniques. They pay particular attention to college course and framework, thus, the article is most likely to persuade university professors and/or those affected by college academia; i.e. parents of college students, and middle-aged scholars who have witnessed the 21st century’s technological advances. Although Spalter and van Dam expect that their readers be somewhat familiar with K-12 education, they make few other assumptions. The theories and ideas that support their argument are detailed and explained throughout the text. Their statement, “To give an idea of the degree to which the digital visual world has evolved, note that Kodak no longer makes film cameras or slide carousels, and Adobe PhotoshopTM is now commonly used as a verb. We have traded in our bulky black dial phones from about 20 years ago for sleek cell phones that now work all over the globe. Some contain megapixel cameras whose pictures we can beam to family, friends, Web sites, or even, in New York City, to 911” (Spalter and van Dam, 2008) is an ethical appeal. Spalter and van Dam use real life examples that their intended audience have all been affected by to grab the viewer’s attention. Seglem and Witte’s article You gotta see it to believe it: Teaching visual literacy in the English classroom argues that teaching visual literacy in the K-12 classroom is imperative in preparing students for a technologically advanced world that is driven by images. They state, “This article seeks to explore the issues encompassing visual literacies as well as to provide ideas for teachers on how to begin working with them in the classroom” (Seglem and Witte, 2009). Seglem and Witte’s directly aim their argument at K-12 teachers. Their essay is rhetorically appealing to a scholarly audience, specifically educators and parents looking improve education. By connecting arguments made by other, credible sources (i.e. Eisner, Braden and Hortin, Flood and Lapp, etc.), Seglem and Witte convince their intended audience that they make an informed argument. By providing such sources, Seglem and Witte use ethos, ethical rhetorical appeal, to prove that their argument is legitimate. Additional ethical appeals are made by giving detailed descriptions of visualization in their own classroom. For example, Seglem and Witte state, “By the time he had completed his painting, he had obviously made great progress in his visualization skills, resulting in a deeper understanding of the book itself” (2009). By providing their own experiences with students and visualization in their own classroom, Seglem and Witte build an impressive background that argues their discourse. By doing so, they persuade their audience to support their article’s purpose. Both articles, Digital Visual Literacy and You gotta see it to believe it: Teaching visual literacy in the English classroom are rhetorically effective in persuading their intended audiences to support visualization in the classroom. Spalter and van Dam make use of a number of ethical and logical appeals, while Seglem and Witte’s article is mostly made up of ethical appeals alone. The articles use legitimate, informative material; using either of the articles would be beneficiary for educators and for research projects.