Are Visual Learning Strategies Important?

"To be truly literate in a modern technological culture, we need to comprehend and use both verbal and visual literacies." This statement was made by Richard Sinatra and Josephine Stahl-Germake in "Using the Right Brain in Language Art." Indeed, this statement has important ramifications for all content area teachers today. This is because our culture is now permeated immensely by television, computer games and other electronic media, where our students come to school with a rich experience in receiving and interpreting messages that are at once both visual and verbal. So instead of getting a panic attack, why not look on the positive side and use this experience as well as appropriate electronic tools that can in turn be an effective instructional opportunity to meet the learning needs of all students.
However, this can only take place when we acknowledge that presentations which effectively combine visual and verbal elements are more effective than printed texts. Also, a graphic representation of a key concept provides a useful mnemonic tool for all students.