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January, 2008
Content:
- Pioneers of Visual Sign Language
- Qualification workshop “Visual Learning” in the
Netherlands
- Announcement: Qualification workshop “Alphabetization and
Basic Education at Volkshochschulen: From Emancipation to Schoolification?
New concepts – New opportunities.”, January the 26th 2008 in Düsseldorf.
1. Pioneers of Visual Sign Language
Visual communication helps us daily with our orientation in public spaces. A
whole set of various specialists – commercial artists, architects, engineers,
city planners and other experts contributes to the creation of the public space.
The professionalization of visual communication is of increasing importance in
functionally differentiated societies and a globalized world, helping to
structure and bundle the flood of information, especially in the public space.
The pictogram as substantial basis of visual communication conveys
information through diagrams. Their precursors can be found in ideographic
characters in ancient high cultures. In its further development the pictogram
has a prehistory which is connected closely with the Arts, especially in the
development of ciphres in modern art. In the early twenties Otto Neurath, his
wife and commercial artist Gerd Arntz, developed the so-called “Viennese Method
of Image Statistics”, a method for the intelligible presentation of statistical
contexts through visual forms. Neurath and Arntz promoted the power of
expression of signs substantially by creating a semantic context through
pictograms and its appliance.
The pictograms of Ortl Aicher for the Olympic Games 1972 became world famous
as interntional guidance and orientation system. Parallely he designed the
pictograms for the Frankfurt Airport. In the fifties Aicher and his wife where
initators of an academy for design and introduced the subject “Visual
Communication”. He is considered an important pioneer in the field of guidance
systems and corporate design development.
Another milestone in the development of visual sign language is the pictogram
system of the American Institute of Grafic Arts (AIGA) which was designed for
orientation in public space. AIGA was founded in 1914 and is the oldest and
biggest association of professional designers engaging in application and
culture of design.
To development a sign system current pictograms from around the world where
collected. The first series consisting of 34 symbols was published in 1974. In
1979 the series was completed with 16 new pictograms.
The new symbols are avaiable free of charge and became the most used
pictograms worldwide within a short time.
In Europe, since 2002, the Academy of Arts in Bern has an exceptional
standing and offers a job accompanying post graduate study in “Ethics of
Signals” – a discipline which combines urbanistic, structural and sociological
contents in the development of public spaces.
Further information:
- An impressive overview over the so far little examined prehistory of
pictograms in arts until modernity was offered in the exhibition “Pictograms –
The Loneliness of Signs” in the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. The extensive catalogue
of the exhibition is still available in specialized bookshops.
- Information regarding the American Institute for Graphic Arts (AIGA) can be
found online: www.aiga.org. The free of charge AIGA-pictograms can be downloaded
in formats “EPS” or “GIF” online:
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/symbol-signs
- To read an interesting report “Ethics of Signals – The Masters of Visual
Communication in german language link to the swiss portal “Der Arbeitsmarkt”
online:
http://www.der-arbeitsmarkt.ch/upload/archiv/Signaletik.pdf
2. Qualification workshop “Visual Learning” in the
Netherlands
On the 12th of October 2007 the Dutch partner in this project, the
Reflexion Foundation, organized a one day workshop on the theme of
Visual Learning in Maastricht, in close cooperation with the German
coordinator of the project, the German Institute for Adult Education in
Bonn (DIE). DIE provided their experienced teacher, Mr. Dirk Stüber, to
deliver the workshop. The workshop was called “De kracht van Beelden”
(the power of images) and this name was chosen to underline the
importance of visual stimuli in the human perception process and
consequently in the learning process.
The group of participants consisted of people with various backgrounds in
adult education: two educational scientists form the University of Maastricht
(whose daily task is to provide general support to educational institutions all
over thele country, two teachers from a regional educational centre in the midde
of the country (ROC Midden Nederland) and three teachers from Reflexion and
Atrium, all three active in reintegration programs for unemployed adults. The
participation of the ROC-teachers ensured a spreading of outcomes to other parts
of the country than (only) the southern part of Limburg, where both the
University of Maastricht and Reflexion are situated.
The main goal of this workshop was to provide knowledge on the theory and
practice of visual learning methods in everyday adult education. Previous
research had shown that really very little had been done in recent years to keep
up with international developments. The application of visual learning in the
Netherlands is still at a low level, a situation that is well reflected by the
fact that one of the few handbooks on this subject in the Netherlands, “Visuele
communicatie en visueel onderwijs” written by Prof. Dr. J.M. Peters, was
published already in 1961. Surely some new techniques, like mind mapping, have
found their way into practice (but perhaps even more in business than in
education), but in general the use visual methods and tools is not to be
considered a hot topic.
All the more reasons to present a real practice oriented approach, providing
the participants with ideas and suggestions they could take directly into their
classrooms. And this aspect was mentioned as one of the strong points in the
didactical approach chosen for the workshop: most of the items and theories were
presented in such a way, that the participants felt they could use them the very
next day, if suitable within their curriculum. The set of tools consisted of
both software and paper based methods.
The group was convinced that a similar workshop, to be held in another part
of the country, would be attractive to a large group of teaching professionals,
especially those who are active in second language and literacy programs.
Supporting the teaching process with visual elements often has great and
positive impact in these curricula.
The participants received a comprehensive reader covering the most important
issues of visual learning, compiled in a general overview and a number of more
detailed elaborations. Further support will be achieved by publishing the
“Concept for trainers”, foreseen as one of the core products of the project.
3. Announcement: Qualification workshop “Alphabetization
and Basic Education at Volkshochschulen: From Emancipation to Schoolification?
New concepts – New opportunities.”, January the 26th 2008 in Düsseldorf.
On January the 26th 2008 the qualification workshop “Alphabetization and
Basic Education at Volkshochschulen: From Emancipation to Schoolification? New
concepts – New opportunities.” (“Alphabetisierung und Grundbildung an
Volkshochschulen: Von der Emanzipation zur Verschulung? Neue Konzepte – neue
Chancen.”) takes place in Düsseldorf. Host is the association of the
“Volkshochschulen” of the federal state of North Rhine Westfalia:
The project “visuaLearning” is involved and will offer one workshop in the
morning and one in the afternoon. Methods of visual learning will be presented.
The application of relevant methods and principles of design should serve to
show the possibilities of transfer for further teaching and to promote the
exchange of experiences.
We will report on this issue in our next newsletter.
Part 1 compiled by Dirk Stüber, DIE, Germany
Part 2 compiled by Joost Thissen, Reflexion, Netherlands
Part 3 compiled by Monika Tröster, DIE, Germany
Contacts::
Project-coordinator:
Deutsches Institut für Erwachsenenbildung (DIE)
German Institute for Adult Education (DIE)
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 38 53113 Bonn
Germany
T (+) 49 228 3294-306
F (+) 49 228 3294-399
Contact person: Monika Tröster
Website: www.die-bonn.de/visual
Partner:
FiaTest Bucharest
FiaTest Group
Str. Transilvaniei 24
Sector 1 Bucharest
Romania
T (+) 40 21 312-1347
F (+) 40 21 312-2106
Contact person: Simona Gitu
Website: www.fiatest.ro
Instytut Technologii Eksploatacji
Państwowy Instytut Badawczy (ITeE-PIB)
Institute for Sustainable Technologies
National Research Institute
ul. Pulaskiego 6/10
26-600 Radom
Poland
T (+) 48 48 3644-241 ext: -205
F (+) 48 48 3644-760, 36447-65
Contact person: Malgorzata Kacprzak
Website: www.itee.radom.pl
National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA)
76 Lower Gardiner Street
Dublin 1
Ireland
T (+) 353 1 8099-191
F (+) 353 1 8555-475
Contact person: Fergus Dolan
Website: www.nala.ie
www.literacytools.ie (adult literacy
learning and tuition website)
Atrium
Research & Innovation Ltd
The Reflexion Foundation
Hofdwarsweg 12
6161 DD Geleen
The Netherlands
T (+) 31 46 4106-374
F (+) 31 46 4106-375
Contact person: Joost Thissen
Website: http://www.atriumbv.nl
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