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**Why Visual Language?**
Considering a timeline to literacy might help we need to think beyond our own experiences and what our schooling taught us to assess what literacy is, has been and will be. The timeline looks at written visual language since the rosetta stone.
 * Reading and writing are more important?**

media type="custom" key="2077740" What the timeline tells us is... much is changing recently. Despite a natural inclination to think that what we were taught about literacy still stands this is not the case.
 * A timeline of literacy**

The style of writing has changed and will change. The involvement of images drawn, photographic or otherwise constructed have an increasing part to play in our learning and communication.

The reality is that there is inately more information in an image than text but does this make them more effective?
 * **In many instances visual language is more effective communication**.
 * **Facilitates representation that words limit**
 * **Big, complex thoughts**
 * **Global and Universal elements**

"many people look to the info graphic for understanding rather than reading the whole article?"
 * Reading is Hard on the brain**

//There is widespread understanding that visual-verbal language enables forms and// //efficiencies of communication that heretofore have not been possible. For example,// //improvements in human performance from 23 to 89% have been obtained by using// //integrated visual-verbal "stand- alone" diagrams. In this case, "stand-alone" diagrams// //refer to diagrams that have all of the verbal elements necessary for complete// //understanding without reading text elsewhere in a document. (Chandler and Sweller,// //1991; Mayer 2001, Horton, 1991) // 


 * **Theories and thinkers on Visual Language**
 * [[image:http://www.journeycluster.org.nz/theme/journey/pix/f/pdf.gif link="http://www.journeycluster.org.nz/mod/resource/view.php?id=72"]] [|What visual language can do according to Robert Horn PDF document]
 * [[image:http://www.journeycluster.org.nz/theme/journey/pix/f/html.gif link="http://www.journeycluster.org.nz/mod/resource/view.php?id=273"]] [|Visual Language according to Neil Cohn file]
 * [[image:http://www.journeycluster.org.nz/theme/journey/pix/f/html.gif link="http://www.journeycluster.org.nz/mod/resource/view.php?id=274"]] [|An historical timeline for Communication]