Is the emerging digital multimedia culture of today transforming the textbook or forever displacing it? As new media of transmission enter the classroom, the traditional textbook is now caught up in a dialogue reshaping the textual boundaries of the book, and with it the traditional modes of cognition and learning, which are bound more to language than to visual form. Most of the important work in the past two decades in the field of curriculum has focused on the culture of the textbook. A rich literature has evolved around textbooks as the traditional object of instructional activity. This volume is an important contribution to this literature, which focuses on the actual making of a textbook. This design process serves as a metaphor that suggests new paradigms of learning and instruction, in which text content is but one component in a multidimensional information space.The Visual Turn is an exploration along the border of this new learning space transforming the traditional center of instruction in the classroom.

A study and analysis of how the computer is transforming the textbook and our modes of literacy from print-based to visual forms.

Globalisation and Historiography of National Leaders: Symbolic Representations in School Textbooks, the 18th book in the 24-volume book series Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, explores the interrelationship between ideology, national identity, national history and historical heroes, setting it in a global context. Based on this focus, the chapters represent hand-picked scholarly research on major discourses in the field of history textbooks and symbolic representations of national heroes, and draw upon recent studies in the areas of globalisation, history textbooks, and national leaders.A number of researchers have written on the importance of teaching national history in order to foster national identity and a sense of belonging to a certain society, state, and people among the younger generation. Some nations prefer to create national heroes out of their political leaders who are still in power, and whose lives and reputation are portrayed as being eminently spotless. Using diverse comparative education paradigms from critical theory, social semiotics, and historical-comparative research, the authors analyse the unpacking of the ideological agenda hidden behind the choice and lionization (or silencing) of the preferred national heroes. They provide an informed critique of various historical narratives depicting national leaders and national heroes.The book provides an easily accessible, practical yet scholarly source of information on international concerns in the field of globalisation, history education and policy research. Offering an essential sourcebook of ideas for researchers, history educators, practitioners and policymakers in the fields of globalisation and history education, it also provides a timely overview of current changes in politically correct history education narratives in history textbooks.

Visual Literacy examines how teachers can use visuals to improve learning for all students. It provides teachers with a foundation in visual literacy, defined as the ability to read, think, and communicate with visually presented information. Results of studies of students’ using visual information indicate that most students are clearly lacking in the tools needed to use visuals effectively. The book orients teachers to visual literacy and the world of visuals. It discusses various classroom tested strategies and activities for all students, including second language learners, and students with special needs. Stressing visual literacy skills helps students understand a visual more deeply so they can master the content they are learning. Teachers will learn to employ a literacy triad of reading, thinking, and communicating to aid students in their study of visuals. First, they inquire into the visual, reading it for content and context, including assessing the authenticity of the document. Second, they think about the document by analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating it to come up with answers to their inquiry. Graphic organizers help students decipher the content and understand the meaning of the visual document, connecting it to prior and future instruction. Third, they communicate their findings using visuals.

This volume examines the present status and future trends of textbook studies. Cutting-edge essays by leading experts and emerging scholars explore the field’s theories, methodologies, and topics with the goal of generating debate and providing new perspectives. The Georg Eckert Institute’s unique transdisciplinary focus on international textbook research has shaped this handbook, which explores the history of the discipline, the production processes and contexts that influence textbooks, the concepts they incorporate, how this medium itself is received and future trends. The book maps and discusses approaches based in cultural studies as well as in the social and educational sciences in addition to contemporary methodologies used in the field. The book aims to become the central interdisciplinary reference for textbook researchers, students, and educational practitioners.

Television, video games, and computers are easily accessible to twenty-first-century children, but what impact do they have on creativity and imagination? In this book, two wise and long-admired observers of children's make-believe look at the cognitive and moral potential--and concern--created by electronic media.