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VISUAL LITERACY 

          "As children, we 'show and tell' interchangeably, words and images combining to transmit a connected series of ideas.  The different ways in which words and pictures can combine...is virtually unlimited" (1)

          Although I had been aware of the magic between pictures and words well before college, it wasn't until my notetaking job at RIT that I realized how much it influenced my memory.  I used words, icons and drawings together to document classes for supported students, and found not only did I receive encouraging feedback from students but that my own retention and grades increased.  There was something about actively thinking in words and images during the lecture that made it easier to recall later. 

"My particular ability does not lie is mathematical calculation, but rather in visualizing effects, possibilities, and consequences." (5)

          It is important to distinguish visual thinking and literacy from the ability to make 'art' on a socially recognizable level.  Albert Einstein, quoted above, was by no means an artist, but his ability to think visually allowed him to imagine concepts as a means to understanding.  These kind of skills aren't necessarily taught in schools, and can even clash with traditional programs (Einstein was a delayed child, with noted difficulties in his early schooling).  

      A picture is not worth a thousand words; one language cannot necessarily say the same thing as the other, yet in combination both can say something neither one can express alone.