In the following section, we briefly summarize the literature on images’ effect on learning, the different types and effective use of educational images, and challenges educators face creating and using images in online learning.
Images Effect on Learning
Using images in education is not new (Mietzner et al., 2005). Researchers have been investigating the educational uses of images for decades dating back to the 1970s (Jordaan & Jordaan, 2013). One of the breakthroughs was Paivio’s (1986) dual coding theory of cognitive processing (see Figure 1) which suggests that the primary purpose of using images is for meaning-making (Daley, 2003; Eisner, 2002; Nuzzaci, 2019). Using words and visuals in tandem exemplify possibilities for polysemic understanding of the ability to exploit multiple information channels (Mackay, 2003), and in turn can have a profound effect on learning (Davis, 2015; Dirksen, 2015; Lohr, 2008). Based on theories like dual coding, Mayer developed a theory of multimedia learning positing that students learn best from a combination of text and images rather than from words or images alone (Mayer, 2020).
Figure 1. Illustration of the Dual Coding Theory Note: Copyright 2020 by Bader
However, using images in education is a complicated process that requires attention to both the content of the image and the context of the image’s surroundings (West et al., 2020). Further, being visually literate is more than being able to interpret (i.e., decode) visuals; people, and educators, in particular, need to be able to create (i.e., encode) visuals. In fact, Braden (1996) conceptualized visual literacy as the ability to efficiently analyze, compose, and create visual images. To help educators become visually literate and specifically to be able to create educational images, Lohr (2008) developed the ACE model. The ACE model stands for the three stages of image creation: analyze, create, and evaluate.