VISUAL AIDS

Visual aids are the tools of teaching through the sense of sight. They are supporting materials & they alone cannot generate learning. They should be considered only a tool that helps to do a job in a better way. Visual aids are of different types. The following are the more commonly used ones in India:

i.Posters

     ii.            Flannel-graphs

  iii.            Flash cards

   iv.            Puppets

     v.            Slides & film-strips

   vi.            Models

vii.            Bulletin boards

viii.            photographs

   ix.            Black-boards

     x.            Cultural programmes

• Posters: A good poster creates awareness & interest among the people. It inspires & takes people towards action. It consists of 3 main parts. The first usually announces the purpose or the approach, the second sets out conditions, & the third recommends action. A poster should be bold enough to attract attention of the people, & should communicate only one idea at a time. It should have simple letters which are clear & forceful. The size of a poster should not be less than 50*75 cm.

• Flannel-graphs: Flannel-graphs serve as a good teaching aid. When a piece of sandpaper is fixed to the back of a picture, a photograph, a letter, etc. They can be made to adhere easily to a piece of thick flannel cloth, fixed on a board. They are used as an aid for group methods like informal talks or lectures.

• Flash cards: Flash cards are a set of small compact cards approximately 30 to 45 cm. In size, & are used to bring home an idea, such as the benefits of a smokeless chulha, the cultivation of hybrid maize, compost-making & other practices. Pictures on the theme are drawn on these cards in a logical sequence which is flashed before the audience. Upon seeing them, the villagers are able to follow a story more easily.

• Puppets: Puppets are very popular & especially suitable for village situations. Puppet shows can be effectively organized to gather the rural people. For a puppet show, a short story, brief scenes & quick dialogues are necessary. Such shows can teach a lesson about health, literacy, agriculture, or home-making.

• Slides: A slide is a transparent picture or photograph in an individual mount. For viewing the image, the picture is projected through a slide-projector which brings the enlarged image into focus on a screen. Slides are excellent aids of illustrating talks & showing people concrete activities & aspects of development. They can be effectively used to show different situations & methods of carrying out an activity. They can be arranged in a series for giving an illustrated talk on improved agricultural practices, cultivation of crops, etc.

• Film-strips: They are a series of black-and-white or coloured pictures depicting a single idea, & instead of being individually mounted are printed on a single length of strip of 35-mm film. Such strips can be shown to an audience of about a 100 people. The additional advantage in using the film-strips is that the film can be stopped anytime during the show to explain or discuss a difficult or interesting point.

• Models: Models create a sense of realization in a person. Models of new farm equipments, compost pits & sanitation devices & animals are mostly prepared for those people who are not in a position to see them in the actual form. They are used to create interest, promote understanding & influence the people to adopt a certain practice.

• Bulletin-boards: A bulletin-board can serve the purpose of making announcements, displaying events of short duration & photographs of local activities. The information should be written in simple language.

• Photographs: They are a very simple visual aid. Good photographs show some action & catch the feelings & emotions of the people. They are so arranged that they tell a story. They are displayed on a bulletin-board at a common meeting-place where a large number of people can see them. They should be clear & bold in composition with proper captions.

• Black-boards: They provide writing & drawing surface for chalk. They are usually used in schools, colleges & meeting places. They make possible the use of sketches, drawings, words, symbols of a combination of them to emphasize a point. Black-boards are most useful in group-teaching methods.

• Cultural programmes: Local cultural programmes, such as folk-songs & dramas, are used as an effective medium of communicating the message of development programmes. Dramatization of a theme or story creates a lively interest among the audience. Folk-songs & dances related to the subjects of local interest & importance, when acted on the stage, bring them home more forcefully.

For an effective use of extension-teaching methods, it is not enough to know these methods & their techniques. What is more important is the appropriate selection of a method or combination of methods for a particular situation. In fact, when a farmer is exposed to a new idea several times by different methods or a combination of methods, he is likely to accept it more quickly. Farmers learn about new practices through several stages. These stages are known as: (1) the awareness stage- when a person comes to know of a new practice but lacks the complete information; (2) the interest stage- when he becomes interested in a new idea & wants to know more about it; (3) the evaluation stage- when he mentally applies the new idea to his present situation & evaluates it; (4) the trial stage- when he applies the new idea or practice on a small scale in order to determine its utility under his own situation; and (5) adoption stage- when he decides to continue the full use of the practice. Thus, it is the cumulative affect on people through exposure to an idea repeatedly that result in action.

VISUAL COMMUNICATION

There's an old saying that "a picture is worth a thousand words."  Life would indeed be difficult without paintings, photographs, diagrams, charts, drawings, and graphic symbols.  These are some of the reasons why SHOWING is such an important form of communication.

• Most people understand things better when they have seen how they work.

• Involved, complex ideas can be presented clearly and quickly using visual aids.

• People retain information longer when it is presented to them visually.

• Visuals can be used to communicate to a wide range of people with differing backgrounds.

• Visuals are useful when trying to condense information into a short time period.

Visual aids--used imaginatively and appropriately--will help your audience remember more. Consider the following:

• People think in terms of images, not words, so visuals help them retain and recall technical information.

• Visuals attract and hold the attention of observers.

• Visuals simplify technical information.

• Visuals may be useful in presenting technical information to a nontechnical audience.

Questions to Ask about Visual Aids:

• Is my objective clear?

• What are my key points?  Do they deserve the emphasis that a visual aid gives?

• What visual aid or aids have I planned to use?

• Will the visual aid clarify my spoken words?  Will it support my spoken words rather than replace them?

• Is each visual aid simple, orderly and consistent?  Is it free from incompatible and complicating ideas, symbols, art techniques and typefaces?  Can my audience quickly and easily grasp what they see or must it be read to them?  Avoid making it a reading session.

• Is it symbolic or pictorial?  Which treatment is best for my subject?  Which treatment is best from the standpoint of my audience?

• Is my visual direct and to the point?  Is the art functional or ornate?  Is it really one visual aid or several?  If my subject is complex, will it be presented in easily comprehensible units? (Drop-ons or overlays)  Was my artwork designed just for this presentation?

• Is my visual aid realistic?  Does it give all the pertinent facts?  Have the facts been distorted?

• Is my visual aid as effective as it can be made?  Have I used all the available techniques to make it so?

• Did I put enough effort into the planning of the visual aid?  Have I sought criticism from others?

• Will it achieve my objectives?  Will my audience understand, appreciate and believe it?  If my presentation calls for some action by the audience, will it stimulate them to do so willingly?

Have I overlooked anything in the use of the visual aid?  Have I tested the visual aid?  Have I planned one or more rehearsals; if not, why?  Will my visual aid material be visible to the entire audience?