Graphic aids - Pictures and Photographs

GRAPHIC AIDS

Graphic aids are charts, diagrams, graphs, maps, flashcards, posters, pictures, photographs, leaflets, folders, pamphlets, cartoons and comics. They are two-dimensional materials having no depth which communicate facts, ideas and relationships clearly through words, lines, drawings, symbols and pictures. Graphic aids can serve many educational objectives for group teaching of 20 to 30 students. They help to:

1.     Visualise abstract concepts which are difficult to understand - concepts of size, rate of growth, inner structure of an object or machine etc.

2.     Reduce the amount of verbal talking and help in giving clear explanations; visuals in charts, graphs, diagrams and posters, cut down words.

3.     Present the information in a specific and systematic manner. Since majority of them are formal aids, they have to be very systematic and organised.

They are also popular because they are

1.     Comparatively less expensive.

2.     Easy to make as no technical skills are required. Regular teachers, with some knowledge of drawing and who desire to be creative can prepare them.

3.     Easy to use. Very special arrangements and machines are not required.

4.     Easily usable and reusable as they are flat, two-dimensional materials.

Graphic Aids - I

This section includes those graphic aids which have similar principles of preparation, presentation and storage, and can be employed to do serious classroom teaching in home science.

Graphic Aids - II

This section includes those graphic aids which primarily may not be used for serious classroom teaching, and have individual, specific principles of preparation and presentation. Nevertheless, their knowledge may aid a home science teacher in doing her job efficiently.

PICTURES AND PHOTOGRAPHS

Pictures and photographs are visual materials, used to stimulate a learner's interest. Properly selected and adapted they can help readers to understand and remember the content of accompanying verbal materials. They aid in teaching and learning as they:

1.     Provide exact visual records of objects and persons; the photographs have greater exactness than the pictures as the artists's ability and bias are not reflected in these; example - a photograph of woman is an exact likeness of her, but a portrait may show her more young and beautiful than she is.

2.     Recapitulate both inanimate and animate objects.

3.     Can be used for individual study by students which is particularly useful for the slow learners.

4.     Cover a variety of subjects; it is possible to take a photograph or draw a picture of almost anything; a teacher must build up her own picture/photograph file by collecting these whenever she can for ready use, rather than waste time by hunting for a specific picture only when she needs; examples - photographs of traditional wedding costumes of the different religions or states; home decorations in various communities, etc.

5.     Are compact and can be preserved for many years with special care and lamination treatment; this helps in conducting historical surveys of the past; examples-costumes, architecture, way of living, vehicles etc.

However, pictures and photographs have some limitations also. They may develop misconceptions of time, size and colour among the students:

Time - Photographs of child development-The actual development may have taken 12 years and the students may think it was faster than that.

Size - Picture of an elephant - a child who has never seen an elephant may think that it is as big as it is in the picture; or an enlarged photograph of a mosquito may convey the idea that it is actually of that large size; including other objects in the picture with which the students are familiar will help them to judge the size of the new objects.

Colour - If the pictures of flowers have colours, different than the real flowers, the students may develop misconceptions regarding colours of the flowers.

1.     The photographs can prove to be expensive because of rising cost of cameras, developing and printing. Check whether the cost of camera, film and processing are within your budget. Cameras range in complexities from those that are fully automatic to simple aim and shoot models; a camera which is easy and convenient to use is preferable.

2.     Pictures, if drawn rather than collected from printed sources, require artistic ability.

3.     These aids cannot depict ideas mainly dependent on motion; example - working of a sewing machine.

4.     Both pictures and photographs, if not properly stored, can fade and tear.

5.     To minimise this damage -

Put them in envelopes to avoid folding. Label them in albums.

Mount them either by wet method that is, by glue or fevicol, or by dry method which includes the use of butter paper and a hot iron.