I-Corps L: Recognize- an application to support visual learning

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Through the NSF Innovation Corps for Learning Program, (I-Corps L), this project will develop ways to help faculty to more easily utilize visual image recognition as part of their teaching, learning and assessment strategies. Many students are visual learners, which means they preferentially learn through visual sources information such as pictures, graphs, diagrams, and other images. Resources for helping faculty to effectively engage visual learners have been limited and purely visual communication that does not include some text-based information remains underutilized. This work will expand the use of visual quiz software called "Recognize." Recognize creates visual quizzes and is designed for completely non-verbal education and therapy. The approach is similar to the audio analog of naming a snippet of music. In use, Recognize slowly reveals an image (the visual question) which is matched to one of several other images (the visual answer). The reveal may be performed by adding more pixels, reducing blur, or other methods. For example, as a picture of Albert Einstein gradually increases in resolution, science students might pick a different picture of Einstein from among pictures of several other scientists. In our increasingly visual society, skillful visual communication is crucial. The approach also offers benefits in multilingual learning environments. Recognize's visual purity has potential for improving visual learning aspects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Moreover, because of the engaging nature of the quiz format, students may also find learning with Recognize enjoyable thus persisting longer in learning tasks. A key feature of Recognize is the ability of faculty and teachers to compose visual quizzes and assignments and to customize quiz parameters. Students have the potential of using Recognize to create study materials for themselves or other students. Several characteristics combine to give Recognize unique potential as a teaching and learning tool. Most importantly, while other interactive visual quiz software applications pose visual questions, Recognize also requires visual answers. This pictorial approach gives it special promise for teaching the natural and behavioral sciences, and for a wide variety of cognitive and social therapies. Further, Recognize will allow instructors to upload, improve, critique and share visual quiz content, making it easier for them to incorporate visuals into their teaching. Finally, Recognize is compelling and engaging to use even outside the educational setting, offering possible applications beyond Recognize's current educational mission. Using the I-Corps for Learning program, approaches will be developed to enable this visual learning tool to be more easily implemented and sustained enabling educators to find, author, and improve visual quizzes that match their pedagogical needs.