Visual Literacy: A Core Reading Strategy in the Age of AI
About a decade ago, I was involved in a professional development initiative in Houston known as Literacy Through Photography. The program aimed to enhance comprehension, discussion, and reading fluency, especially for students who struggled with traditional paper-based assignments. A unique aspect of the program involved artists visiting classrooms and sharing their abstract work with students. Instead of providing clear-cut answers or interpretations, students were encouraged to observe, discuss, and describe what they noticed in the artworks.
What I found remarkable was how swiftly even the most academically challenged students began to engage. They learned to pause, describe their observations, draw conclusions, and justify their thoughts. They weren’t just viewing pictures; they were reading them, employing the same strategies we expect when reading written texts. This approach felt innovative yet profoundly intuitive at the time.
The Current Digital Landscape
Fast forward to the present day, students are inundated with images and videos, from photos and diagrams to memes, screenshots, and increasingly, AI-generated images. These images are ubiquitous, appearing in learning materials, on social media, and in the tools students use daily. Many of these images appear sophisticated, realistic, and authoritative.
However, with advancements in AI, creating counterfeit images has also become easier. As educators and school administrators, we are confronted with pressing questions about misinformation, academic integrity, and critical thinking. The question is no longer just about students’ ability to use AI tools, but also about their capacity to interpret, evaluate, and question what they see. This is where visual literacy becomes our first line of defense.
Teaching students to read images critically and view them as constructed texts rather than neutral data reinforces the same skills we rely on for strong reading comprehension: reasoning, evidence-based reasoning, and metacognitive awareness.
From Photography to AI: A Practical Conversation
I revisited these early teaching experiences through a professional dialogue with a former university lecturer and professional photographer. We explored what it truly means to read images in the era of AI.
The distinction between treating images as data versus characters emerged as crucial. Once students understand that photos and AI images consist of characters like color, frames, scale, and viewpoint, they stop viewing images as neutral or factual. The discussion also highlighted the importance of evaluative reflection on images, fostering higher-level reading skills.
Whether students are analyzing a photo, creating an AI image, or reading a paragraph, they practice the same habits: slowing down, noticing, justifying, and revising their thinking. Understanding how meaning is created becomes more important than finding the right answer.
Reading Pictures is Reading
There’s a common misconception that visual literacy is separate from “real” literacy. In fact, the opposite is true. When students read pictures carefully, they are essentially practicing the habits of experienced readers. These include identifying what matters most, following structure and order, deriving meaning from clues, justifying interpretations with evidence, and revising first impressions.
From Composition to Comprehension: Mapping Picture Reading to Reading Strategies
Photography provides a practical way to explicitly articulate what students already do intuitively. By teaching compositional elements, well-known reading strategies become visible and transferable. Teachers can then explicitly draw connections between reading an image and reading a paragraph. This moment of transference is powerful.
Making AI Image Generation Teachable (and Safe)
In my classroom work, students use Perchance AI to generate images. This tool is accessible, age-appropriate, and allows students to iterate and refine prompts based on compositional decisions rather than striving for novelty. Students don’t just create an image once. They plan, revise, and evaluate, shifting the use of AI from short-term behavior to conscious design and reflection.
When the Classroom Conversation Begins to Change
Over time, classroom conversations evolve. Instead of saying “I like it” or “It looks real,” students start saying “The Creator wants us to notice…” or “This detail suggests…” These are reading sentences, and they demonstrate that images are accessible, leading to increased student participation and deeper understanding.
Visual Literacy as a Bridge, Not an Addition
Visual literacy is not an additional subject competing for time. It’s a bridge, especially in the age of AI. By teaching students to read pictures, schools reinforce reading comprehension, conclusion and evaluation, evidence-based thinking, and metacognitive awareness. In a world filled with AI-generated images, teaching students to read visually is no longer optional. It’s literacy.
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Author’s Note: This article emerged from teaching practice and professional dialogue with a former university lecturer and professional photographer. Their contribution shaped the discussion on visual composition, semiotics, and reflective image reading, without their involvement in publication or authorship.
About the Author: Nesreen El-Baz
Nesreen El-Baz is an ESL educator with over 20 years of experience and a certified bilingual teacher with a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. Currently based in the United Kingdom, El-Baz holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Houston Christian University and specializes in developing innovative strategies for English language learners and bilingual education.
