Abstract:

By the age 21, the average student will have spent 10 000 hours on video games; talked for 10 000 hours on a cell phone; read for under 5000 hours, and the time spent on social networks, such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc. will escalate even more. That is why a new learning approach is needed. The presence of visual elements in today’s learning is increasing as the integration of images and visual presentations with text in textbooks, instructional manuals, classroom presentations, and computer interfaces broadens and that happens for a reason. The new 21st century skills are essentials and are now obligatory for every student and visual literacy, as one of those skills, is a critical part of information literacy. The paper aligns both visual literacy and information literacy competency standards, revealing connections and opportunities for practical integration in education, because a new deeper level of connection between students and teachers is needed, so the first ones could learn information, without considering it boring. Visual literacy and information literacy in today's digital world go hand in hand and are built into the educational process together. As a combination of knowledge, skills, practices for dissemination of information and knowledge in a new innovative way solve socially significant tasks that arise from real situations in everyday social life. In 2019 a project funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund started, entitled “Creation and development of educational and scientific facilities for documentary and applied photography as part of the training of students in the professional field 3.5 “Public communications and information sciences” (2018-2020), Contract № KP – 06 – M30/3 from 13.12.2018, led by Chief Assist. Kamelia Planska-Simeonova, PhD. The main objective of the project was the research and practical activities related to the formation of the visual literacy of students who are trained in specialties in the professional field “Public Communications and Information Sciences”, at ULSIT in hours of documentary and applied photography. Now, one of the last projects of ULSIT “A Conceptual Educational Model for Enhancing Information Literacy in an University Information Environment” (2019-2021), financed by National Science Fund of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, Contract № KP – 06 – Н35 / 10 from 18.12.2019, led by Prof. DSc Stoyan Denchev, aims to study the state of information literacy, with a special focus of intellectual property literacy in an university information environment among learners and trainers by challenging a civil debate on raising culture on issues of intellectual literacy among academics, which is extremely timely and necessary. The connection of both projects is revealed, as they are both aimed at those new skills, essentials for the whole community, especially in university information environment.

Keywords:

Visual literacy, information literacy, project, ULSIT, education, university information environment.