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AAC and Digital Image Literacy: Advancing Inclusive Education through Multimodal Communication

Within education, there is growing attention to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) within language education, with digital image literacy offering new opportunities for learners with Complex Support Needs (CSN). Their self-created photographs and films can be used to support communication, share personal experiences, and tell stories, thereby strengthening language skills and participation. The Film as Observable Communication (FaOC) method provides a practical approach for this. Learners create their own short films, known as Personal Video Scenes, which they can use in their everyday communication and language education. An important principle of the method is co-design with children. They are not merely users of the method but are actively involved as co-designers. Their own experiences, interests, communication abilities, and preferences are incorporated into the development and design of the method. This helps ensure that the approach is meaningful and relevant to each learner.

In our paper, “AAC and Digital Image Literacy: Advancing Inclusive Education through Multimodal Communication,” we describe how AAC, digital image literacy, and learner-created films can be integrated into multimodal language education. Digital images complement spoken and written language, symbols, and other AAC modalities. This gives learners greater opportunities to express themselves, tell stories, and actively participate in educational and social interactions. In this way, learners can develop as storytellers, filmmakers, and co-designers.

Our paper: AAC and Digital Image Literacy

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