New literacy post

The definition of literacy that I posted a while back relates well to visual literacy which is my focus for this assignment. Most people might imagine the literacy being described in this particular definition as something text based. However, I looked at the end of the definition where it states that literacy "involves interactions in a range of modes and through a variety of mediums" and I could easily see visuals fitting in to this description.
Constantly throughout the day I am bombarded with images trying to sell me something or show me which way to physically direct myself. Almost always these images are accompanied with some form of text. Therefore, to get the full meaning of either the image or the text I need to understand the other half. I can see the billboard advertising Taco Bell but I wouldn't know what exit to follow to get there if I couldn't also read the words and numbers on the sign.
I have been trying to learn about visual literacy with a focus in virtual environments but I am having a lot of trouble actually seeing these environments for myself. Apparently my computer is not equipped to handle all that is required for it to properly view these sites. So I have been reading about these environments and looking at still shots.
I have also been looking at some other sites that are just in the area of visual literacy not virtual environments and that has gone really well. I am a very visual learner and it is exciting to see all the different ways I can share that with my students. I have seen a lot of sites that use visuals to help teach foreign languages or that have students write a story around a picture.
There haven't been too many surprises so far. I have just been upset with myself that I didn't think about my computer not being up to date enough to handle me needs for this project.
I haven't seen the students use any virtual environments but I have definitely seen them use visuals in there daily routine. There are a lot of fun websites that they visit during computer time that use visuals to aid learning. The teacher also has lots of links related to what the kids are studying on the school webpage. I think it would be really cool to introduce them to some of the virtual environments I have been reading about but they would definitely need some instruction and time to explore before I would have them do an assignment with it.
The one time I did get into a virtual world I had to use reading, writing, listening, viewing skills altogether. I had to read all the different directions and hints the computer game me, I had to write responses to other players in the text box, I had to listen for their reply, and I had to look at all different pictures to get around. If I had a microphone I probably could have used my speaking skills to talk to the other player instead of typing.
As I said the most challenging part is getting my computer to co-operate. It freezes up a lot and doesn't show me all of my options. I have to try and find ways to get around not having the proper technology.
As far as reading and writing I would say these virtual worlds are more like reading and writing a comic book. I use very casual language and so do the other users. A lot of the time there are shortened forms of phrases that are used. I think they are similar to those used in texting but I had a hard time following some of what the other players were saying.
If I could get a better computer to use this virtual environment stuff on I would love to play around with it and use it more for teaching. I used to play WOW so I get into escaping into a different world.
My students would really need to work on following text that doesn't follow a normal format. In these virtual worlds there are multiple conversations going on at once and it is a lot to keep track of. Again kind of like a comic book. You have to know where to look next to find the rest of a conversation or story line. I might also need to learn how to use tabs and menus to tweak their characters and be able to interact in the virtual world.