In today's digital and technologically-savvy world, infographics have become more and more popular. In the book, Argument in the Real World, Turner and Hicks (2017) explain that infographics are a type of digital text that is an integration of words, numbers, and visual components. Infographics present a visual for students in addition to information they may be reading in a textbook. Visual aids are necessary for teaching and can also be created by students to share and present to their class to defend their perspective on a certain topic.
Infographics increase student engagement. According to the Youtube video, Why Do Infographics Matter?, “90 percent of information transmitted through the brain is visual” (2017). I completely agree with this statement. I am a visual learner and learn best through seeing pictures or other visual representations with short captions and explanations.
When thinking about students creating infographics, I envision students collaborating with one another. Turner and Hicks (2017) mention “...creating infographics allows students to engage in inquiry in interesting ways” (pg. 74). Infographics can be used with nearly any subject. They would be an engaging and fun activity for students to demonstrate their understanding during or to conclude a unit of study. In my class, we cover several units of study including The Road to Revolution, Natural Disasters, and Ecosystems. Students could create an infographic with their research at the end of each unit to show their knowledge and what they have learned throughout the unit. Students could also create an infographic to explain certain math concepts we may be learning. The possibilities are endless when it comes to using infographics in the classroom!
Made with Visme Infographic Maker
Just like with any good lesson should begin, modeling and showing students examples of infographics will help set expectations and get students thinking about what they want their infographic to include and look like. I have included an infographic above that I would use to model when teaching our Road to Revolution unit. In this unit, we discuss the events that led up to the Revolutionary War and America becoming a free country. This allows students to build background knowledge and truly understand why the Declaration of Independence is so important. Pinterest also includes many infographic boards created by educators to share with their students. As I was looking through this board, 100 Best Infographics for Kids images | general knowledge, knowledge, infographic, I found many amazing infographics that I could share with my students!
References:
Doyle, L. (2020, October 01). Why Are Infographics Effective in the Classroom? Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://www.easel.ly/blog/infographics-effective-classroom/
Easelly: Infographic Design Tips and Tutorials. (2017). Why Do Infographics Matter [Youtube Video]. In Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLDxBbQcwNY&feature=emb_logo
Kiger, P. (2019, August 20). 7 Events That Enraged Colonists and Led to the American Revolution. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://www.history.com/news/american-revolution-causes
Kumar, P. (2020, March 02). Advantages of Infographics for Education: Slidebazaar. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://slidebazaar.com/blog/advantages-of-infographics-for-education/
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Vernons. (2020, September 24). How Infographics Can Be Used for Any Classroom Subject. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://www.easel.ly/blog/infographics-can-be-used-for-any-subject/
Brittney,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your blog post, and the different examples of how you would utilize an infographic in your classroom with your students. I am always trying to learn about new and creative strategies for improving my practice as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, and I really think your infographic on the Revolution would be a great visual for all students, especially English Language Learners(ELLs).In addition, Turner and Hicks (2017)suggests that students "design an infographic to represent their inquiry" (p.80). The example you provided along with many other ideas can support projects or questions students may have about a specific topic or idea.
According to Pazilah and Hashim (2018) "Communication and visual tools are among the most powerful tools that a teacher can use in a classroom" (p.37). I think the visual benefits of infographics provide simple supports to helps ELLs understand challenging topics. In other words, infographics take all the difficult jargon out of simply reading the textbook or completing an outline, and instead create visuals that are more comprehensible to ELLs.
Wonderful post, it was very helpful to see how you took challenging content, and presented it in a simple, but visually appealing format.
References
Pazilah, F. N., & Hashim, H. (2018). Using infographics as a technology-based tool to develop 21st century skills in an ESL context. Journal of Educational and Learning Studies, 1(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.32698/0242
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Heinemann.
Brittney,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog post and I loved the video! I have always known that I remember in pictures. When I study for a test, or try to find my keys, I am remembering what the information looked like the last time I saw it, more than what the information "is". So with that, I loved to learn that "90% of information transmitted through the brain is visual" (Easelly: Infographic Design Tips and Tutorials, 2017). It made me feel less weird!
Gallagher et al. (2017) concur with this in the results of their study. They surveyed students in an online course, regarding the usefulness of infographics as a review tool. "The majority of MOOC learners understood the summary infographics presented to them, with 88% (n = 1,588) responding that they had understood all infographic parts...This suggests that the summary infographics had a high level of comprehension from learners" (Gallagher, et al., 2017, p. 136).I think that Tufte (1983) explained it well when he said, "The task of the designer is to give visual access to the subtle and the difficult" (Tufte, 1983, as cited in Turner & Hicks, 2017, p. 61). Since the brain is processing things visually, restructuring complex data into easily digestible visualizations is a noble calling!
References:
Easelly: Infographic Design Tips and Tutorials. (2017, March 15). Why Do Infographics Matter [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLDxBbQcwNY&feature=emb_logo
Gallagher, S.E., O’Dulain, M., O’Mahoney, N., Kehoe, C., McCarthy, F., & Morgan, G. (2017). Instructor-provided summary infographics to support online learning. Educational Media International, Vol. 54(2), 129-142. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987/.2017.1362795
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Heinemann.
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DeleteBrittney,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great read! I love how you stated that infographics can be used in any subject. Before this module, I had no idea what an infographic was and I when I began researching, I saw infographics about Earth and it stated facts about it and I also saw a history timeline about a certain war. It's funny how I have also seen them but I never new what they were called. "By putting it all together in a format that is easy to read and understand, you will draw your audience in and keep them hooked (Turner and Hicks, 2017). Once I saw the infographic about the Earth and different facts about it, I thought to myself that this would be something awesome to show to my students and maybe they can create an infographic about a planet in the solar system. Any who, I loved your post, awesome work!
References
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: Teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Heinemann.