Autumn 2017
Wikipedia defines infographics as “graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended
to present information quickly and clearly.” The key to their effectiveness is the visual aspect, with
color-blocked sections, images and icons, different sized fonts in different
styles and colors, charts, graphs, and maps, and limited text to highlight main
ideas. Because “vision is probably the best single tool we have for learning
anything….the more visual the input becomes, the more likely it is to be
recognized—and recalled” (Medina, 2014, p. 191). Thus, infographics are a great
tool for teachers to create handouts, posters, and presentations that are
visually impactful for students. Students can create their own
infographics for a variety of purposes, such as a presentation, a component of
a project, or even as a study guide.
One
great resource for making infographics is PiktoChart. It’s an easy-to-learn way
to make infographics quickly because of the large number of templates available
to jump start the creative process. It is free, but upgrading to a fee-based
membership allows for many more templates, animated icons, and higher-grade
resolution for downloading and printing. There are discounts for teachers and a
classroom package so students can have their own accounts. Still, I found that the free option had plenty of templates, shapes, icons, charts, maps, and
graphs to suit my needs. There is also the option to upload your own photos for
use. I really liked the versatility of this program. Although the template is
provided, you can change anything and everything as you need to, including the
number and size of the blocks in the template, color schemes, fonts, text
sizes, and icons.
I created an infographic for the topic of digital citizenship for students at the high school level, applicable to any subject. It presents the nuts and bolts of copyright, fair use, and
public domain, including their definitions, how to use media in these
categories legally, and available resources such as Creative Commons
and Photos for Class. I loved creating this
infographic. It was a great way to focus a large and complex topic into
manageable pieces visually broken down by the color-blocked sections. The
creativity involved with selecting colors, icons, and text block sizes to make
a visually appealing and informative infographic was engaging and fun, and I
imagine students would view the process similarly. I was able to create it
rather quickly, but I can see how easy it would be to get lost in searching for
shapes and icons and experimenting with different color schemes, because it is
fun! The one downside to PiktoChart is that there is no platform for group
work, so students working collaboratively on an infographic would need to do it
in class, with one person signing into the account and then passing the laptop
around to others in the group to work on their parts. However, the fact that
the PiktoChart templates are divided into blocks would easily facilitate group
work, as each person could be responsible for designing one block in such a way
that it leads to a cohesive whole.
Medina, J. (2014). Brain
Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.
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