Infographics for Student Engagement

Regis University: Learning Technology Fair. March 2016 Kim Hosler, PhD CC&IS khosler@regis.edu

What’s an infographic? Visual presentations of information that use the elements of design to display content. They convey a self-contained message or principle or bite size chunk of info. Why use infographics?

– To communicate a message. – To present large amounts of information. – To reveal the data in new ways – To visualize what’s happening. – As a form of creative assessment. – To engage.

• Address 21st century skills

• Common Core standards

• Compelling, attractive

• Easily scanned & viewed

• Show processes, relationships, compare & contrast, timelines, statistical information, key ideas/information

Image from http://images.fastcompany.com/upload/Creative-Process-Infographic-Large.jpeg

“… the goal of information visualization is not simply to represent millions of bits of data as illustrations. It is to prompt visceral comprehension, moments of insight that make viewers want to learn more” (Singer, 2011). Infographic source = http://elearninginfographics.com/adult-learning-theory-andragogy-infographic/

How are infographics engaging?

Found infographics: Education vs Income Level http://www.varsitytutors.com/blog/education+vs+income+level+in+the+usa+infographic

Battles of Civil War http://www.civilwar.org/resources/battles-of-the-civil-war-infographic.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Innovative Civil Engineers and their Buildings http://visual.ly/five-unforgettable-civil-engineers

The DIY Guide To Infographics http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2011/07/the-dyi-guide-to-infographics-infographic.html

The 2020 Census http://www.census.gov/library/infographics/critical-path.html

STEM Education http://www.edutopia.org/stw-college-career-stem-infographic

Students can ... deconstruct found infographics. … locate two different visualizations presenting data about same population, investigate comparisons, research contradictions. … annotate infographics. … create original infographics (excellent format for them to synthesize complex concepts and data).

… translate non-visual resources (narratives and text-based data) into original infographics to evidence comprehension and analysis.

Create your bio as an infographic! https://magic.piktochart.com/output/7086811-drhope4tech

Create your syllabus as an infographic https://magic.piktochart.com/output/2570368-syllabus-wr-13300 1. Present learning objectives or course assignments

as infographic. 2. Revisit presentations. Is there content in any of your

slides you could make into an engaging infographic? 3. What ideas, timelines, processes do you want to

teach/communicate? 4. Create an infographic to illustrate & more clearly

explain instructions 5. Can you present a concept from your course as a

visual metaphor?

Start small & simple. Clearly state what infographic is about. (think thesis or purpose statement, most important stats or data)

Use free templates; swap out text for starters. Play with available icons & images. Source your infographic. (see http://blog.visual.ly/source-code-the-5-rules-of-researching-and-sourcing-infographics/)

Stick with most important stats/data/info & content.

Venngage simple and easy to use. https://venngage.com/

Easel.ly dozen free templates to start you off,

which are easily customizable. http://www.easel.ly/

Piktochart easy-to-use editor, lots of good free

templates to get started. http://piktochart.com/

Canva You can create posters, flyers, slides,

infographics & more https://www.canva.com/

Singer, N. (2011). When data struts its stuff. New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/business/03stream.html?_r=0 Trowler, V. (2010). Student engagement literature review. Retrieved from:https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/studentengagementliteraturereview_1.pdf ================================================= Blooms taxonomy as Infographic http://elearninginfographics.com/6-levels-of-blooms-taxonomy-infographic/ Kathy Schrock (assessment) http://www.schrockguide.net/infographics-as-an-assessment.html Tons of examples here - http://elearninginfographics.com/category/educational-technology-infographics/ Katherine Schulten. Teaching w/Infographics (2010) http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/teaching-with-infographics-places-to-start/?_r=0

References & Resources

New York Times Learning Network (2011). Data Visualized: More on Teaching with Infographics. http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/data-visualized-more-on-teaching-with-infographics/?_r=1 Educause (2013). 7 Things you should know about infographic creation tools. http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-about-infographic-creation-tools How to Create Powerful Infographics http://www.contrastcreative.com/design/how-to-create-powerful-infographics/ Nathan Bellato (2013) Infographics: A Visual Link to Learning http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=2556269

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