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A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words, Especially When There's Words on it - A Look at Infographics and Use in the Classroom (Tech Task #9)

Who doesn't like a good meme? A simple picture with some overlaid text that expresses social commentaries and opinions often for entertainment purposes. But what if you want more your image to communicate more words and for informational purposes rather than entertainment? That is where infographics come in. 

What is an infographic?
What not a better way to explain what an infographic is than an infographic itself. 


Image sourced from Glean

Can infographics be useful in the classroom?
As a learner, I prefer visual aids to assist with my learning. I find that I am more engaged with the material and have an easier time understanding the content if I organize my notes into charts, diagrams or other graphic organizing. Although it is not the case for all learners, some students benefit from visual aids.  I believe that infographics can be useful in my classroom by providing visual aids for my students both during and after lessons. 

Infographics are stronger visual aid because unlike a picture, an infographic has text to communicate the exact information you want your students to hear. Using an infographic as a visual aid can enhance some students' understanding of the material and limits the room left for misinterpretations. It is important for any teacher who uses visual aids of any kind to keep in mind that visuals contribute to students' cognitive load (<--- click the link to learn more about Cognitive Load Theory).

Other ways I believe infographics can be useful in my classroom include the following: having students create an infographic to enhance ICT skills and provide another means of representation, using infographics as anchor posters of relevant information and sparking discussions within the class. Check out this blog for more ideas on how to use infographics in the classroom. 

Below are two infographics that I could use in my classroom as both visual aids and/or hung up as anchor posters. The infographics give clear and consider information on the two topics.

Images sourced from Canva

Infographics I created
Creating has always been a hobby of mine. I enjoy making handmade cards and using my Cricut machine to cut out vinyl material to be placed on clothing, glassware and canvases.  Recently, I have taken more of an interest in creating designs online for both graphics and presentations. For this blog post, I spent some time creating infographics for the first time. Below is the first infographic I created. To access the PDF version of my infographic, click this link.


I had a lot of fun creating the infographic and I am excited to create more for my classroom. What are your thoughts on infographics in the classroom? Do you think they could be useful?

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