The Power of Infographics

Infographics are powerful tools that convey information quickly and easily to people. They are visual representations for information and data presented in a way to catch your readers attention with pictures and short facts. The power of infographics in today’s world is how they show readers key points about a subject without the fillers of a paper or book. People today want to receive their information as quickly as possible, infographics  have that power.

The infographic on the right was found on Flickr under a creative commons search I did. I picked this one because you can easily see the presenters (State Farm & Donors Choose.org), as well as the information about their fundraising efforts clearly. Those are the key parts to a good infographic, images, length, and data. Edward Tufte defined graphical displays in the following: “Graphical displays should

• show the data
• induce the viewer to think about the substance rather than about methodology, graphic design, the technology of graphic production, or something else
• avoid distorting what the data have to say
• present many numbers in a small space
• make large data sets coherent
• encourage the eye to compare different pieces of data
• reveal the data at several levels of detail, from a broad overview to the fine structure
• serve a reasonably clear purpose: description, exploration, tabulation, or decoration
• be closely integrated with the statistical and verbal descriptions of a data set.

Graphics reveal data. Indeed graphics can be more precise and revealing than conventional statistical computations.” (Tufte,1983) The basis of this idea is to condense large amounts of information into main ideas so the reader can absorb the information.

Teachers can use this powerful tool in two ways:

1. As a teaching tool to highlight important ideas of a lesson or subject.
2. Have students develop infographics about a unit of instruction to test what they have learned.

Using infographics with students allows a fun way to develop and share their ideas about lessons that can be used for future reinforcement. You may choose to keep select ones to share with future classes for review purposes or to help students through enrichment opportunities.

Tools I have found for infographics are Easel.ly, Info.gram, Piktochart, Visme, Canva, and Smore. I like Piktochart personally, but as you play with them you will find your own favorite. No matter the tool you choose the important part is to have our students start using infographics. Any class, any subject can build, and that is how we draw our students into learning.

We need  to put more creative and problem based thinking back our schools to help students prepare for the world around them. Infographics are just one tool I found that can help with this issue. We need to push our students in their ways of thinking from jump through the hoop to how do I design the hoop and why not make it big enough to walk through. Our students need more than answers to be successful in life, so why not start giving them the tools for the future.

 

 

 

Resources:

Tufte, Edward (1983). The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press. p. 13. ISBN 0961392142