Miss. Bueckert's look into Visual Literacy aka. Infographics (TT#9)

"The value of an idea lies in the using of it" - Thomas Edison 

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     Walmart's famous slogan is "Save money, live better." Nike says to, "Just do it!" Disney Land is the "Happiest place on earth!" I'm sure that even reading those slogans bring pictures to your mind. With Walmart, I can picture how my local store is laid out and associate Walmart with the colour blue. When I hear Nike's saying, I picture the running shoes my sister wears and think about my exercise routine. When I think of Disney Land, I can picture the Sleeping Beauty Castle and Minnie and Mickey waving at everyone as they pass by. These images are in my head for a reason; because I have seen commercials and have seen signs for these places throughout my travels. Along with commercials and other visuals, a new phenomenon has come into play; infographics. Infographics are another visual representation of information that have become popular for individuals, businesses, and not for profit organizations alike. They combine text and images to help bring your point across.

    With the rising popularity of infographics across the globe, that brings up the question as to how/if this should be used in the classroom setting. Based on my experiences as an early years educator, the idea of having younger students create an infographic sounds like a daunting task. I know that most kids love to create and make colourful creations so this may sound like fun to them. Unfortunately, logistically, this doesn't seem very easy to do. At this stage in life, many of my students are still learning how to read, write, and how to properly express themselves. The only way I would consider having my early years students work with one of the older grades in partners which would be beneficial for both parties. The older students could teach the younger kids how to use one of the infographic platforms and the younger students would really appreciate having an older student to consider. Additionally, I would consider teaching students in grade four about what an infographic is and show them how to use a program or two, otherwise the younger ones wouldn't participate in this activity. As the students get older into middle years, and eventually high school, I can see infographics as a powerful tool to use in the classroom. I think that we can use infographics as a tool for assessing what students know at the beginning, middle, or end of a unit. It could also be a way for students to show research they have done for an assignment. For example, in grade seven social studies, students learn about the way of life in Africa, Asia, or Australia. Students could do an infographic about a specific aspect of life for one of the countries listed. I will list an example about Australia here. It could also be used by teachers of all grades to show students information in a new way. For example, I could show my students an infographic on cyber bullying which can lead to a conversation around healthy interactions with friends or healthy ways to deal with conflict online. In summary, I believe that infographics can be a powerful tool to use in the classroom, however early years students will benefit from the help of older students if teachers choose to use it in their classroom.

    In my undergrad degree, I majored in geography but I also took many environmental science courses since the two disciplines can be closely linked at times. One of the course that I enjoyed was called Biogeography and Wildlife Management. In this course we learned about endemic species; species that only live in one area. If we take away or cause severe degradation to their habitat, then the animal may become extinct. It is critical that we protect their natural habitat in order for their survival. I've told you a little bit of information about what an endemic species which is great start, however it would be even better if I used an infographic to capture your attention. I would love to tell you about many endemic species but that would take a long time and I know that you, my readers, have many other things on your plate so I won't. I am going to do an infographic on one of the endemic species of Canada; the Vancouver Island Marmot.

    If you would like to learn a bit more about infographics, I would recommend the video posted below. It was helpful to me as I started to learn more about infographics. I personally used piktochart to do my infographic but there are other useful websites such as Venngage, Canva, or Snappa are also good choices. Thoughts, comments, pushbacks, or concerns? Let me know in the comments!