Brain
is capable of absorbing 36,000 images every minute and almost 90% of the information
absorbed by the brain comes through the eyes. Stemming from these facts, today visual
information such as pictures, drawings or dynamic videos is often designed to
facilitate learning and instruction. These visuals improve cognition by utilizing information, enhance the effectiveness of the
learning process and make it easier for the users to remember the details of
the subject.
Infographics,
in other words information graphics, are a new form of visual representation
that intends to represent complex data in a simple and clear way. In the recent
years, I have seen many good examples of infographics and can say that it will
become an essential tool for training programs.
Infographics have been around for many years and recently the proliferation
of a number of easy-to-use, free tools have made the creation of infographics
available to a large segment of the population. Today individuals use the social media to spread the ones
they prepare. In newspapers,
infographics are commonly used to show the weather and graphs for statistical
data. For information on the history of this tool please see the infographics
below or visit the following link http://bit.ly/16TpmAo
For successful infographics there are two main dimensions that we need to consider:
Content & Design. For a successful design; Jason Oberholtzer suggests the
following in his article broadcasted at Forbes’ website:
- The infographics should have a structured content with a beginning, middle and end.
- Pick relevant images to your content.
- Simplify the text and the illustrations.
- Limit the focus to just one area.
- Label time sensitive data to make it credible.
If you would like to design your own infographics, there are many
web-based tools available on the internet. My favorite tool is http://piktochart.com/ For a more comprehensive list of free
tools to make infographics please see Angela Alcorn’s article
Infographics
is a good tool to break the training content into parts and then visualize it.
In a sense; they are like PowerPoint slides but more colorful and structured
ones. Please see the following two examples which are on learning and learning methods.
You should consider using these visuals in your training documents, slides and trainings developed for e-learning to enhance learning and to color up your programs. You can prepare student notes of a training program you deliver as infographics or you can prepare your slides especially that contain intense data by using this method.
You should consider using these visuals in your training documents, slides and trainings developed for e-learning to enhance learning and to color up your programs. You can prepare student notes of a training program you deliver as infographics or you can prepare your slides especially that contain intense data by using this method.
Resources
Hyerle,
D. (2000). Thinking Maps: Visual Tools for Activating Habits of Mind. In D.
Hyerle,
Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind (pp. 150-153).
Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind (pp. 150-153).
Infographic. Retrieved 09 27,
2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic
Kumar,
S. Infographics and Learning. Retrieved 09 26, 2013, from
Learnnovators:
Oberholtzer,
J. Retrieved 09 28, 2013, from Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonoberholtzer/2012/09/18/today-in-horrible-infographics-5-keys-to-creating-successful-infographics/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonoberholtzer/2012/09/18/today-in-horrible-infographics-5-keys-to-creating-successful-infographics/
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