First, why infographics? Aren't there other ways for students of any level, but especially middle school students, to show off their creative side?? Of course there are!! But infographics force students to take what they know and present with illustrations that really catch the viewers eye as well as text that is brief and to the point.
Photo Courtesy to LOLkagirlXX, DeviantArt via Ashley MacQuarrie, Learning Lift Off
Infographics can be a great getting to know you activity at the beginning of the year....what specifically do students want other students to know about them?? Then present this information in print and pictures using an infographic! They are able to use technology (which they love) and present information about themselves to others!
Another way to use an infographic in the classroom is as an alternative to essay writing! So often my students completely shut down at the thought of having to write a large essay about a topic. It doesn't matter if they choose the topic or not, they just DO NOT want to write, especially essays that are typically longer in nature. This is where the inforgraphic saves the day!! They have their topic, they do the research, and then they create an infographic to communicate the knowledge they have gained through pictures and text. They are suddenly excited about learning new information and completing a task in class. They are driving their instruction, which will cause them to remember more, and the teacher is there more as a support than the one doing most of the work! For example: you are getting ready to read a story about women's rights or you have already been reading about women's rights. They can create an infographic about what they have learned about the timeline of women's rights such as this one:
While these are just a few ways to use infographics in the classroom, I would love to hear how you use them in your classroom!! Show me, tell me!!!!
References:
There are many websites that help you create infographics, the infographic I posted about myself was created at piktochart.
I also found this website to have a lot of valuable information about using infographics in middle school classrooms: venngage.
There is also an amazing read from the piktochart website that gives valuable information about using infographics in the classroom: PIktochart Website.
Kathy Schrock's guide to using Inforgraphics as a creative assessment: Schrock
Hi Jamie!
ReplyDeleteI was totally unaware of infographics until I took this course. I had seen them before but never realized there was a fancy name and websites for them. After creating one for this course, I totally agree with you that these are great for a variety of content areas and grade levels.
At first I felt a little bit of "writer's block" because I had never done a project like this before and I was overwhelmed staring at a big blank screen. After playing around on the website, I realized how powerful of a tool it is to be able to incorporate images and graphs. Instead of typing statistics, I could show them. As you mentioned this provides a great alternative to writing a research paper and can help to engage the visual and art minded students. Using infographics as an introductory activity could help students become more familiar with the website and make them more comfortable when using it for a research project. I will definitely be checking out the resources that you provided. Thank you for sharing!
I completely understand your "writer's block" as I suffered from that as well!!! I googled using infographics in the middle school classroom and got A LOT of really good ideas!! I had used the infographic in my unit in Schoology as an introduction and had thought of using them in my own classroom as an alternative to report writing...but was really stumped as to how to include "words" them!!!
DeleteGreat idea about using the introduction activity as a way to become more familiar with the program before using it as an alternative for report writing!!
Thanks for your comment!!!
Hi Jamie! I had never created an infographic or even heard of them until this course. After playing around with Piktochart and learning how to use it, I enjoyed creating an infographic. My introductory activity on Schoology included students making their own infographic to introduce themselves. Most students like to be creative as well as use technology and infographics incorporate both of these things. Sometimes it is hard to figure out how to incorporate technology in math class, but I can think of several ways to use infographics in math. Students could create infographics on a certain concept or for a review at the end of a unit. Have you tried having your students create an infographic yet? I am just curious as to how students would actually respond to creating one. Thanks for posting your blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Heather!! I have not used infographics in my classroom...yet!! I do not have technology in my room permanently so I have to work around the schedule of others. Once we are finished with SBAC I am planning on reading a novel in my ELA class, so I am thinking when we are finished with the novel, or even as we are reading, that would be the perfect time incorporate an infographic activity or two....or more!! :)
DeleteThank you for your comment and question!!!
What a great blog! I never realized the value of infographics until I recently was able to put one together. This is a very creative way for students to put information in one spot. The students would love having the ability to work/create in their own way, rather than someone telling them exactly what to do and how to do it! Another thing I strongly agree with is using infographics as an introductory tool. This is a great way to allow the students to get to know one another! Finally, essay writing would be so much easier! My students struggle when they know they have a write a lot at one time. This technique would allow them to complete this task with more ease and relaxation! One question I would ask is how could I incorporate this into an elementary setting with limited technology? My students are all special needs with extreme behaviors at times and I would love to be able to use this idea to make everyone's life easier!
ReplyDeleteHi Melinda!! Tough group!! Is your classroom a multi-grade classroom, like an ILC or alternative class?? My suggestion with elementary is to start with an activity where the students are telling about themselves, then maybe move into a character study using a character that they are reading about in their reading books OR their favorite character from a tv show, cartoon, or even video game.
DeleteLimited technology is a problem for me too. Each grade level has ipad carts; however, I do not have one in my room permanently so I have to schedule using the cart when the others are not using them. If you have a computer lab, you could see if there is a time when it is free and you could possibly take your class there. Or if you have technology carts, see if there is a time when you could sign one out. I know when I taught elementary, I had three computers in the classroom plus my laptop. I had a reward system that allowed students to earn computer time, as well as index cards on a ring to tell students when it was their turn to use the computer. If you have technology but not enough for each student then maybe you could incorporate a system like that for your students?
Great question!! It is a shame that you do not have enough technology for all of your students as I am sure you could get more "by-in" with your students if you did!!
Hi Jamie!
ReplyDeleteThe infographic assignment that we completed a few weeks ago has been my favorite to date. I was surprised with my own creativity, and very pleased with how professional and fun the finished product was! If I was that excited, I'm sure your middle schoolers would be ecstatic. I love your suggestion of using it as an alternative to essay writing. Great examples!
HI Ashley!!! I have to admit that it was one of my favorites too....once I got over the "writer's block"!! As I learned more about the infographic and everything it included I was excited to look for ways to use it in my own classroom!!
DeleteWe are now in the big push for SBAC testing, but once it is over I plan to read a novel with my 7th graders, The Outsiders, and cannot wait to incorporate MANY infographics with our reading!!!!
Thanks for your comment!!!