Infographics in the Classroom? Yes, Please!

I had a lot of fun experimenting with infographics this week.  I can definitely see the appeal with infographics and why they are becoming a part of today’s classrooms.  This week, I used Canva to create an infographic and found it really easy to use and navigate.  Canva provides a lot of different options from templates, layouts, pictures, and text features, just to name a few.  Canva is also free to use, making it a great addition to any classroom. 

Since I teach middle school, I don’t think my students should have any trouble creating infographics.  In the beginning, it would take some teaching on my part as students learn the basics of creating infographics and get comfortable with whichever online tool - like Canva - we use; however, I do believe my students will learn best about creating infographics by experimenting on their own.  The majority of my reference classes center around research skills and I can see using infographics as a way for my students to present their research information in a fun, creative way.  Instead of students regurgitating information, I’d actually like for them to apply what they learned, and I think an infographic is an excellent way to do just that.   I believe students will see creating infographics as a fun learning tool, leading to higher student engagement.

Next year my school is going 1:1 with iPads so technology will be readily available, making creating infographics very easy and do-able.  Even though my school is not 1:1 yet, this year I do have daily access to 15 desktop computers in the library and an iPad cart.  There are also several MacBook carts and additional iPad carts available in my building.  Having a lot of technology available is a huge plus.  Obviously, without all this technology available in my building, projects like creating infographics would be very hard to incorporate into the classroom.

I can certainly see my students creating infographics to share information.  Can you?