Using infographics to teach visual literacy and assigning them as assessment.

1. Infographics in Education
Visualizing Information
Seth Allen, MLIS, MA
Instructional Technologist,
Parkside Campus
Link to this Presentation:
tinyurl.com/infographics-sc

2. Defining Infographics
“Infographics, as the mashed up words imply, are information
graphics. They attempt to educate an audience about a specific topic
or issue in a visually interesting and easily navigable manner through
a combination of words and visuals. Infographics often communicate
complex quantitative and/or qualitative information quickly for their
audience. They typically combine data displays, lists, graphics, and
other visual elements to make a point; they intend to inform, and
frequently persuade, their intended audience about a focused topic”
(Toth, 2013, p.448)

3. The Ubiquitous Infographic
● Infographics are common tools in business, journalism, medicine,
and other fields to quickly communicate information
● While infographics can be helpful, many of them use dubious
statistics and are poorly designed, distorting the information they
are supposed to represent
● Educators should can incorporate infographics in the classroom by:
○ Teaching students to critically evaluate their accuracy
○ Assign students to find or create infographics to illustrate a
concept

4. Incorporating Visual
Literacy in the Classroom
Infographics should help visualize a concept, not
confuse the viewer. You can teach students about
visual literacy and effective visual communication by
showing them what NOT to do.
When teaching students to analyze them, look out
for:
● Dubious statistics and extraneous data
● Ineffective visual metaphors and cluttered
graphics
● Use of causal logic in displaying trends
● Inaccurate charts and graphs

5. Incorporating Visual
Literacy in the Classroom
●
Example of Causal Logic: Diet coke consumption
does not lead to teenage pregnancy!
Example of inconsistent units of measurement

6. Sample Learning Activity
This activity was taken from C Toth’s “Revisiting a Genre: Teaching
Infographics to Business and Professional Communications Course”
article.
Have student to find an infographic online and analyze it individually or as
a group. Some sites to find infographics include:
http://visual.ly/view
http://www.dailyinfographic.com/
http://www.coolinfographics.com/
Ask them to consider the following questions about their choice:
● What are the purposes of the infographics?

7. Sample Learning Activity, Pt. 2
● How persuasive are the infographics? If you think they are
persuasive, what would make them even more persuasive?What
original contexts would be most appropriate for the infographics?
● What visual design elements make you attracted to these particular
infographics? What visual design elements, if any, detract from the
main messages of the infographics?
● To what extent do the infographics contain misleading information or
data distortion?
● To what extent are the visual design choices effective or ineffective?
In what specific ways do the creators blend images and text?
● To what extent overall are your three chosen infographics effective or
ineffective given the audiences and purpose you have identified?

8. Infographics in Education
Helping Students Create
Their Own Infographics

9. DIY Infographics
In addition to PowerPoint, Adobe
Photoshop and Illustrator, there are
several websites that allow you to create
infographics. These sites include:
● Canva*
● Piktochart
● S’more*
● Venngage
● Infogr.am
*Best bets

10. Comparing Infographic Makers
Reproduced with permission from Dani Cook, Claremont Colleges Library: http://libguides.libraries.claremont.
edu/c.php?g=317817&p=2120100

11. How to Use Canva

12. Exploring Graphic Design
These websites are good sources to get
inspirations for creating or assigning that
students create infographic:
Periodic Table of Visualization Methods
Kathy Shrock’s Guide to Color Theory

13. Adding Pizzazz to Your Infographic
These websites are good sources for icons:
http://www.flaticon.com/
http://www.freepik.com/free-icons
And here’s a list of 49 sites with free icons:
https://designschool.canva.com/blog/free-icons-
download/
You can search Flickr and Google Images for
creative commons-licensed images.

14. Assigning Infographics in Class
Designing infographics can be a fun and impactful
learning activity. According to the dual-coding theory,
we naturally visualize facts in our minds (as cited in
Lawrence, 2015).
Consider turning your research paper (or
accompanying presentation) into an infographic. Be
sure to give students a rubric that guide the grading.
Here are some examples of infographic rubrics:
Kathy Schrock’s Rubric
Info Literacy & Infographic Rubric
Health Fitness Infographic

15. Works Cited
Lawrence, A. (2015, May 28). “The whats whys and hows of
infographics assingments.” Academic Technology at William
and Mary Blog. Retrieved from: http://at.blogs.wm.
edu/infographics-as-alternatives-to-traditional-writing-
assignments-what-why-and-how/
Toth, C. (2013). Revisiting a Genre: Teaching Infographics in
Business and Professional Communication Courses. Business
Communication Quarterly, 76(4), 446-457. doi:10.1177
/1080569913506253