17.08.2022 by Anete Ezera
The upcoming school semester is right around the corner. While students and their families are busy with back-to-school shopping and preparing for the school year, you are planning out the study materials and counting the days until the first class. You might feel nervous preparing materials for in-class and online lectures (if you need to go back to remote or hybrid classrooms). You also might be thinking of new ways to engage your students, especially if there’s a chance that remote or hybrid learning might take place this semester as well.
Whatever the case may be, you need to prepare ahead of time. Remote and hybrid learning is challenging for educators and students alike. Staying focused on students isn’t easy, and engaging students during a whole lecture isn’t a walk in the park. Educators have to get creative and try different ways to keep their students engaged and interested in class material.
In 2022, it looks like many schools will be able to have in-class lectures. However, many students still get easily distracted and become unengaged, even when they’re attending class in person.
If you’re looking for new ways to keep your students engaged and interested, try teaching with infographics.
Think that creating infographics is too complex or time-consuming for you? Think again. There are many templates of infographics for education that you can use in any of your classes, whether that’s math, geography, foreign language, biology, or even sports. And if you’re wondering how to use infographics in the classroom, we got you covered. Keep reading to discover how to use infographics in the classroom in 10 different ways, plus engaging infographic examples for students.
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How infographics are useful in school
#1 Classroom introduction round
#2 Create classroom rules infographics
#3 Make an infographic syllabus
#4 Present data-centric information
#5 Break down historical events
#6 Ask students to present their findings
#7 Gamify your classroom activities with infographics
#8 Use infographics for class discussions
#9 Use school infographics as a homework assignment
#10 Explain a complex topic
How infographics are useful in school
Picture this: you’re lecturing your students on a complex topic in math, English, or any other subject. Instead of battling with unengaged students or their distractions, you notice how interested they are in the topic. They pay attention to what you’re saying and pour over the visual materials you’ve prepared. They have no trouble following the theory because it’s presented in front of them in an easy-to-read format – an infographic.
An infographic is a versatile form of content that combines design, data, and information. It’s the perfect mix of engaging visuals and insightful information – all that is necessary to capture your students’ attention and break down complex topics.
65% of people remember visual information better, compared to only 10% that remember information they hear out loud. People strongly depend on their visual memory; therefore, it’s easier to learn and understand visual cues than instructions read out loud or written in text. Furthermore, visuals improve learning and information retention by 78%. It makes it clear that visual learning is much more effective for most people than auditory or other learning techniques.
Lastly, a study on communication and infographics found that infographics increase reading comprehension by 50%. No wonder why you can always spot an infographic in the doctor’s office. It’s one of the best and easiest ways to inform the public about an important statistic.
Teaching with infographics is nothing new. Many teachers use school infographics to explain a topic or give additional guidance to students. But it’s not just informational infographics that you can use in your class – there are different kinds of infographics and at least 10 ways to use them in lessons – let’s explore that together!
#1 Classroom introduction round
Introducing yourself to the class can be intimidating, and for some students, it’s something they dread on the first day of school. To ease the pressure, you can use infographics for the round of introductions.
Either create an infographic yourself or ask students to create an infographic about themselves that they can present to the class. Provide a few questions or points they need to mention in their infographic so it takes less time to create them.
As a result, students will be more relaxed and confident when presenting because they’ll already know what they want to say. You’ll gain more insights into the personalities of each student, and everyone will feel more comfortable and connected.
Try this resume infographic and modify the content to your liking.
#2 Create classroom rules infographic
When in class, there are probably a few rules you want your students to follow. Whether you have a no-phone policy or safety rules for chemistry class, you want your students to keep them in mind and follow them as directed.
Instead of always pointing out the dos and don’ts, create an infographic with all your class rules and place it in a visible spot in the classroom. Your students will have a much easier time remembering the rules when they’re placed in front of them.
To create an infographic for this purpose, select the note board infographic visualized below and edit the content. Add other visuals like images, icons, charts, and more to highlight key points in your infographic.
#3 Make an infographic syllabus
You and your students need to have a clear overview of what topics you’ll discuss and when. You want your students to be informed about the plan for the semester so they know what to expect.
If you want to make your syllabus more memorable for your students, create an infographic. In your infographic, you can display the same information you would have presented in written text but in a much more visually-appealing way.
As a result, your students will remember the content of the syllabus better, and you’ll be able to easily share it online and offline with everyone.
#4 Present data-centric information
There’s nothing worse than data-heavy learning material in text format. Comprehending text-based information is considerably more difficult and time-consuming. A study on text illustrations found that people who followed instructions with text and visuals performed 323% better than people who only followed text-based instructions.
If you want your students to understand and analyze data-rich information, consider presenting it in an infographic. You can even use interactive charts and maps that allow your students to discover data by scrolling, clicking, and hovering over data points. Your students will be more engaged in the content, and they’ll have an easier time remembering the information.
#5 Break down historical events
Historical awareness is crucial for students to understand how history has shaped the world we live in today, but listing names, dates, and events can be overwhelming and difficult for them to follow. To simplify the learning process and provide a better overview of the development of historical events, use a timeline infographic.
A timeline infographic is great for visualizing the development of an event in chronological order. You can include additional data in the form of charts or maps to enrich the infographic. You can also add images, icons, GIFs, and other visual elements to make the timeline infographic more engaging and visually appealing to your students.
As a result, your students will have a better overview of the historical event, and you’ll be able to reuse this infographic for other classes. Furthermore, you can send the infographic to your students after class so they can use it to study for exams.
#6 Ask students to present their findings
How many slide presentations have you seen in your life? And how many have your students created? Probably a lot. It’s time to put a spin on things and make presenting more interesting for you and your students.
When assigning a research paper or a textbook reading to your students, ask them to present their findings using an infographic. This way, students will have the opportunity to create something new and discover new skill sets.
They can either create an infographic from scratch or use Infogram’s predesigned templates for free.
#7 Gamify your classroom activities with infographics
Games are great for creating a fun and engaging environment for students to learn. Whether it’s an online game or something you can play in class, most students are happy to participate and learn along the way. But did you know you can also use infographics for this fun activity?
Infographics can serve as great tools for games. For example, use a flow chart for creating a quiz. You can also use interactive elements like charts and maps to make the game more engaging and insightful for your students.
#8 Use infographics for class discussions
Class debates are great for teaching your students how to deliver arguments. It’s also an opportunity for your students to learn topical subjects and reflect on their opinions and assumptions.
For an interesting classroom discussion, use comparison infographics. Display two sides of a topic and list the arguments on each side. In class, invite your students to compare and analyze each argument and come up with insightful conclusions.
With a comparison infographic, your students will keep track of the arguments of both sides and compare them side-by-side. It will provide a better understanding of the topic and help to conclude the main takeaways.
#9 Use school infographics as a homework assignment
The more time we spend working with a piece of information, the better we understand it. If there’s a complex topic you’re planning to cover that you expect your students to struggle with, ask them to create an infographic.
Finding the right information to use in an infographic with visual elements or data visualizations takes time. Students have to develop a better understanding of the topic to create an insightful infographic.
Creating infographics for education is a great way to learn, and there are a few better ways for your students to develop an in-depth understanding of a topic.
They can either start from scratch or choose a variety of templates in Infogram’s library.
#10 Explain a complex topic
School infographics are great for breaking down difficult concepts into easy-to-understand formats. If there’s a complex topic you’re planning to teach your students, consider creating an infographic about it to simplify the learning process.
An infographic will help your students to have a better overview of the topic. For example, if you need to explain a complex process, use the process infographic visualized below.
Tip: Remember to use visual metaphors like icons and other elements to make the infographic appear in a visually-pleasing way that’s easy to read.
Infographics for education aren’t only useful for visualizing data-rich information. They are versatile, engaging, and visually-appealing content forms that can elevate your classroom activities and student engagement. Teaching with infographics is a great technique to introduce and analyze different topics in class, and it helps your students to retain information for a longer time. It’s time for you to try it out for yourself. Browse the school infographics examples for students we listed in this article or click here and discover what else Infogram has to offer!
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