If you’re an innovative educator who knows your
students sometimes find traditional teaching methods like textbooks and tests
to be a bore, consider infographics.
These great tools are making their way into more and
more classrooms. Take for example the following infographic. It shows that while
there are some exceptions, overall, countries that have
high levels of English speaking citizens tend to have a better Gross Domestic
Product (GDP).
This type of infographic is a great way to ignite
student’s curiosity and contemplate questions like:
- Why is this case?
- Should all countries invest in English language learning?
- What is the correlation between GDP and other languages?
- If/when a country prioritizes learning the English language does it lead to increased wealth and power?
Rather than giving students assignments with answers
residing in the teachers’ edition, innovative educators are using infographics
like this which require students to use critical thinking skills and don’t
necessarily have just one right answer.
Some educators are not only using these as tools to help stimulate
critical thinking and discussion, they are also encouraging learners to create
their own infographics using tools like Thinglink
and Visual.ly.
Hey Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI have found that with an emphasis on data and computational thinking, my teachers/students are much more able to "get" the concept of integrating technology in learner-centered ways. It's a great way to extend the type of inquiry found in STEM to other subjects.
Bob
www.sharingtree.wordpress.com