Infographics, until recently, were known as a journalistic genre. However, borrowed from there, it was actively mastered the school space as a teaching method during the last decade. With the continuous flow of information, there is too much information that a student must absorb. There is a need for new effective means of providing knowledge to students. These requirements are met by infographics, which help in conditions of excessive information and lack of time to comprehend it.
Infographics are not just a modern teaching method, but one of the types of educational creativity. It allows you to present a large amount of diverse information in an organized form. This is why the modern school is urged to more thoroughly deal with the introduction of infographics in the school information space.
This article will discuss educational infographics. We’ll discuss what infographics are, the psychological impact of infographics in education, and why infographics are effective.
What is an infographic and how is it used in education?
Infographic – a way to convey an idea, based on the illustrative accompaniment of some information. Infographic is a type of chart, the specificity of which lies in the special organization of the material, in particular in the combination of graphic images and text.
The most important thing in an infographic is still the information. The design is just a way to deliver it in a way that will be understandable to anyone who sees it. This way of presenting information differs from the others with the following features:
- Brevity
- Visualization
- Creativity
- Simplicity
- Accuracy
- Transparency
Infographic is not just a set of charts and numbers combined in one image, but a really high-quality product – it’s nice to look at it. And it doesn’t matter what language it is in. High-quality infographics will give meaning in any language. The text is not able to do so.
The high-quality infographic is interesting to watch, no matter what topic it is created for. Indeed, when you don’t know what the article is about – it’s boring and incomprehensible, and you do not always read to the end. The figures and charts, on the other hand, give an understanding at a glance. Vector graphics are often used to create high-quality infographics as they can be scaled up or down without losing any quality, enabling them to be used for both small and large-scale projects.
Today, many researchers note the increase in information activity that is characteristic of modern society. First, it is manifested in the information consumption rate increase, and second, in the emergence of new ways of its production. With the development of information technology, there is a need to study a variety of information sources. The role of visual images as a means of knowledge transfer is increasing. In order to help educators transform the traditional learning system into a technologically evolved one, we need our best people in the field. Education software development company understand the needs of teachers, trainers, and learners and create applications that will benefit all stakeholders in the education industry.
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Undoubtedly, their role in the future will increase, given that visual technologies are developing rapidly. So, below are the main benefits of infographics in education:
- Information from infographics is much easier to remember than from plain text.
- The important facts and excerpts from the text remain on the infographics, the unnecessary things are discarded. Therefore, it is much easier to perceive information in this way.
- Unlike articles, an infographic immediately catches the eye of the reader.
- Even boring data in infographics become more interesting.
- Infographics have become a popular format, so many people look for information online in this form.
- Infographics are more often saved in bookmarks, sent to friends, or shared on social networks.
Some teachers argue that infographics are no different from other ways of displaying information in an image, such as illustration. They tend to add an image to pdf files for quick reference. I can formulate the main features that distinguish an infographic from an illustration or a scientific and technical image. They are sketchiness, conventionality, and aesthetics.
What are the main features of infographics?
Simplified solutions are usually used to convey arrays of numbers and rations. Such schematics allow focus and concentrate the student’s attention on certain conclusions, to strengthen the perception of necessary ideas. To do this, redundant data, superfluous landmarks, and unnecessary details are discarded. The data on the number, location, rations, and structure of the object is visually presented in a simplified form, without unnecessary details and explanations. And this schematic representation of information is the essence of infographics.
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The second feature of infographics – its conventionality – lies in the processes of coding and decoding information. First, it is encoded by the teacher, presented by him or her in graphic form, and then unraveled by the student. Decoding visual information is an everyday perception function, but it acquires a special kind of graphic mystery. I can say that an infographic is a rebus, a charade, or a visual challenge, the solution of which increases self-esteem, and symbolic-graphic composition is subconsciously perceived as an additional positive impulse.
Graphical diagrams, charts, and maps are not the only tools that attract the student’s attention. The information they encrypt must be read and then scrutinized. The main purpose of infographics is, first of all, to be understandable, and then to be beautiful. Of course, aesthetics and color is important. Graphics with an understandable hierarchy of information will be attractive and interesting because of the detailed construction of the image. So, what psychological impact of infographics in education is?
- Infographics make it easier to absorb information
Studies of Brain Hemispheres have shown that the main resources of intelligence are associated with the organization of active interaction between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Infographic objects, included in the educational-methodical complex, stimulate simultaneous work of the left and right hemispheres. They supplement imaginary impressions with logic and abstract models of objects, processes, and phenomena.
They make perception more “volumetric” and comprehensive, thinking deep and developing, and learning fascinating and effective. Thus, the application of infographics in education has a double effect: controlling and stimulating the student’s cognitive activity. Infographics also develop cognitive abilities, forming practical information skills and intellectual activity economization skills.
- Infographics can arouse emotions
Infographics can be used in the classroom for students to carry out discussions or to make their own to share with their classmates or on online social media. Visual communication by using infographic increase the collaboration, engagement rate, and conceptual understanding of learners.
90% of the information that enters the human brain is visual. This is why it is much easier to perceive and assimilate. Moreover, images are processed 60,000 times faster than plain text because the visual endings have 70% of all human sensory receptors.
It takes only 13 milliseconds (ms) to process simple images and evoke emotions. The brain needs 150 ms to perceive abstract symbols, and it takes another 100 milliseconds to understand their meaning. Any data is much more effective and better perceived by the students if it is expressed in a visual format. This positively impacts the appearance of the emotion.
Infographics have an impact on the psychological side of an individual. They are able to evoke an emotional response, which is why this way of conveying information is so effective for discussing something. To do this, teachers use certain colors, illustrations, and other elements that evoke a student’s emotions.
- Infographics catch attention
Infographics serve to present the triad “data, information, knowledge” in the form most convenient for quick and effective human perception. The psycho-physiological basis of infographics is in the human ability to grasp the content almost instantly, much faster than when reading. Besides, infographics have another advantage – they can enhance and stimulate human cognitive abilities. When dealing with pictures, a person recognizes the images, patterns, and trends without excessive effort.
The preprocessing functions are performed by the eye automatically, without the involvement of consciousness. These functions are called pre-attentive by psychologists. It means that if something new and important occurs in the field of vision until the primary functions identify this new information as important, the corresponding data are not passed up the hierarchy. It should be emphasized that the ability to perceive data and the quality of processing objects at the pre-attention level is influenced by how well the object is technically represented in the image. That is, how easy it is for the eye to recognize. The clarity of boundaries, contrast of neighboring areas, etc., are important.
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- Infographics are almost automatically memorized
The advantages of infographics over standard text and oratory are quite significant. 65% of students perceive information primarily through the visual channel. Infographics effectively influence 50% of people. As for text, only 28% of such content is fully read by the students, and only 20% of it stays in their memory.
High-quality infographics are never forgotten. Bright graphic images are firmly imprinted in the consciousness. Clear and visual presentation of information distinguishes infographics from the usual text, especially voluminous. Text is difficult to work with and difficult to remember. Figures that were on the last page can slip students’ minds by the beginning of the next one. With infographics, it’s easier. Everything is close at hand – students can compare, analyze, and draw some conclusions for themself.
Moreover, if an infographic is really interesting, then there is a high probability that a student will look for more information on the subject on the Internet. There are so many websites that contain only infographics. Using infographics in the classroom can encourage children to look up information on the Internet.
- Infographics inspire confidence
A student tends to trust what he or she sees. Infographics give a person the opportunity to see the information. Whether its History, Chemie, or Mathematics – the figures, designed graphically, make it clear at a glance what’s what. The student will trust infographics even if it has mistakes. Students’ trust in infographics is also complemented by specificity.
All texts, and the rest of the content as well, lack a lot of specificities. A simple example. Replace the phrase: “World War II, also WWII, or the Second World War, was a global military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945” with “1939-1945 – Second World War duration”. This is a hackneyed example, but proven facts and figures always work better than beautiful epithets. Concreteness is always and everywhere good. It inspires confidence.
Conclusion
In illustrating certain issues, infographics emphasize the most important parts of the material through graphic elements. This allows the student to be properly introduced to the information. Or, conversely, the authors of infographics do not emphasize specific elements of the material. Thus a student is introduced to an infographic in sequence, realizing that each block has value. Infographics allow us to purposefully form the skills of highlighting the main and significance in students through emphasis.
Research to date has largely focused on understanding the use of infographics in education. They show that students must have the knowledge to understand the educational context through infographics. At the same time, teachers must have the ability to present educational information using infographics. Almost all students have a positive attitude toward infographics. It develops their learning skills, motivation, and creativity, so they prefer to learn with visual materials rather than with books.
Based on my experience, I can conclude that almost all students are satisfied with the use of infographics in education. It effectively expands their knowledge and learning skills.
