Infographics! That is a funny word, that we have not seen a lot of until a recent eruption of them. Infographics catch our attention because they look cool and have a strong visual grasp on our eyes, they shout out Look at me!!!!I like them because they remind me a of my childhood and playing games with my older brother like finding Waldo or I Spy, where you set out to explore a busy graphic and search for relevant objects.
There are many similarities between infographics and e-Learning. They display information in a real way and appeal to the visual learner.Those who design infographics start with tons of information and slice them and dice them into little bits of essential data.That’s very similar to what we do when clients handus a PowerPoint or a word document to be produced, and developed into a custom e-learning course.All the data is categorized and sorted out and drilled down essentialto core information then we build our courses around that. No different than creating an Infographic.
For the creative person who desires to create the incentive and learn more about visualization and design and how to process mass information at one go, infographics can be a solution.The one rule is to KISS (Keep It Simple &Short) works better than a flashy picture that can pollute the efficiency and purpose. They’re actually no different than a PowerPoint slide.However, instead of clicking forward horizontally, they’re stacked creatively in an organized vertical column that displays information in a new and exciting way. Maybe self consciously we learn better and retain more information when things are displayed vertically? I would love to hear some metrics on this. Are you using infographics in your e-Learning courses?
HOW CAN INFOGRAPHICS HELP CREATE BETTER E-LEARNING COURSE?
The need to share a lot information at one time has been a difficult battle to fight. We hear the complaints daily about needing to shorten the course but not shorten the content. Everyone always has too much information that needs to be learned and shared, for compliance reasons, company policy or procedure,oh and don’t forget the modules need to be not more than 30 minutes long.
Again, KISS will play a huge role in creating an infographic that will be useful. The right infographic will be filled with important segments of knowledge that can be easy to read and engaging to the learner. The infographic can be followed by a knowledge check point, perhaps a game. The infographic can be a stand-alone element and be e-mailed or posted in a cubicle.
Here is a thought when the course is completed, you can receive the infographic and a certificate of completion. Just a thought.
