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Edugraphic

"Education graphics" or "edugraphics" are graphic visual representations of educational information intended to simplify social-cultural content, communicational content, linguistic content, etc. The use of rich visual content improves cognition, as the students comprehension is enhanced when both visual and text-based cues are combined.

Edugraphics have existed since the use of learning manuals in elementary school, high school or even university. These edugraphics, known by the term "infographics" or "information graphics", are used to explain different subjects (geography, history, science, biology...). They were used to illustrate some aspect of the lesson (map of invasions, timelines, internal organs...) and they were drawn or made by computer graphics.

Infographics were also used in some old newspapers with bar charts or pie-charts and are now being used in several media and they serve to condense large amounts of information gathered from data banks that are nowadays easily found on the internet.

Even if the term "edugraphic" has not yet been used widely, the new ways of learning (MOOC) will spread the word, for it will become necessary to create edugraphics which are highly adapted for these open courses.

The difference between infographics and edugraphics are basically the way contents are treated because they are not data but pedagogical content, like theories, process, rules (grammar, maths)... Infographics may be used in school for pedagogical purposes but are not intended to explain pedagogical facts.

Edugraphics combines 3 basic elements: visual content (icons, images, colors), pedagogical content, and a learning scenario (story).

Visuals are a basic and important element. Basic notions of design should be use to create an edugraphic, for instance how to use colors properly (contrast), how to use fonts meaningfully and how to organize every single element in a canvas.

Pedagogical content is of course the main reason for creating an edugraphic. The contents have to be related to a specific subject for the course. For example in a French course, if the teacher is explaining the vocabulary of the body (head, mouth, eyes..), instead of listing the vocabulary, a simple edugraphic will use a picture or a drawing of a character's body and each part will be pointed out with arrows. But that is a simple edugraphic. What about explaining the use of an auxiliary verb in French (‘avoir’: to be) to the student? The edugraphic could show illustrations of someone's birthday: "j'ai 15 ans", someone who is showing a car as if it were his: "j'ai une voiture", or someone who is really cold : "j'ai froid".

Finally, the scenario. As interesting as the content should be, the way it is told or explained to students is often as important as the content. Students are going to engage more if the content is appealing to them.

They are 5 types of edugraphics: Oneshot subject, timeline, process, gameboard, instructions.

Oneshot subject: Edugraphic that puts a simple educational fact into illustration. One single image equals a rule or a notion.

Timeline: When dealing with historical issues, a great way of showing each step in history is through a timeline. It is easy to understand the facts when represented in such a manner.

Process: Explaining to students how the water cycle works is a perfect example of a process-type edugraphic.

Gameboard: Gameboard edugraphics allow teachers to use a model where students can interact. This representation is used to show a certain type of process mixed with timeline elements.

Instructions : An edugraphic that helps students follow simple steps that are well illustrated with icons and images. A sort of Ikea instruction manual but for education.