This post first appeared on Daily Genius.
Infographics are a powerful way to synthesize data and information, making it easy to conceptualize a message with a glance. For this reason, they are becoming a popular medium in marketing and presentations because they are visually engaging and simultaneously informative.
This year for the first time, I asked my students to create an Infographic as their culminating project for our study of the 
Civil Rights movement. I wanted them to give a presentation, but also wanted to move away from the traditional PowerPoints or poster sessions that they have done in the past. I liked the idea of them learning to present content effectively in a creative medium, and infographics are perfect for that. For this, I elected to use my favorite tool for creating professional looking infographics, Venngage.
Venngage offers many powerful and free resources that students can use to build professional looking infographics, and I really like how the tools are simple to use. I was even more excited when I learned that they recently introduced a great resource for teachers – Venngage Education – which allows you to create class accounts where students can use the Premium Features to create infographics and share them privately or with the class. The cost is much lower than their premium subscription, and if you have a short project, you can sign up for the free, 2 week trial, which gives you 35 student/teacher accounts.
In order for my students to build their Civil Rights infographics, I divided them into small groups and then gave each group a topic to cover: Civil Rights Groups, the fight for Hispanic Civil Rights, the March on Washington, School Integration, and Racial Clashes & Violence. I intentionally left the topics broad so that students could explore and develop the projects based on their research. Students delved into key figures, dates, statistics and data, and more. As this was their first-go round, I was excited with the results. Students were allowed to be creative while engaging in research and developing a visual presentation for a broader audience as shown by some of these great examples: Civil Rights Groups, Racial Clashes & Violence, and March on Washington.
Learn more about alternative assessments this summer!
- Google & Web Tools in the Student-Centered Classroom
- Teaching History with Technology
- Differentiating with Technology
- And More!