Infographics as Assessment Part 2...Some Reflections

Every time I get a wild hair of an idea for a new assessment, I always worry about how it will go. Will the kids like it? Will they get it? Will it reinforce the skills I need it to? The ultimate plan was to combine rhetorical analysis skills, research skills, and synthesis skills into one presentation. Whew! That makes me tired just thinking about it. There was a lot of moving parts, and some of the kids struggled with this. We broke the assignment down into small chunks and checked off one part at time. This was great! The kids needed some feedback along the way to help insure they were on the right track. I set aside time to conference with kids about their ideas, their struggles, help with document ideas, and to help with understanding what an infographic is and how it works.This was a MUST, without this my kids who have been lost. Scaffolding for my struggling kids was HUGE! There are a few resources at the bottom of this page that I used and/or posted to my iTunesU course along the way.

Overall, I think it went well. I had some kids who missed the bigger picture of really answering the question: To what extent are the principles of our founding fathers intact in our current political discussions? BUT, even those kids who fell a little short of a full and insightful answer drew connections between the past and the present, they practiced their analysis skills, they practiced their research skills, AND they got to create some pretty cool infographics.

In hindsight, I need to do a little better job of helping with the conclusion part--the final conclusions of why we have changed. Here's a few examples:

Labor Practices:
Labor Practice | Piktochart Infographic Editor

Marriage Equality:
Almost Equal | Piktochart Infographic Editor

Abortion:
Abortion | Piktochart Infographic Editor

Infographics as Assessment

So, every year I hear about new tools and resources to use for alternative assessment methods and options for learners to demonstrate mastery. One of those things I kept hearing about and wanted to try out was Infographics. My kids have used Glogster and Smore many times to put together online posters to demonstrate their research or to aid in presentations we ask our kids to give. Over the years we have used many different websites and apps to replace the traditional poster which works wonderfully for giving learners a more authentic audience. They can publish their posters on the web, share them via email or social media, and reach out to a specific audience. However, these online posters have their limits. The creative aspects can be limited when trying to relay lots of information and demonstrating the connections between that info. So, I was excited when I saw Infographic creators for the first time a few years ago during an EdTech conference. I started small by making this an option in place of Glogster or Smore, but finally bit the bullet this year and created an analysis assignment which required more than a poster could establish. I suggested Piktochart and Visual.ly as the infographic creators. I had a few who chose Canva because it allows for a ground up build instead of relying on a template.

So, now the good stuff! Our question posed to the kiddos: To what extent are the principles of our founding fathers still intact in our current political discussions? The basic gist of the assignment asked the kids to research the principles of our founding fathers through primary sources (i.e. The Bill of Rights, The Constitution, etc.). They then took a look at one issue of their choice that is currently being debated (i.e. Gun Control, The War of Terror, Immigration, etc.). The first stop was a primary source document that set the precedent this issue (i.e. The Brady Bill, The Alien and Sedition Acts, etc.). Next, they looked at at least three different viewpoints from politicians, the judicial branch, or the legislative branch within the last five years on their topic. The kids chose things like speeches, laws, bills, court rulings, and even debate transcripts. Finally, the kiddos created an Infographic to depict the similarities and differences between the viewpoints represented in their research. They were asked to draw a conclusion about how and why these principles have or have not been kept in tack. For more info on the instructions, process, and rubric we used for the assignment, check out our iTunesU course on an Apple mobile device.

I'll update in a bit with some examples and reflections on the assignment.