Graphically Speaking A Thousand Words

Word Count:
428

Summary:
They say that a picture speaks a thousand words. Why should we let all those words be wasted if there is a better way? When I was younger, I remember wishing that somebody would turn all those lines of words in my books into pictures. My teachers would often come to class with charts which summarized entire chapters. These were easy to understand and very colorful. What I liked most about them, however, was that they made learning fun.

Today, my kids have started studying ...


Keywords:
Graphic tools, educational software, brainstorming


Article Body:
They say that a picture speaks a thousand words. Why should we let all those words be wasted if there is a better way? When I was younger, I remember wishing that somebody would turn all those lines of words in my books into pictures. My teachers would often come to class with charts which summarized entire chapters. These were easy to understand and very colorful. What I liked most about them, however, was that they made learning fun.

Today, my kids have started studying long lines of words. I have been trying to teach them to use flowcharts and matrices and make their student lives just a little simpler. They have a lot of fun using their crayons and making their charts brighter and prettier.

Of course, more than being fun, graphic organizers of all kinds help enhance learning. They stress on the important concepts in a particular subject of study. They reveal the patterns and associations that exist between a number of different aspects. If you are trying to understand the elements of causality between a number of concepts, a graphic organizer makes that easier to understand too.

Brainstorming is made a whole lot easier when one tries to use charts and diagrams to pictorially represent the various ideas that emerge at various points of time. Most of the ideas that emerge at brainstorming sessions tend to appear rather random. So, it is a good idea to graphically represent the various associations between concepts so as to avoid confusion. If one does this right from the beginning, as the volume of ideas grows, the element of confusion will be kept in check. So whether it is likeness or antagonism or causality, maintaining a graphic organizer will make life a whole lot easier for you.

Times have also changed a great deal from the days when we had to sit down with our pencils and erasers, rubbing out older lines as new developments emerged. These days both children and grown-ups can avail of computerized graphic organizers. A simple click of the mouse and a little dragging will allow you to make larger and smaller modifications to your chart. So whether you are looking for an easier way to study new concepts or are simply trying to sift through the information that you have collected, graphic organizers are usually a great help.

Of course, for those of us that are not technologically inclined, it makes sense to stick to the good old crayons and sticky notes. However you may use those charts, make those pictures speak for you.