Tools & Resources for visual learning

Important Tools And Resources For Visual Learning

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Last Updated on October 16, 2023 by Editorial Team

Individuals often retain information not only through reading but also through visual learning. For that reason, we often effortlessly remember the signs and hoardings. Accordingly, learners may learn topics finer when the educators employ some visually appealing tools along with the traditional pedagogies. 

Visual learning tools can be perceived as a set of ideas and concepts that are elucidated in the form of visuals for learners to ameliorate their understanding. Being aware of the edges, here we traverse through some eminent picks that you may consider while you grasp notions.

Visual learning tools- How do they stay pivotal?

Visual learning works[1] best for students who need phonological knowledge and awareness. Providing knowledge about the concept through images or other visual tools helps to eradicate the barriers to learning. Even if students do not have any difficulty in learning, they can get benefits through visual learning resources and methods. 

Visual tools not only help in building the concepts, but they encourage students to develop an interest in the learning process. We can find learners getting involved and learning with more enthusiasm. If visual learning takes place in the classroom with consistency, it surely helps in enhancing the student’s knowledge.

Here are a few advantages of using Visual Learning Tools and Resources:

  • Helps retain the information for longer periods: Visuals are the basic yet most effective tools to help students retain the information for longer times. 
  • Makes topic Intriguing: Mostly, students find few subjects or topics boring or uninteresting, and hence their focus and motivation go off. Visuals are the best resources to teach in an interesting way.
  • Aids in grasping concepts: Visual tools help students grasp concepts easily by using their imaginations and knowledge collectively. They can see and learn by absorbing, comprehending, and analyzing new concepts.
  • A quick and simple way to communicate: Providing information through classroom lectures is no doubt an effective way of learning, yet the same information by any visual learning tool can be processed even more quickly and in a simple way.

Visual learning tools and resources- Our eminent picks that succeed

Here are nine practical visual tools to learn that will help you plan and deliver engaging lessons to the students:

1. Educational Posters

These posters are a classic teaching tool that brings a visual appeal to the classroom and a practical approach. Keeping posters makes the classroom colorful and helps students see and learn consistently. 

educational posters

To make educational posters, use drawings, and attractively paste images and texts. Harsono[2] has made a study on the effectiveness of posters as a learning medium to improve student learning ability. The results showed that posters could be feasible and relevant to the learning media and process to ameliorate the quality of learning, also improving their engagement. 

So, introducing a new concept in the classroom would be a valuable resource for the learners as this will help them form a connection between visuals and words (or concepts).

2. Infographics

From pie charts, to bar graphs to all the various tools that are a collection of images, and data and give in information in the form of an informational graphic, are known as infographics. These may be great visual learning tools for classroom teaching as they can present complex topics in an easy-to-understand way. 

height infographic

Huseyin Bicen[3], in his research, outlined that instruction may sometimes be taxing. These challenges can be overcome by the employment of infographics. This ensured visual knowledge along with providing broader and extensive learning. 

Here choosing a color to represent a type of information may be very important as students associate the color with the information to retain it for more extended periods. 

3. Educational Charts

educational charts

Educational charts, which represent information, especially in classrooms and schools are gaining all the hype due to their value-added features and benefits for the kids. 

Using these simple charts is another exciting yet effective visual tool. These charts make the information more approachable for the students. You can present information in charts like handouts or reports: a pyramid chart is an effective way to present data at different levels (like food pyramid charts).

Lilis Patria[4] studied how charts can assist. The research was made on 31 students, the result of which outlined that these pupils could improve their vocabulary and their meanings using a wall chart. Further, a reasonable improvement in the teaching-learning process was also observed. A simple educational chart may contain important information and present the data visually appealing.

4. Educational Calendars

We all need an organized way to keep track of our day-to-day activities. An education calendar is a tool that helps teachers and students keep track of daily classroom activities in an organized way. You can make it more appealing by adding some design to it and hanging it on the wall in your classroom. 

Have a proper and organized calendar to make sure nothing is missed out. Update it regularly to make students look at it and get an idea of what’s happening in the classroom. Write down bold headings and use stickers to make the calendar attractive.

5. Flashcards

Flashcards

Flashcards are a classic visual learning resource that can bring a different yet effective approach to students when preparing for their exams. Flashcards are a handy visual tool especially useful for visual learners, students with Specific learning disorders (SLD), and even adults. 

Jonathan M. Goldlng[5] did research to study the use of flashcards in an introduction to psychology class. Around 70 percent of students in the classroom used flashcards to prepare for their examinations.  The results found that such students performed better with good scores. 

Helping extensively with memory, they are visually appealing as they have an image and textual content on the other side. And that’s why flashcards are an effective tool to leave a long-lasting impact on visual learning.

6. Whiteboards

Whiteboards

Visual learners can use Whiteboards to make mind maps or draw charts and diagrams to learn efficiently. The visual appeal of the Whiteboards helps with the understanding of concepts and effective learning. These permit the educators to inculcate standard topics and instead, make them interactive and appealing. This also helps learners grasp and clear their apprehensions and doubts. 

Abdulkadir Kirbas[6] studied how interactive whiteboards can support visual learning in middle school students. The results outlined that these tools may lead to effective listening comprehension and persistence of knowledge.

Whiteboards help make students take more notes, enabling them to have more interactive sessions and group activities.

7. YouTube Videos

Who doesn’t like to watch videos these days? But did you know that watching useful educational programs on YouTube can also be an effective visual learning resource? Educational videos such as animal documentaries or geographical videos can make learning easy. 

Cynthia J., Brame[7] outlined the use of educational videos for student learning; where it was elucidated that Videos that are carefully curated for education make students retain the information and data shown in them. Watching videos and later talking about it creates an amazing impact on students.

8. Pictograph

Pictographs are basic simple line drawings that have a visual appeal to make the learning experience better for students. Pictographs are an effective tool to explain complex topics step by step that is easily understandable. 

As information is split into steps, it’s easy for students to gain and retain the information contained in pictographs, even for students with limited comprehension skills.

9. Visual Notes

Visual Notes or Sketch notes are a fun way to show boring text in an appealing layout. Visual notes allow you to organize any particular topic’s data to translate it into visual form. Visual notes can help students draw simple lines, arrows, or colorful text. 

Visual Notes

Visual note-making[8] doesn’t require you to be an artist; you just need to be a little creative and innovative while creating visual notes. In short, sketch notes are a visual tool that lets you translate the topic into a concrete visual form to share with students.

10. Books

It is rightly said that books are a man’s best friend! When it comes to visual learning, books with plenty of illustrations, pictures, and graphics can be great for individuals who wish to grasp and retain information through learning visually. Visual books take a giant step forward by bridging the chasm that has been an impasse for many visual learners.

These books act as a hands-on guide for everyone who grasps visually. “The Power of Pictures” is one such book that has proven research on using the art-based approach for literacy improvement. There are three types of visual tools for constructing knowledge for K-12 students and this book talks about What, Why, and How to make the best use of these visual tools.

11. Websites

There are plenty of websites that help visual learners learn and succeed. A few websites like VisualSpatial.org, LearningScience.org, and FreeMind help learners with various subjects like Mathematics, creative thinking, science, interactive web lessons, and much more. Many of these websites also act as a great resource for learners who wish to watch experiments and lessons right before their eyes.

Conclusion

Everyone can learn at a different style and pace. Some students may learn by listening to classroom lectures, while others may be visual learners, and they learn, retain, and process the information easier when they see it. Hence, when applied and carried out constructively, visual learning can be a beneficial and nifty technique for students.

References:

  1. Raiyn, J. (2016). The Role of Visual Learning in Improving Students’ High-Order Thinking Skills. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(24), 115-121.
  2. Rosanti, S. Y., & Seman, N. A. A. (2019). The effectiveness of posters as a learning media to improve student learning quality. The Journal of Social Sciences Research, 97-103.
  3. Bicen, H., & Beheshti, M. (2017). The psychological impact of infographics in education. BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, 8(4), 99-108.
  4. Patria, L., Sudarsono, S., & Rosnija, E. (2020). THE USE OF WALL CHARTS AS MEDIA TO TEACH VOCABULARY. Journal of English Educational Study (JEES), 3(2), 169-177.
  5. Golding, J. M., Wasarhaley, N. E., & Fletcher, B. (2012). The use of flashcards in an introduction to psychology class. Teaching of Psychology, 39(3), 199-202.
  6. Kirbas, A. (2018). The Effect of Interactive Whiteboard Applications Supported by Visual Materials on Middle School Students’ Listening Comprehension and Persistence of Learning. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 6(11), 2552-2561.
  7. Brame, C. J. (2016). Effective educational videos: Principles and guidelines for maximizing student learning from video content. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(4), es6.
  8. Ross, Steffen. (2014). Visual Note- a cross sectional look into the past. Journal of Forensic Radiology and Imaging. 3. 10.1016/j.jofri.2014.11.008.

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