It took a long time for me to create this infographic because 1) I am a slight perfectionist and sometimes get lost in the black holes of details and 2) I really wanted it to be something that would be useful in my work. I could easily have picked something like learner profiles that would have been easy and clear (in fact.. I’m wondering why I didn’t!) but I decided to create something for an upcoming parent workshop. I hadn’t even fully thought about what I wanted to present on but working on the infographic actually helped me think of what I wanted to present on.
The intended audience for this infographic is parents of children ages two to five years old. The purpose was to explain to parents how they can help support their child with their media and technology literacy while making sure that the exposure they are giving their child is productive and supportive in learning these skills. There are parents who use tablets and digital devices as literal babysitters and then there are those that think their child shouldn’t be exposed to screens at all and I wanted to show them a happy medium that will beneficial to their child.
Creating this infographic was different than designing other things because I had to compile the information I wanted to show. Normally I’m reading and then synthesizing and applying the facts and information into my everyday situations. This time, I’m taking the information and making it digestible for others without an educational background. Knowing that the intended audience is parents of my school, I used easy-to-understand language to bridge the language barrier as well as to give a sense of objectivity. I didn’t want parents to feel they were being judged.
Gathering research from Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years by Chip Donohue and conducting more research using Common Sense Media Census from 2017, I realized there’s not a definitive answer as to how much screen time children should get or what exactly they should do if they are on a mobile device. It’s less about how much screen time they get (to a certain extent and for certain ages) but what they’re seeing or doing on those screens that matter more.
Due to the nuanced nature of what I wanted to explain to parents, I thought the visualization would be a better way to explain things to parents. I followed the guidelines and chose a font and color palette that was both limited and easy to read (Designing Effective Infographics). I really enjoyed this week’s assignment because I really liked Easel.ly. This is a great place where I can create things for school and/or teachers. What I want to know is where has this website been all of my life??? I gave my infographic a beginning by introducing parents to some facts about technology, a middle; with the ideas on what they can do, and a conclusion about their role as a media model for their children (Basic Infographic Structure).
Some changes I made to my infographic:
- Originally had the red circle with passive vs. active on the right side but moved it to the left side so parents understood language before explaining the action
- I added a blue outline box around the action items to keep them cohesive
- I originally didn’t give myself credit anywhere, thinking that no one will be seeing except for me and for the parents at my school
- I added the source for the icons
If parents find this infographic to be useful and easy to read, then my job is done. I’m excited to create more of these for future presentations as I find they are great at communicating a lot of information and much more appealing than a typical powerpoint presentation.
Fantastic infographic Boramy, I really like the passive-active definitions for parents in bright and bold red to guide the viewer. I also like the flow of information from the what, the why with the statistics, and the how with the explanation of strategies to use. The contrast between red and blue is an interesting choice, was there a particular reason for choosing those particular colours?
In an international community with a variety of parent languages, infographics can be a great way to impart information in a visual way. The explanation of vocabulary and easy to recognize images further helps with clarity enhancements.
I think that one further enhancement for your infographic would be to include some sources or recommended further readings for parents who want to find out more. You mentioned the difficulty in searching data that helped you and demonstrated what message you are trying to send, so why not direct parents to those places to read on their own if they are interested.
Great job, I want to use it too.
Thanks Flynn! I think your suggestion is a great idea! I was planning on going further with all of this information during the parent workshop but it’ll be good for people who won’t be attending to have more ideas on where they can get information! I had a really hard time getting the image to embed in my blog but it just wouldn’t save and freeze my blog! I liked the way you included a link to the full image/pdf for people to use. I’ll add that to mine so people can do the same! I originally chose the variety of blues because I felt that it was very calming but I wanted to use the red to make certain things really stand out. The passive vs. active is a key idea that I wanted parents to understand so it needed a bold color! As we all know, red, white and blue make a great combination (as seen in the number of flags who use these colors) so if it isn’t broke… why fix it?
Boramy, the timing of this one could not be more perfect, I am actually working on a presentation on Digital Safety for our ECC parents!!!! So many thanks! This is very well laid out and hits on so many key points for parents to think about when it comes to screen time and devices. I like the statistics right at the top, this draws your reader in, and helps with an international audience, as numbers break through the language barrier. I also liked your section in red regarding “passive vs. active”. I also like the terms “consumers vs. creators” when trying to drive this point home, it’s really important for parents to understand this when it comes to tech, and many of them do not consider this.
I like your advice section for parents. I would have laid it out more linearly but your design works too. One piece of advice that I have would be to emphasize the section on being a positive role model more. As well, if you are sharing with your community, possibly have your contact details, should they want to contact you. A solid job, and thanks!
Hi Ryan,
I like the terms consumers vs. creators too! That’s a great idea and now I’m trying to decide if I should include them on the infographic or just use it in the presentation… choices choices! I agreed with the area of positive role models.. but at this point, my brain was so fried, I couldn’t think of how to make it better. But overall, I think the areas are clear eough where it’s not confusing. I didn’t even think to put a contact information – including my handle was a last minute thing… but maybe I’ll rethink that! Thanks for your feedback Ryan!
This is epic! Well done, Boramy! You clearly put a log of effort into this! Color me impressed! I wonder if all of us COETAILers could share our infographics in high resolution. This would be great to have! 🙂
-Alex
Thanks Alex! I made it so that it could be used so please share away! I included a link underneath – is that good enough quality? If not, I’ll email you a copy 🙂