 |
|
  Graphically Speaking a Thousand WordsWe have all been told 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 would often wish and hope 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 very easy to grasp and very colorful. What I liked most about them, however, was that they made learning fun.Today, my kids have started their studies of long lines of words. I have been trying to teach them to use flowcharts and matrices and make their student lives just a lot more effortless. 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 boost learning. They emphasize 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 still in the process of grasping the elements of causality between a number of concepts, a graphic organizer makes that easier to understand too. Brainstorming is made a whole lot more effortless 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 suggestion 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 less bewildering 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 all kinds of alterations to your chart. So whether you are looking for an less bewildering 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 too prepared to deal with computerized flowcharts, it makes sense to stick to the good old crayons and sticky notes. Try using charts and graphic tools to make gathering and organizing data an easier task. Free Article Source: http://www.za77.org About The Author: Ajeet Khurana recommends that you find out more by reading: Graphic Organiser, Graphic Organizer Tool, and Educational Graphic Software. |