Infographic Creation as an Essential Skill for Gen Alpha’s Visual Literacy
More than ever before, we are constantly and continuously trying to survive, create meaning, build knowledge, show presence, produce, disseminate, learn and teach in digital, visual, multidimensional, dynamic, interactive, data-rich environments. As millennials, we attempt to understand the learning needs of the Alpha generation (Gen Alpha), in order to address them successfully while providing them with relevant conditions and suitable environments. As researchers and practitioners, we are looking for answers to the question of what formal and informal learning environments and processes should be in place so the Gen Alpha can become creative, media literate, divergent and critical thinkers, self-directed learners, entrepreneurial, innovative individuals with strong communication skills. Visual Literacy (VL) and the associated skills are highly related to the above competencies, and it is thus hypothetised that by developing or extending the latter, VL skills will also be developed or enhanced further. In order to develop VL skills, we aim to enable individuals to engage in communication processes by interpreting and creating visuals effectively.
Infographics, as an effective means of visualization, are the focus of this special issue. Our goal is to bring together research that focuses on the usage of infographics in formal and informal learning environments, and also on the creation of infographics as a high-level skill necessary for the development and enhancement of Gen Alpha’s Visual Literacy.
Defining Infographics
Infographic (or information graphic) is an effective form of visualization, which enables conveying and communicating information in a holistic, flowing, eye-catching and digestible way by relating complementary elements through combining text and various types of visuals. Beyond the static and tall examples that we often come across, infographics can be also created as dynamic or interactive, depicting different levels of reality, within two/three-dimensional environments. Animated infographics where iconic narration is supported by movement, video-graphics where real image recording is combined with graphics, dashboards where numerical data are presented, AR-VR environments that bring together virtual and real graphics on a three-dimensional plane, illustrate why Gen Alpha prefer them since they constitute more contemporary, technology-rich, multimodal, and sophisticated multidimensional media.
Infographics for the Development of Visual Literacy Skills
The process of creating infographics may provide an environment/situation conducive to the development of VL skills due to the complexity of information and graphic types it may contain compared to other types of visualization. In fact, beyond just being able to read and understand trending types of infographics, learners also need to be able to create effective, complex infographics by developing their visual literacy skills, with emphasis on visual writing. From this, two main questions arise:
- How can infographics and infographic creation be handled in the context of informal/formal learning environments? Does the process differ especially for interactive or animated infographics?
- What is the relationship between infographics/infographic creation, visual literacy and other related currently important literacies?
Infographics for Collaborative Visualization
Beyond just being a visualization process with highly individualized information, infographic creation is a potential means to support the development of social skills so that knowledge can be co-constructed, made visible and disseminated. For this, it is necessary to focus on a growing intersection between studies on visualization and collaborative learning, computer supported collaborative learning, and collaborative knowledge construction. Examining the relationship between collaborative visualization and visual literacy skills is also relevant. Some questions we can focus upon regarding this dimension, are:
- What should the collaborative visualization process be like while creating infographics?
- How can collaborative visualization be addressed to improve visual literacy skills?
Keywords: Infographics, information graphics, information design, visual literacy, multiliteracy, infographic creation for learning and teaching, collaborative visualization, Gen A
Topics
- We invite empirical, design-based or theoretical full papers with a focus on infographics which relate to visual literacy skills. Topics may focus on the confluence of infographics and visual literacy that include, but are not limited to: Static/dynamic/interactive infographics creation/mixed media infographics (animated infographics, video-graphics, student learning dashboards, AR-VR infographics)
- Innovative classroom activities covering infographics/infographic creation
- Infographic creation and targeted Gen Alpha skills (digital literacy, visual literacy, graphic literacy, information literacy, critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration skills, etc.)
- Collaborative visualization and creating infographics
- Assessment methods and tools for infographic creation (rubrics, eye tracking etc.)
Important Dates
- Deadline for submissions: November 30, 2023 Extended to December 28, 2023
- Deadline for reviews: December 29, 2023
- Authors notified: December 31, 2023
- Deadline for revisions: January 30, 2023
- Special issue publication date: April 2024
Submission Guidelines
The full paper (5000-7000 words) should be prepared according to the JVL’s guidelines.
Guidelines for manuscript submission and instructions for Authors:
Manuscripts should be submitted through JVL’s Editorial Manager platform: http://www.editorialmanager.com/rjvl/default.aspx.
When submitting your paper, please be sure to select the special issue option and follow the Journal of Visual Literacy/JVL reference style guide. All submissions will be blind peer-reviewed by at least two independent, anonymous expert reviewers.
Further information and Inquiries
For further information and inquiries, you may contact the guest editor, Dr. Pınar Nuhoğlu Kibar via pnuhoglu@hacettepe.edu.tr.