10 Visual Tools that Make Learning Easier

Education is important for everyone. However, we all learn in different ways. This means that educators need to diversify their teaching materials in order to meet all of their student's needs. 

Evidence has shown that one of the best types of teaching materials used in the classroom is visual aids. This evidence shows that visual tools and aids for learning can have an enormous impact on the amount of information students retain. While many students find it difficult to retain words, visuals tend to be more concrete and easier to recall. Not only that, but when content is presented visually, it’s usually a lot more engaging for students too. 

Visual tools and aids for learning expand far beyond the realm of presentations and posters. In fact, educators are now able to enhance other types of documents too, including lesson plans, progress reports, and research reports. After all, educators get bored too, right?

If you’re looking to engage your students with visual aids and tools, then here are some of the best visual aids available. Not only will these tools help you to engage your students in the classroom, but they will also help you to plan and deliver your lessons more effectively too:

One of the best visual tools that make learning easier in the classroom is concept mapping. Online concept mapping tools can be used to produce visually pleasing concept maps. No matter whether your students are starting a new project, planning an event, or writing an essay, concept mapping is an effective way to share ideas with other people. Not only that but brainstorming a topic using concept maps before writing about it can help students to focus their thoughts and ideas before writing them down on paper. 

One classic visual aid that can help to breathe life into your classroom is educational posters. Not only does hanging posters up on your classroom wall add some color to the environment, but they can also act as a useful resource for your students too. 

There are several tools out there that allow you to take videos or images and enrich them with more information. One of these tools is ThingLink. ThingLink allows educators to add notes, questions, audio, and other multimedia content to their images and videos. Not only that but it can now be done with a 360-degree image too. 

Another great visual tool in a classroom is a chart. Simple charts can be used to make data more approachable, and they can also reveal the stories behind the data too. Educators should look for ways to present information in their handouts, presentations, and reports, and then find a chart that suits this type of information. For example, a pyramid chart is the perfect choice of chart for educators who are wanting to visualize a topic that has different levels. 

Another great visual tool that can make learning easier is Venn diagrams. Venn diagrams are a powerful way to identify differences and similarities between two or more items. 

No one likes to sit in a classroom for hours on end watching a boring presentation. So why make your students sit through one? Instead of this, why not design a creative presentation that keeps your students engaged with the lesson. 

Simply add some bold and bright colors to your presentation, as well as some creative fonts to make your presentation more interesting. You could even add some charts, photos, and icons to illustrate concepts. 

Presenting information in a visually stimulating and creative way will help your students to get excited about what they are learning. 

While normal creative presentations are a great way to engage students, evidence has shown that no type of presentation is more than video presentations. Video content can breathe life into instructions, and it can make content real for students. 

Unless you’ve spent the last ten years living off the grid, then there’s a high chance that you’ve seen the odd meme or two. Memes can be an interesting way to introduce a range of content into your classroom. For example, you could create a meme for your classroom rules. Rules are often restrictive and boring, so use a meme for them to make them more engaging. 

Storyboards are a brilliant teaching technique for anyone wanting to summarize the lesson of the day or simplify complex information and present it in an easy-to-understand way. Storyboards consist of pictures and illustrations with notes that briefly outline what is visually highlighted. In fact, they are very similar to the comic book strips that students love. 

If you're worried the students in your classroom are finding a topic difficult to understand, then educational infographics are a great tool to use in your classroom. There are several different types of infographics you can create, depending on the type of information you wanting to visualize. For example, you could make an infographic that shows a timeline of events, one that summarizes a new topic, or one that explains a process. All of these things can help your students to understand complex subjects. 

While some students can learn from lectures, others need to be able to connect to the information differently for it to be meaningful. This could mean using accessibility aids to help students who are finding a topic hard to understand, challenging learners to think critically through project-based learning, or engaging unenthusiastic students through game-based learning. However, you don’t have to completely change your lessons to reach all of your students. Often you just need to present the same information in a new way that appeals to auditory, visual, and tactile learners. Evidence suggests that over 65% of students are visual learners. If you want to reach the visual learners in your classroom, then make sure you try out some of the ideas we’ve listed above.