Blog Post 3

            To help my audience visually understand keystone species, I made an infographic using Picktochart. I chose this platform because there are many different types of keystone species, and I felt that having them all on a poster was the best way to get information about the species. An infographic let me give a digestible amount of information about a variety of species, instead of a great deal of information about just one specie. Focusing on a singular specie would not cover the global phenomenon that are keystone species. This method of visualizations also allowed me to include videos of different species.

            The images used in my infographic were selected to show the wide variety of keystone species there are in the world. I have examples of predators, herbivores, mutualists, animals, plants, and fungi. I chose species that were familiar and pictures that were colorful and eye-catching to draw the audience in and make them interested in the information. I made sure to use some well-known species so viewers could use their background knowledge to relate to the poster. I also included some species that the viewer might not have heard of before, so the viewer would be able to add to their knowledge. Creating a visualization allowed me to show a picture of the animal and its ecosystem, instead of just using words.

            Doing this visualization deepened my understanding of keystone species by introducing me to animal I did not know were so valuable to their ecosystem. In creating the visualization and finding pictures of species I grew more connected to the creatures, something reading about them alone would not have made me feel. I cared about their plight, and want to ensure than them and their entire ecosystem survive. Visually seeing the effects of the loss of a keystone deepens the understanding of the importance of keystones in a way that text alone cannot. Having images, like the one below showing the effect of the starfish keystone, really shows the impact of a loss in a way that cannot easily be described in words. The videos were also helpful in showing the animals in action. The videos were engaging and made the animals less abstract, helping the view to relate.

 

 

            I have always thought that learning using visual aids was a good way to learn, and this process has confirmed my thinking. As the saying goes, a picture is worth 1000 words. To me, that is very true, especially when learning about something as tangible as species. Viewers will already have background knowledge of an organism, and will be able to connect with the images using this prior information. The images will serve to deepen their knowledge. This process has influenced by future teaching because I know how to make a good visual representation, and I know how effective they are as a learning tool. I will be able to use visualizations to deepen students’ understanding of key concepts.