Infographics for Service Learning and Digital Literacy

Alexis Henshaw (Miami University) and Jill Hallam-Miller (Bucknell University)

At a May 2015 Mellon Basic Pedagogy Workshop at Bucknell University, Alexis Henshaw, former Bucknell Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science, and Jill Hallam-Miller, Blended Learning Librarian, examined potential benefits of having students create infographics as part of their semester-long projects for an International Relations course. Alexis designed the project, and invited Jill to provide a workshop for students to learn the basics of using the selected browser-based infographics tool. The following semester, Alexis worked with Jubilee House Community and the Center for Development in Central America to create a service learning project in which students would design infographics on issues related to women’s health and development.  In this poster session, we share information about the importance of infographics in student development of visual and digital literacies, and we share the details of how Alexis incorporated infographics into her courses and the impact of these projects on student experience.

Alexis Leanna Henshaw is Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Miami University in Ohio. She was previously Visiting Professor of Political Science at Bucknell University, where she was involved in the Bucknell Brigades program in Nicaragua. She teaches courses including: Introduction to International Politics, International Conflict Resolution, International Law, and Gendering International Relations.

Jill Hallam-Miller is the Blended Learning Librarian and the liaison librarian to the School/College of Management at Bucknell. She provides information literacy instruction and research assistance on campus. Her research interests include universal and instructional design. She earned her MSLS from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in educational technology through Boise State University.