
End of the school year means taking down old classroom decorations and thinking about ones for the new year. Here are 5 more infographics for the ITGS classroom.
Evolution of Computer Science

Rapid changes in information technology are the theme of this infographic. Starting with early computers during the 1940s, it highlights one of the key points of ITGS: technology evolves very rapidly.
This infographic can be used as a starting point for an ITGS lesson – the information stops in 2016, so students could add what they see as the the most important developments from the last two years to “finish” the infographic. Another task would be to predict which developments might occur in the near future (this is a great activity to do at the start of the ITGS course and then go back to review two years later).
Data size infographic

This is another infographic that would also work well with Computer Science, but is important for ITGS because it ties in with Strand 3.1 topics. Covering storage units from bits to yottabytes (YB), the examples on the graphic help students understand exactly how big modern storage devices are. A nice alternative to this infographic is History of Storage Media.
The Automated Home of Tomorrow

This simple infographic from Trend Micro looks at the technology that might be in the automated homes (“Smart homes”) of tomorrow. It examines how these technologies can benefit us, and what they might mean for our security and privacy. Trend Micro are clearly in a good position to be able to comment on such issues, and in fact some of the problems here (such as smart TVs ‘always listening’) have already occurred. This could be a good opportunity to discuss the line between the convenience of technology and the potential privacy impacts.
How Your Personal Information is Used Online

This infographic gives a handy overview of the types of data collected by major technology companies. These include Google, Facebook, and Apple. The facts here can be used as a discussion starter for pupils to consider the value of information to these companies – for example, why do Apple collect facial recognition data, and how do they use it? How can IP address and operating system information be used to personalise content? This links to lots of issues and content in ITGS strands 1 and 3.
E-waste

Electronic waste is unfortunately an ongoing problem, and is still the topic I find surprises my students the most. Many of them have almost no knowledge of e-waste until we cover it in class.
This infographic is very useful as a classroom display to raise awareness of the issue. Covering major aspects of the topic – e-waste sources, e-waste destinations, and the harm caused by e-waste, it also suggests ways of appropriately recycling material.


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