Posters have long been used to help further students’ educations. Everyone who has received an education in the developed world is used to seeing posters from their the time they enter school to the time they graduated. Research has consistently indicated that adding visual touches can greatly enhance students’ retention of material and their enjoyment of the education process. Often, however, teachers and professors fail to utilize educational posters as well as possible. Using existing designs can be helpful, but none can match the value of personalized posters for education. Here are five ways in which teachers can use personalized posters to enhance their students’ education.
1) Personalized posters can teach unique lesson plans
The best teachers go beyond the textbook. While textbooks are a cornerstone of the educational experience, it is the added lessons the teachers provide and their interpretations of the information that drive a top-notch educational experience. Textbook printers often sell posters that match the content and style of their books, but many teachers find that these posters fail to match their particular vision of the most important information and other critical facts. By using personalized posters, teachers can send the message they find most important in the manner they envision. A world history teacher, for example, might want to emphasize a different group of historical figures than the textbook would list. The teacher’s interpretation of the most prominent philosophers of the Renaissance era might differ substantially from what a textbook manufacturer believes. A math teacher might emphasize graphing equations over the Pythagorean theorem even though the textbook manufacturer disagrees. A chemistry teaching might argue that silicon is more important than potassium. For these teachers, personalized posters can provide more appropriate information, and they can provide it in a manner they deem most appropriate.
2) Personalized posters can be updated more quickly
Teachers are often aware of how slow textbook printers are to update their books to reflect the latest information available, and schools generally do not have the resources necessary to update their books frequently enough. The posters are often no better. An outdated poster can often cause more confusion than enlightenment. For many teachers, having a personalized poster is worth the effort. Those teaching computer science and computer skills are aware of how fast technology changes. With the increasing speed of computers, hard drive storage and RAM capabilities, posters may only be relevant for a couple of years at most. Teachers of politics and world affair face a similar problem, as elections and population shifts change the content of many of the most useful posters. Being able to update a poster as the underlying data shifts can help teachers remain engaging and informative.
3) Create more appropriate inspirational material
Many teachers believe that an important part of their job is to inspire their students to achieve great things both in and out of the classroom. Textbook printers and other sources provide teachers with posters that may be suited to this process. However, teachers often find inspiration and value in people and images that are not provided by these sources; a personalized poster can provide this for their classroom. Personalized posters also allow teaches to use local historical figures and locations that are not known nationally. Those in an economically depressed region may find that the best poster they can use to inspire students is one of a famous local figure who did great things for their community. Further, local landmarks and other images can instill a sense of pride in their students. Personalized posters may be the only way to achieve this.
4) Create a coherent series of posters
Teachers often spend years in the same classroom, and many seek to carefully design their classroom to become a better teaching environment. One disadvantage of standard educational posters is their clashing designs; it is often necessary to use multiple sources to relay all the information they wish to share, and the fonts, color schemes, borders and other visual aspects often clash. Teachers may wish to consider creating all their posters to maintain coherence between the designs. Having a matching set of personalized posters makes a classroom look more impressive and encourages students to use the posters as tools instead of mere distractions. It also tells students that the teacher genuinely cares for their education and wants to help them succeed. Further, the teacher may find the environment to be a more suitable place to teach for years or decades.
5) Use free online resources
One of the great advantages of the Internet for teachers is the availability of free educational material. Various licenses are allowing designers and educators to share their designs with the world at no cost, and these licenses often allow others to freely distribute, modify and print the work. Teachers are increasingly incorporating these images within their lesson plans, but many do not consider creating posters with these images. World maps and maps of the United States are often a source of frustration for teachers. While many options exist, sometimes none of the available maps relay the information they emphasize in their classes. Science and math teachers face the same problem, as the available posters are not always suited to their needs. Many of these teachers will find resources online that are better suited to their needs, and personalized poster printing services can help them transform these resources into great teaching materials.
Graphic design has become more accessible to a wide number of people. Many teachers, with a bit of help, can create their own personalized posters with a bit of work. Online resources and printing companies can often provide needed assistance. Teachers can also use the design of these posters as an education tool. Students are often capable of creating impressive designs; teachers can use poster creation as an extra credit assignment for their students and may be stunned at the results.