How would you feel if someone described you as being colorless? Yeah, it’s not exactly a compliment. Being called colorless is basically an unsubtle way of being told you are dull, uninteresting or boring. And just as some people are ‘colorless’, so is a lot of the content we deliver to our kids. But luckily it is a lot easier to inject a bit of color into a curriculum than it is into a personality.
In a recently published slideshare titled ‘Colour in Mathematics‘ Math teacher and blogger, Colleen Young, shows how she uses color to add clarity and engagement to her lessons:
Colleen highlights that color can be a particularly useful tool when presenting online. Not only is this clear from the slides, it is also a key design principle for presenting all sorts of content on the web.
The use of color can help clarity in online worked solutions for students.
As well as engaging students with color, Colleen also points out that for Math, the slide deck format can be particularly useful. By having a series of static images, it is easier for students to move back and forth through the content at their own pace, than it is to track through video.
Interestingly some students prefer a series of still images (no sound) to a video as they can control the pace more easily.
What techniques do you have to bring color into your lessons or material. Share your ideas in the comments below.
Feature image Math icon designed by SuperAtic LABS for The Noun Project.