Visual Syllabi

What is a visual syllabus?

An innovative and creative approach to syllabus development is the visual syllabus. Draw on your graphic design skills (or use one of the easy, free  online design templates), and present the key info to your students in an engaging, concise way. It's just that simple: select from the long list of info that your syllabus may contain and prioritize the info that matters most, presented in a visually-appealing infographic. 

This topic demands some visual examples. See the following pages below for a better idea of the concept. 

(see thefull presentation Links to an external site. and other examples) 

 

(see the full version of the Econ syllabus Links to an external site.)

 

(see the original post in the Oregon State blog post Links to an external site.on the topic, "Create a Syllabus that Students Want to Read")

 

Design Considerations

It is important to think about a syllabus redesign before attempting to turn your current ten-page syllabus into an infographic. Just adding images won't work well. 

Some ideas to consider when designing a visual syllabus comes from the CETL at Univeristy of Idaho (review presentation slides Links to an external site.). Here's their list of suggestions for creating an effective document: 

  • Keep it simple
  • Limit text
  • Divide and conquer
  • Map it out
  • Pick a theme
  • Be bold
  • Chart it / List it
  • Sign post with images
  • Keep the requirements
  • Show your personality
  • Design in your comfort zone
  • Get creative
  • Design with accessibility in mind 

 

 

Additional Resources

This list comes from an Oregon State blog Links to an external site. on the topic.