Monday 15 March 2010

Visual Fluency Skills & Problem Solving

LIST OF GOOD LEARNING RESOURCES FOR 21ST CENTURY TRAINERS AND LEARNERS

I will share resources that are relevant for 21st century skills and will keep adding to my list.

1. Solving Problems with Pictures – Books by Dan Roam

  • 21st century skill covered: Visual Communication , Problem Solving
  • Books: The Back of the Napkin, Unfolding the Napkin
  • Website: http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com
  • Lectures: Authors@Google: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuA_yz7aTo0
According to Dan the overall Visual Thinking Process = Look > See > Imagine > Show

The Visual Thinking Toolkit suggested by Dan:

- Defining the Problem through “Who/What, Where, When, How, How Much, Why" Analysis

- Representing these visually:
  • Who/What = Portrait
  • Where = Map
  • When = Timeline
  • How = FlowChart
  • How Much = Bar/Pie Chart
  • Why = Multivariate Diagram
- Doing the SQUID analysis:
  • Simple or Elaborate
  • Qualitative or Quantitative
  • Vision or Execution
  • Individual or Comparison
  • Change or Status Quo

Visually all the above is much more simple and interesting than what I have made it appear in text description!


My recommended steps:

1. See Dan’s Authors@Google video first (http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com)


2. Then visit the book website

  • See the videos on the home page (animated walk-through)
  • See more video clips ‘Napkin Cam’ (http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/botn.php)
  • See sample pages and exercises from the book ‘Unfolding the Napkin’
  • Visit the Dan’s Blog on the website
Happy reading (and watching)...