Organizing Information

1. Organizing Information Organization and time Management Session 2

2. In this session we will be • learning about the LATCH principle for organizing information • practice organizing information in a variety of different ways.

3. Five different ways to organize information"The LATCH principle" • "LATCH" • Location • Alphabet • Time (chronologically) • Category • Hierarchy Source: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=130881&seqNum=6 Richard S. Wurman "Information Anxiety 2"

4. In his book, Richard Wurmansays…. • “while information may be infinite, the ways of structuring it are not. And once you have a place in which the information can be plugged, it becomes that much more useful. Your choice will be different understanding of the information-within each are many variations. However, recognizing that the main choices are limited makes the process less intimidating.”

5. LATCH- The Ultimate Hat Rack • We already employ the five modes of organization in many different ways. • Most of us organize our financial records first by time, then by category when we figure our taxes. We organize our CD and DVD collections, libraries, and even our laundry certain ways. • Many people get into trouble when they mix the different methods of organization, trying to describe something simultaneously in terms of size, geography, and category without a clear understanding that these are all valid but separate means of structuring information. • Understanding the structure and organization of information helps you to extract value and significance from it. • Understanding the LATCH organizing principles is like having the ultimate hat rack.

6. Five hat racks video • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgi1JQGHENI

7. Activity • How are these examples of information organized?

8. Location • You can organize information by showing a visual depiction of a physical space. • Maps are really common ways to organize by location. • You might also show information on a diagram with labels. • Organizing by location usually requires some sort of visual of an area, thing or place

9. Examples of Organizing by Location • Maps • Shopping mall directory • Diagrams with labels • Webpage • Can you think of any others?

10. Activity: Location • Complete the activity by using the diagram to answer the questions. Then draw a floor plan of the room we are in right now.

11. Alphabetically • Organizing alphabetically works really well if you know the specific terms or topics you are looking for. • The reader or person looking at the information needs to know what they are looking for so they can use alphabetical order to find it. • Alphabetical order is commonly used in books.

12. Examples of Organizing by Alphabet • Index in a book (e.g. text book, recipe book) • Dictionary • Telephone book • Can you think of any others?

13. Activity: Alphabetical Organization • Fill in the company extension list of employees in alphabetical order by last name.

14. Organizing by Time • Organizing information by time is useful for finding information in a chronological pattern. • An example would be by the months or years when events happen. • Time is also good for showing how things happen over a fixed duration of time.

15. Examples of Chronological Organization (by Time) • Timeline of historical events • Facebook timeline of "most recent" events • Calendars • A joke • Instructions to cook something • A flow chart to help show or describe a process • Can you think of any others?

16. Activity: Chronological Organization • Use the template provided to create a timeline for a typical day. You can use today as an example.

17. Category • Using categories is the broadest of the five ways to organize information. • You can use categories to organize information in just about any way imaginable. For example: • colour, • shape, • gender, • model, • price, or • any other categories you can think of.

18. Examples of Organizing by Category • Grocery store products • Online shopping sites • Office supply storage cabinet at work • Can you think of any others?

19. Activity: Organize by Category • Sort the items from the grocery store flyer into the correct categories.

20. Hierarchy • Hierarchies help show how one piece of information is connected to another in order of importance or rank. • Hierarchies are used in organizational charts to show who reports to whom. Hierarchy is also used to show scale, like biggest to smallest or heaviest to lightest.

21. Examples of Organizing by Hierarchy • Company organization chart • Largest to smallest item • Highest cost to lowest cost • Eye chart • Can you think of any others?

22. Activity: Organize by Hierarchy • Interpret the court system organization chart.

23. Provinces and Territories of Canada • We can use the provinces and territories of Canada to show how each type of organization works.

24. Provinces and Territories of Canada • By Location Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada

25. Provinces and Territories of Canada • Alphabetical Order by Name • Alberta • British Columbia • Manitoba • New Brunswick • Newfoundland • Northwest Territories • Nova Scotia • Nunavut • Ontario • Prince Edward Island • Quebec • Saskatchewan • Yukon

26. Provinces and Territories of Canada • Time- Chronological by Year of Existence

27. provinces and territories of canada By Category- Provinces and Territories

28. provinces and territories of canada • By Hierarchy- largest to smallest population (2014 Stats Canada) • Ontario 13,678,700 • Quebec 8,214,700 • British Columbia 4,631,300 • Alberta 4,121,700 • Manitoba 1,282,000 • Saskatchewan 1,125,400 • Nova Scotia 942,700 • New Brunswick 753,900 • Newfoundland 527,000 • Prince Edward Island 146,300 • Northwest Territories 43,600 • Nunavut 36,600 • Yukon 36,500

29. Activity How would you organize the examples?

30. Milestone 14

31. credits • This Power Point was created by Laubach Literacy Ontario. • The resources can be downloaded free of charge at www.laubach-on.ca. • This Employment Ontario project was funded by the Ontario Government. 2015 • All website links were accurate at the time of original distribution-March 2015. • All of the images and clip art used in this Power Point are from Clipart.com and Microsoft Office.com.