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"
Location
Alphabet
Time (chronologically)
Category
Hierarchy
If you want to learn more about the five different ways to organize information you can use this link. The categories are explained using dog breeds as an example.
The latch principle is also sometimes referred to as the five hats rack.
Source:
Richard S. Wurman "Information Anxiety 2"

4. In his book, Richard Wurman says….
“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.”
Note: Richard Wurman is the founder of TED

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.
Talk about the different way people already organize information and things that they have.

6. Five hat racks video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgi1JQGHENI
Watch one or both of the videos about LATCH/Five Hat Racks video.

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:

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
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Ontario
Quebec
1867
Manitoba
Northwest Territories
1870
British Columbia
1871
Prince Edward Island
1873
Yukon
1898
Alberta
Saskatchewan
1905
Newfoundland
1949
Nunavut
1999
Time- Chronological by Year of Existence

27. provinces and territories of canada
Ontario
Quebec
British Columbia
Alberta
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Newfoundland
Prince Edward Island
Northwest Territories
Nunavut
Yukon
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 This Employment Ontario project was funded by the Ontario Government All website links were accurate at the time of original distribution-March All of the images and clip art used in this Power Point are from Clipart.com and Microsoft Office.com.