Infographics
Infographics are new and improved ways to share information and messages with any audience. Infographics are visual graphics used to represent information (information + graphic). Because many of our students are visual learners, infographics are effective tools to share information.
Students are able to quickly grasp and/or share new concepts, data and information through an infographic. Diana Laufenberg, a history teacher in Philadelphia, provides valuable insight into the benefits of using infographics,
"Infographics work in the classroom because they grab students and allow an entry point to learning — and because they sum up pages and pages, even chapters, of information that would take a reader hours to process. It pushes students outside their normal, comfortable “school” reading-and-writing habits, but it gives them practice in the ultimate 21st century skill: telling stories with data. In my experience, it also causes the new information they’ve researched and communicated to “stick." (2010).
Imagine how efficiently students are able to synthesize new learning when interacting with infographics.
Katherine Schulten states, "We know how important it is for students to be able to read and interpret visual representations of information" (2010). In fact, reading and interpreting visual representations of information is a reading TEK standard that students often struggle with year after year. When learning about nonfiction text features in reading, students can create infographics to deepen and demonstrate their learning of this difficult reading concept. It is crucial that students "understand the ways images communicate" (Laufenberg, 2010).
Which Infographic site to choose?
I created accounts with three infographic creation websites: Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogr.am. To be honest, it was very difficult to choose just one to use because each one had its own individual strengths! In fact, picking just one of these sites to use is what took me the longest on my assignment this week. I narrowed it down by starting an infographic on each one to play around with each site a bit more. Here's what I found:
Easel.ly: One benefit of Easel.ly is that it has over 40 templates to choose from. When adding media to the infographic, users have access to a large library of images provided by Unsplash, which is a website that shares thousands of copyright-free images. Media can also be added from Youtube. Easel.ly is almost the opposite of Piktochart: it has many templates to choose from, but once you choose one, you only have ten choices for the background colors. For those who like to customize your colors and designs, this might not be the site for you. It also does not sync with Google technology.
Piktochart: Piktochart is a great starter site for infographics. It has a simple menu layout to build your infographic. This site only had 12 infographic templates to choose from which can be a strength and weakness. For those users who spend too much time sorting through templates because you just can't decide on the perfect one (Me!), Piktochart unknowingly saves you time because there are only a few to choose from. On the other hand, if you were looking for a specific template, this is not the site for you. You'd have to upgrade your account for a fee to explore more templates. Piktochart has its own gallery with very colorful and beautiful photographs to search and choose from. Although Piktochart lacks in templates, it does have several backgrounds to choose from which allows users to customize it to their style and audience. One downfall is that Piktochart does not sync with Google technology.
Infogr.am: The biggest benefit of Infogr.am is that it syncs with Google technology. Users can upload spreadsheets created on Google into their infographic. Infogr.am also syncs with Dropbox, so users can easily add saved links. Users can add media from Youtube, Vimeo, Slideshare or Flickr. Another highlight of Infogr.am is that users have access to a wide image gallery powered by Unsplash, Pixabay, and Noun Project. I was familiar with Unsplash, but not the other two. This gives me an even wider image gallery than Easel.ly or Piktochart. One downfall was that I was not able to change the background style and color of my template. This might not be the best infographic site for users who like to customize the style and design of their templates. When adding text to the infographic, users have the option of customizing your text box depending on the content. For example, you can add a quote box, facts and figures box or caption boxes. Like some of the other infographic sites, users can also add maps and charts.
Creating my first Infographic
Because Piktochart was the most user-friendly for new users of infographics, I decided to create my infographic there. I decided to focus on the topic of innovative library services in the digital age, after reading a couple of articles about these services on the Pew Research Center's website.
https://create.piktochart.com/output/33402806-library-services-in-the-digital-age
This was my first, and definitely not last infographic that I create. I already have ideas of how to implement this with students and cannot wait to see what they create. Infographics helps users synthesize and share new information with an audience. As Diana Laufenberg states, infographics help users "tell stories with data" (2010).
References:
Innovative library services "in the wild". (2013, January). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/01/29/innovative-library-services-in-the-wild/
Laufenberg, D. (2010, August). Teaching with infographics: A student project model. The Learning Network: Teaching and Learning with the New York Times. Retrieved from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/teaching-with-infographics-a-student-project-model/
Library services in the digital age. (2013, January). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/01/22/library-services/.
Schulten, K. (2010, August). Teaching with infographics: Places to start. The Learning Network: Teaching and Learning with the New York Times. Retrieved from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/teaching-with-infographics-places-to-start/?_r=0
Students are able to quickly grasp and/or share new concepts, data and information through an infographic. Diana Laufenberg, a history teacher in Philadelphia, provides valuable insight into the benefits of using infographics,
"Infographics work in the classroom because they grab students and allow an entry point to learning — and because they sum up pages and pages, even chapters, of information that would take a reader hours to process. It pushes students outside their normal, comfortable “school” reading-and-writing habits, but it gives them practice in the ultimate 21st century skill: telling stories with data. In my experience, it also causes the new information they’ve researched and communicated to “stick." (2010).
Imagine how efficiently students are able to synthesize new learning when interacting with infographics.
Katherine Schulten states, "We know how important it is for students to be able to read and interpret visual representations of information" (2010). In fact, reading and interpreting visual representations of information is a reading TEK standard that students often struggle with year after year. When learning about nonfiction text features in reading, students can create infographics to deepen and demonstrate their learning of this difficult reading concept. It is crucial that students "understand the ways images communicate" (Laufenberg, 2010).
Which Infographic site to choose?
I created accounts with three infographic creation websites: Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogr.am. To be honest, it was very difficult to choose just one to use because each one had its own individual strengths! In fact, picking just one of these sites to use is what took me the longest on my assignment this week. I narrowed it down by starting an infographic on each one to play around with each site a bit more. Here's what I found:
Easel.ly: One benefit of Easel.ly is that it has over 40 templates to choose from. When adding media to the infographic, users have access to a large library of images provided by Unsplash, which is a website that shares thousands of copyright-free images. Media can also be added from Youtube. Easel.ly is almost the opposite of Piktochart: it has many templates to choose from, but once you choose one, you only have ten choices for the background colors. For those who like to customize your colors and designs, this might not be the site for you. It also does not sync with Google technology.
Piktochart: Piktochart is a great starter site for infographics. It has a simple menu layout to build your infographic. This site only had 12 infographic templates to choose from which can be a strength and weakness. For those users who spend too much time sorting through templates because you just can't decide on the perfect one (Me!), Piktochart unknowingly saves you time because there are only a few to choose from. On the other hand, if you were looking for a specific template, this is not the site for you. You'd have to upgrade your account for a fee to explore more templates. Piktochart has its own gallery with very colorful and beautiful photographs to search and choose from. Although Piktochart lacks in templates, it does have several backgrounds to choose from which allows users to customize it to their style and audience. One downfall is that Piktochart does not sync with Google technology.
Infogr.am: The biggest benefit of Infogr.am is that it syncs with Google technology. Users can upload spreadsheets created on Google into their infographic. Infogr.am also syncs with Dropbox, so users can easily add saved links. Users can add media from Youtube, Vimeo, Slideshare or Flickr. Another highlight of Infogr.am is that users have access to a wide image gallery powered by Unsplash, Pixabay, and Noun Project. I was familiar with Unsplash, but not the other two. This gives me an even wider image gallery than Easel.ly or Piktochart. One downfall was that I was not able to change the background style and color of my template. This might not be the best infographic site for users who like to customize the style and design of their templates. When adding text to the infographic, users have the option of customizing your text box depending on the content. For example, you can add a quote box, facts and figures box or caption boxes. Like some of the other infographic sites, users can also add maps and charts.
Creating my first Infographic
Because Piktochart was the most user-friendly for new users of infographics, I decided to create my infographic there. I decided to focus on the topic of innovative library services in the digital age, after reading a couple of articles about these services on the Pew Research Center's website.
https://create.piktochart.com/output/33402806-library-services-in-the-digital-age
This was my first, and definitely not last infographic that I create. I already have ideas of how to implement this with students and cannot wait to see what they create. Infographics helps users synthesize and share new information with an audience. As Diana Laufenberg states, infographics help users "tell stories with data" (2010).
References:
Innovative library services "in the wild". (2013, January). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/01/29/innovative-library-services-in-the-wild/
Laufenberg, D. (2010, August). Teaching with infographics: A student project model. The Learning Network: Teaching and Learning with the New York Times. Retrieved from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/teaching-with-infographics-a-student-project-model/
Library services in the digital age. (2013, January). Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/01/22/library-services/.
Schulten, K. (2010, August). Teaching with infographics: Places to start. The Learning Network: Teaching and Learning with the New York Times. Retrieved from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/teaching-with-infographics-places-to-start/?_r=0
Anita,
ReplyDeleteI also found Infographics to be a great teacher and student resource to have to address student styles of learning. Infographics provides visual learners with a great way to use effective technology tools to share information. I can also see some struggling students choosing to use infographics as a form of summative assessment option.
Being that I had never done an infographic before, I also found Piktochart to be the most user-friendly for new users. It is an effective way to summarize information and present it in a different yet innovative way.
Best,
J. Hortencia
Hi Anita!
ReplyDeleteGreat Work! Again your ideas are brilliant. I agree with J.Hortencia, it is an effective way to summarize information. I found this assignment to be difficult because I never have done and infographic. I'm not to sure I will try again.
Your infographic was great. I also liked Piktochart but used a different one due to Piktochart not having the template I wanted. I also liked how your pictures match the text/caption...it is a rule I have for my students when writing sentences about their pictures.
ReplyDeleteFor this being your first infographic I am greatly impressed on what you created. Info graphics are my biggest fear and I hated completing this assignment. I should have read your blog first before I started on my and I would have gotten the confidence that I surely needed to complete this. Thank you; your blog was greatly informative and I loved it. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteAnita-
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your infographic! I liked what you said about having students create them as a way to synthesize and share information! -Teresa :)
Your infographic was great! I also liked how this is the first one I see on Innovative Library services. Very neat!! This assignment was so tedious and was a little frustrating. You did a fabulous job!
ReplyDeleteLiz