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INTRODUCTION

Using graphics and text to present data and information in not a new idea. Infographics, or ‘information graphics’, have been appearing in print, advertising, on tv news shows and more, for a very long time. But it’s only recently that easy to use (and free/cheap) tools for creating them have become available.

Pictures really can be worth a thousand words. Images grab our attention. And carefully created representations of data and other information can help us quickly grasp what is being presented and communicate a message more effectively. This topic makes me think back to the dark ages when I was a kid and infographics in newspapers and magazines often caught my eye. They helped me understand stories that were often beyond my reading level and pushed me to read and explore further.

“We are bombarded by slick images every minute of everyday. The aim of an infographic is to parse what might be perceived as an overwhelming amount of information into manageable bites or small nuggets that transform text into memorable images and meaning.” (from Transliteracy Librarian )

Data Visualization & Infographics? Is there a difference? A data visualization is really just a special type of infographic. An infographic may not include any actual data, while a data visualization must. Charts and graphs that clearly present real data are data visualizations.  An infographic may present ideas, trends, information, but no real data. To illustrate, look at these infographics:

• 20 Inspiring Childrens Book quotes – Infographic, no data visualizations.
• Annual Library Usage Compared to Per Capita Expenditures – Data visualizations include a chart and a map.

The beauty of data visualization: TED Talk by David McCandless

PURPOSES

Infographics can be used in so many different ways: for advocacy, creating persuasive arguments, as teaching tools, as learning assessments, for presentation slides, in research presentations and more.

You can use infographics to showcase what is happening in your library and include them in your reports to school administrators, on your blogs and websites, in newsletters, posters and more.

Students can create them as part of all sorts of learning projects. And it’s essential that students understand how the representation (and mis-representation!) of data can help shape opinion. Knowing how how to analyze infographics is a vital information/media literacy skill.

Infographics as a Creative Assessment from Kathy Schrock on Vimeo.

PROCESS

Creating an infographic pulls together many skills:

• Defining an issue & deciding what questions to ask.
• Finding reliable information and data.
• Analyzing data to test arguments.
• Creating a story line for presenting the information.
• Considering the audience and what they need/want to know.
• Making choices about colors, design, and layout.

The Anatomy Of An Infographic: 5 Steps To Create A Powerful Visual is a great introduction to the process of creating a good infographic.

THINGS TO EXPLORE

Analyzing Infographics

• Dissecting an Infographic – example of an infographic that looks good, but doesn’t represent the whole story.
• Infographics Lie. Here’s How To Spot The B.S.
• Data Visualization Strategies in the Age of “Fake News” – Slides from a great session at #AASL17 by Kristin Fontichiaro, Melissa Johnston & Tasha Bergson-Michelson
• Infographics Assessment – part of a Spartan Guides lesson on Infographics. Lots of good teaching resources here.

Articles, Tips, Resources, Examples

Lots of resources here, remember you don’t have to explore them all!

• What is an Infographic – Creating an infographic, presented as an infographic.
• Producing Infopics – Tony Vincent shares tips for teaching with infographics and great apps for creating them.
• Data Visualization for the Rest of Us: Tips for effective infographics – Summary of Linda Hofschire’s presentation at 2016 ALA Midwinter. Link to presentation slides.
• Census Bureau Data Visualization Gallery – Get inspired by all these different ways of presenting population, income, housing, etc. data.
• Infographics for your Classroom – Free, downlable ebook on using Easel.ly.
• The Complete Guide to Creating Infographics for Non-designers – Good overview, introduction to several tools and tips.
• When and how to create an effective infographic – Clear explanation of the process of creating an effective infographic.
• Infographics as a Creative Assessment – tons of resources from Kathy Schrock
• Creating Infographics with Students – Lots of tips and resources.
• Infographics in the Classroom Teacher Toolkit
• Now I See: Infographics as content scaffold and creative, formative assessment
  …even if you don’t think visually – Resources from an ISTE presentation.
• Creating and Using Infographics in the Elementary Classroom –
• Traverse Area District Library – Data about their branches done as a data dashboard.
• 10 Traits of Amazingly Awesome Infographics
• Using Infographics to Get Your Point Across – 2013 ‘EdWeb Tech Tools for the Classroom’ webinar on infographics
• Teaching with Infographics: Places to Start – an older, but still valuable. series of posts from New York Times Learning Network
• 27 Ways To Make This the Best Year Ever! – Great example of an infographic enhanced by using ThingLink. Created by Jennifer LaGarde.

Collections of Infographics

• NYTimes Learning Network Infographics – collection of teaching ideas based on timely news.
• Libraries matter: 15 fantastic library infographics – Fun to see one of Paige Jaeger’s infographics in this collection!
• Cool Infographics – Great blog showing examples of data visualizations and infographics from magazines, newspapers and the web.
• Education Infographics – Links to a Pinterest search.

Tools

• Piktochart – Very easy to use drag and drop tool. Lots of templates, though many are only available for re-use if you have a paid account. Still, you can view them and get ideas. Free and paid accounts.
• Easelly – One of AASL’s Best Websites for Teaching and Learning in 2013. Free and paid accounts.
• Canva for Education – A very popular tool for any type of graphics work. Lots of features. Great section of ready to use lesson plans for a wide range of projects.  Free and paid accounts.
• Infogr.am – Upload data, create graphs, charts and more. Free and paid acounts.
• Google Slides & Drawing – Though these aren’t dedicated infographic tools, you can do a lot with them! Free, free, free. Pair them with free icons from The Noun Project.
• Viz – Handy, easy to use iOS app for creating colorful, simple graph charts.
• Create A Graph – Tools to help students (and adults!) understand & creat basic types of charts and graphs.
• Visualize.me – Highly specific tool, creates an attractive “resume” (of sorts) from your LinkedIn account. This is more of an idea starter than a final product. (Polly’s example)
• Venngage – Free and paid accounts. Templates for a variety of purposes.
• PowerPoint, Keynote – An overlooked tool. Lots of options within these common programs. Save a slide as a jpg with a a simple screenshot.
• Juice Labs Chart Chooser – Helps you select the type of chart you should use for various purposes.
• 8 free tools for creating infographics – Recent list (November 2017)
• Over 100 Incredible Infographic Tools and Resources (Categorized) – an older article, some tools may not exist anymore. Still, a good resource.

LEARNING ACTIVITY

• Create an infographic
  • Pick a topic – something about your library/classroom, something you can use in teaching, an example for a student project.
  • Gather some information and/or data.
  • Using one of the tools above or other tool of your choice, create an infographic.

• Your Blog Post:
  • Embed your infographic or link to it.
  • Explain what the infographic is about, why you chose to create it.
  • Talk about the process.
  • Consider how you can use infographics with your students or in your professional practice.

*TURNING IN YOUR ASSIGNMENT

• Write & publish your blog post.
• Copy the URL (webpage address) for your post.
• Return to your Google Classroom, find the assignment page for the lesson you just completed and follow the directions for turning in and sharing your work.

*Only for students participating in the workshop for PD credit hours through the Google Classroom.

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