Thing 7: Infographics

Welcome to Thing 7! 

You've probably seen a lot of really cool infographics being shared on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere on the web. According to InfographicsFactory.com, Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge created with the intention of presenting complex information quickly and clearly. You may have seen infographics explaining everything from what your preferred coffee says about your personality to what happens to plastics in the ocean to how much data is being posted online everyday. 
This was my first experience creating an infographic, so I evaluated several different infographics generators and decided to go with infogr.am, although worthy contenders included Visual.ly and Piktochart. I chose infogr.am because the free version includes the ability to add pictures, video, and many different types of charts.

Here is my first effort, using the following website as my info source: http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/50695-100-days-since-yolanda-numbers

Typhoon haiyan | Create Infographics

Infographics seem to have so much potential for educators, who need to present information in a variety of ways to a variety of audiences. They also have so much potential for students, who need to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. I mean, really, does the world need another PowerPoint?!

Here is a tutorial I created:

Here are some other resources to get you going:

• 10 Steps to Designing an Amazing Infographic
• Daily Infographic
• How to Choose the Best Chart for Your Data (Lifehacker)
• "Cool Infographics Gallery" on Pinterest

TO COMPLETE THING 7:

• Sign up for an account with infogr.am (feel free to try one of the other infographics programs if you'd prefer, but do try one that you have NOT used before).
• Create an infographic about anything. Your infographic should have at least 3 different components (eg. graph, chart, video, image, number, facts + figures).
• Embed your infographic into your Thing 7 blog post.
• In your "Thing 7: Infographics" blog post, reflect on your experience. How did you find the experience of creating an infographic? How could you use this with students (either to explain something to them or to have them create an infographic to demonstrate their learning)? Do you think you will create more infographics in the future?