Visualizing Information

     I've long been a fan of infographics.  These are visualizations of information. A good infographic is well designed, clearly portrays information and offers insight into how information can be interpreted or utilized.
     A few years back, a bit on a whim, I enrolled in a MOOC out of the University of Texas that taught infographic design.  The class was very well organized and informative and helped me to realize there are theoretical underpinnings to infographic creation. Font selection, color combinations, choice of chart design, etc. all can make a difference to the end product.
     As part of the class, students created a few infographics. Those projects gave me a much fuller understanding of the challenges inherent in infographic creation. But I also realized that by creating an infographic around a topic, I necessarily immersed myself in that topic. I also was forced to consider if viewers would look at my infographic and come away with a better understanding of that particular topic. In short, I became engaged not only in deep learning, but also in empathetic presentation.
     We want our students to deeply understand classroom topics. We also want them to have a sense that when they present information to other people, the information should be understood clearly. Perhaps having students create infographics as part of classroom learning is a useful tool towards these learning goals.
     Some years back, designers at Cisco took internet megadata and created an infographic called "What Happens in an Internet Minute?" Their data showed that in a minute of internet usage (worldwide, on average), YouTube, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr accounted for an outsized percentage of internet traffic. To me, the design gives the information an impact greater than the same information conveyed in text.
    You can see that original infographic below as well as a number of design variations. It's interesting to consider the varying approaches with questions like "Which conveys the information most clearly?" and "Which grabs and holds attention best?"

Cisco's original design for the infographic.

The same information is conveyed with a pie chart.

In this infographic and the one below, a clock is the central design element.

 

This infograpahic uses design elements from the Windows 10 desktop interface.

    There are a number of web sites that facilitate the creation of infographics. They generally have a library of templates which are editable for color, font selection and size and shapes, and allow images to be added or imported. Some sites offer a free level of service with additional features available at a cost.  Best to check a few for your self to get started.

http://piktochart.com/
https://www.canva.com/create/infographics/
https://venngage.com/
https://infogr.am/
http://www.easel.ly/

   If you'd like to look at examples of infographics, a quick web search will offer thousands of examples. Additionally, some truly great examples are available in a book edited by Gareth Cook called The Best American Infographics of 2015. It's part of the GSB library collection in the Upper School.
    The video below is from the easel.ly web site.  It gives you a sense of how most sites function to help students create their own infographics.