by Karen Nichols
What are infographs? Despite their shortcomings, I do like the first line of wikipedia's definition of infographic: Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly. I found a particularly appropriate infograph, given CAT's 20th anniversary theme of sustainability on the easel.ly website which I will present momentarily.
Why would we use infographs? Well, according to an article last fall in the New Yorker, infographics are "trending" right now and are found everywhere--newspapers, websites, blogs, etc. With the onslaught of data from all angles, readers can use a little help deciphering the information bombarding us.
Infographics in the classroom have myriad uses and you probably already use them. But have you ever used an infograph to introduce yourself? Think about it. The infographic format would add a visual dimension to your biographical sketch that you probably include in your syllabus or in Blackboard. If you haven't experimented very much with infographics, here is an easy website to try: http://www.easel.ly/
There are other sites where you can create infographs, but I like this one because it's easy and pre-loaded with a variety of templates.
Here's a quick "how-to" video from the site:
I hope you enjoy experimenting. Please share any infographs you use or create!