Infographics are a powerful tool. They can give a plethora of information in a way that is quick to read and is visually appealing. Creating infographics is a skill that can be challenging and for this reason I love to use them in my classroom. Students are often told to extend and stretch their writing but making it informative and concise can be just as challenging. They are also required to find reliable sources to cite and develop a layout that conveys their desired information.
There are many tools out there to help you create stunning infographics, and for free none the less! Canva offers great templates and color schemes. It is free to sign up and easy to use; once you choose you template it is just a matter of filling in your information. One of the downsides is that some images are premium (if your school or district has an educational account then you and your students will have access to all features). While Canva is a great tool, I wanted to explore a new site to create an infographic and compare it to my Canva experience.
The site I chose to explore was Infogram. This site is free to sign up and allows for Google integration which is always a nice feature. The intro page offered different types of charts to start with but not prearranged layouts for people who may not know what they are looking for right away. This site and its features can feel a bit overwhelming to those uncomfortable with new programs as it takes a bit of clicking and exploring to find where the tools are located and some playing around with the size and colors of objects. This is definitely and build from scratch program. There is a place for you to upload data from an excel or convert Google sheet but it is not as user friendly as Canva on the data input feature. This site is good for an infographic about a single topic or piece of information. It can be hard to size and resize images or to flip images as a whole and not by specific components.
Some things I really enjoyed about this site were the stunning images and the color schemes of all the elements changed when the theme was selected, guaranteeing that all components coordinated well. I liked that the individual pieces could be downloaded and then used in other places such as Google, Word, or Canva. This was nice knowing I could create a specific piece and then use it in other places but unfortunately you have to upgrade to the Pro version to use it. Overall: I probably would not use Infogram unless I was looking for something so specific that I needed to create my own from the base up, I would like to have a layout option for a full infographic rather than build the components individually.
Below is what I created based the article "As AI Spreads, Experts Predict the Best and Worst Changes in Digital Life" published by Pew Research Center.
Source for infographic:
Atske, S. (2023, June 21). As AI Spreads, Experts Predict the Best and Worst Changes in Digital Life by 2035. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/06/21/as-ai-spreads-experts-predict-the-best-and-worst-changes-in-digital-life-by-2035/
Kaitlyn, this was fascinating! It was the perfect way to present this information, too. If you're interested in this topic, you _have_ to check out Janelle Shane and the AI Weirdness blog. She wrote a book called _You look like a thing and I love you_," which is a reference to an ai-generated pickup line... it is definitely weird!
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