Wednesday, January 01, 2014

Addressing the CCSS with the Use of Infographics

First published in the AWSA Update Bulletin, October 16, 2013. 
Some information has been updated below.
Overview

Infographics are everywhere! We see them on the Web and in our professional journals.    Students see them on Facebook and on advertiser’s pages. How can the use of infographics be used to address the Common Core State Standards?
An infographic is a visual representation of information. It differs from a poster in that it usually includes graphs and charts of information. Not all infographics include data, though. There are quite a few types of infographics, as listed below.
  • Statistical infographic: includes a summation or overview of data
  • Timeline infographic: shows the progression of information over time
  • Process infographics: demonstrate a process, whether linear or branching
  • Informational infographic: similar to a poster, but with some data included
  • Research-based infographic: compares unlike items with a known data set
  • Interactive infographic: a Web-based infographic that allows the user to have control  and modify the infographic
There are two basic ways infographics can be used to support teaching and learning. The first is showcasing already-created infographics to support a specific content area. For example, a health class might use an infographic entitled “A Tale of Two Meals” or an English class might use one called “A Literary Map of Manhattan” which includes clickable links to the places in Manhattan where famous literary characters resided.
The second way infographics can be incorporated into teaching and learning is by having students create an infographic as a formative or summative assessment. By creating an infographic, students are conducting research and gathering assets to use for their infographics (information literacy) working with color, fonts, and layout to impact their audience (visual literacy), presenting their infographic to persuade, convince, or inform (media literacy), and using technology tools and data visualizations to create the infographic (digital literacy). In addition, of course, they are demonstrating mastery of content knowledge with the content-specific information they include in the infographic.
Infographics Rubric
The rubric below can be used for both of these purposes. When analyzing infographics, students should pay attention to the topic of the image, the type of infographic and whether it is appropriate to the information display, whether the pictorial elements of the infographic and the data visualizations are understandable, if the color, font, and layout add to the presentation of the infographic, and that bibliographic citations are included to allow access to the original source of the information. When creating their own infographic, students need to consider all of these same items while, at the same time, considering the purpose and audience for their infographic.
http://www.schrockguide.net/uploads/3/9/2/2/392267/schrock_infographic_rubric.pdf

Common Core State Standards and Infographics
The Common Core State Standards do not specifically mention “infographics”, but there are many standards, both content-based and literacy-based, that can be addressed with both the analysis or creation of infographics by students. Here are a few from both the CCSS ELA Standards and the Standards for Mathematical Practice.
ELA Common Core Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.5 Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.7 Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

Standards for Mathematical Practice K-12
  • Represent a mathematical situation with symbols
  • Use objects, drawings, & diagrams to create an argument
  • Map relationships using tools such as diagrams, two-way tables, graphs, flowcharts
  • Find digital content and use it to solve problems and use technological software and tools to do so
  • Graph data and search for regularity and trends 
Creation of Infographics
Infographics can be created with any software program that allows layer-based image editing, which simply means images and text can be placed on top of other images. There are commercial packages, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements as well as online and downloadable tools that allow this layer-based editing. Some of these include:
•       Google Drawings (https://support.google.com/drive/answer/177123?hl=en)
•       Pixlr (http://pixlr.com)
•       Inkscape (http://inkscape.org/)
•       Sumo Paint (http://sumo.fm/#create)
•       Sketchpad (http://mudcu.be/sketchpad/)

In addition, presentation programs such as Microsoft's PowerPoint, Apple’s Keynote program, and Google Slides allow layers of images and text on a slide, so these tools can also be used for student creation of an infographic. 

There is also an iPad and Android tablet app that helps students create infographics on their mobile devices called iVisual Info Touch Light (iOS) and iVisual Touch Free (Android). The full-version of the app allows students to bring in their own images and other features. (Added 1/27/15: And there is a great iOS app that includes many publishing formats, and includes infographic creation, called Canva.

There are interactive, online tools available that are meant specifically for the creation of infographics. Each tool includes templates to edit and the ability to add data or graphs to the template. Students need to have email accounts to sign-up to use these tools. Some of the online tools include:
Introducing Infographics to Students
When introducing infographics to students, teachers should first showcase what data visualizations look like. A great site for students to become familiar with the  different types of data visualizations is the Periodic Table of Data Visualizations (http://www.visual-literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html). When students have collected their data, they can then use Chart Chooser (http://labs.juiceanalytics.com/chartchooser/index.html) to determine how best to present their data.
Students should study the infographic rubric and then, in small groups, evaluate infographics on the Web or in print. By looking at infographics with a critical eye, they will gain some insights on to how best to create their own infographic.
Summary
The use of infographics in support of teaching and learning is a natural fit. Students practice with many types of 21st century literacies. The completed infographic projects meet many of the Common Core State Standards. And students learn the important skills of meeting the needs and interest level of their intended audience by choosing the right type of data visualization. You can find more information and links to resources here: http://linkyy.com/infographics

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