Infographics

Infographics

In today’s blog I will be displaying my infographic I created from data and information I obtained from an article.  I will also be discussing three webapps used to create infographics and which one was my favorite.

Infographics are visual presentations of information that use the elements of design to display content. Infographics express complex messages to viewers in a way that enhances their comprehension. Images are often an extension of the content of a written article, but infographics convey a self-contained message or principle.  (Adams, 2011)

Infographics helps the visual learner in your class. With the images and large text, they can easily decipher the information you are trying to convey. You can strategically place charts and text in a manner that will make comprehension easier for students to understand.

I tried three webapps when I created my infographic. They were Easel.ly, Piktochart, and Infogram.  After playing around with them I chose to go with Easl.ly.

http://www.easel.ly/ 

I chose Easel.ly because upon creating my account I was welcomed by an ample amount of free templates to choose from. It was very simple to make changes, move, and add text and shapes to. There were objects I could embed which along with the templates were completely free to use. It was very user friendly I like the simplicity of adding media from my desktop by clicking on media tab. I was able to change the background, add charts, and upload images. This was the first time I ever created an infographic, I must say it was pretty fun and easy thanks to Easel.ly.

I read an article titled “Vast Majority of Americans Say Benefits of Childhood Vaccines Outweigh Risks”. The article was very interesting, being a new mom after 15 years of trying and doing research on vaccines, I was drawn to this article. I gathered information and statistics about vaccines and used images and text to represent them.  Here is my infographic.

http://piktochart.com/ 

One of the other webapps I played with was Piktochart. It was also easy to use. This webapp did not have as many free templates as Easel.ly. It was also difficult to move objects around. It was hard to keep images aligned properly always had to readjust. In order to get more templates you had to upgrade for $29.00 a month.

https://infogram.com/ 

The third webapp I tried was infogram.  This was my least favorite because it had few images and icons to choose from. I found it difficult to modify templates that were free to use. In order to upgrade for more images and templates you have to pay $18.00 a month. With less images and icons to work with, it make you infographic less visual.

Sources:

Adams, D. (2011, March 25). What Are Infographics and Why Are They Important? Retrieved from http://www.instantshift.com/2011/03/25/what-are-infographics-and-why-are-they-important/

Funk, C., Kennedy, B., & Hefferon, M. (2017, February 2). Vast Majority of Americans Say Benefits of Childhood Vaccines Outweigh Risks. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/02/02/vast-majority-of-americans-say-benefits-of-childhood-vaccines-outweigh-risks/

Schulten, K. (2010). Teaching with infographics: Places to start. The Learning Network. https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/teaching-with-infographics-places-to-start/

Blogs and Blog Readers

In this blog I will talk about a blog reader I chose and why. I will also discuss 5 blogs I liked that will assist me as a librarian.

The blog reader I chose was Feedly. It was very easy to use. Creating an account was a breeze, once I logged in I was able to immediately begin creating and organizing my feeds. I just typed in keywords and plenty of feeds were presented. I was able to organize them into categories and then attach tags. Feedly offers suggestions for you category or you can make your own. This made organizing very easy. After I created a category I realized I wanted to change the name, renaming it was simple all I had to do was click the pencil next to the category and viola rename it, I could also delete it if I wanted to. Feedly was very user friendly, I like how simple it is to organize the feeds and even save articles to read later. I located great blogs that will be of help when I am a librarian.

5 blogs I chose

1.       http://greatkidbooks.blogspot.com/  I chose this blog because it helps parents find awesome books for their children ages 4-14. Here parents can find books that have won awards, I like how they are categorized by award as well as by age level. There are also reviews on different book genres. This is a fantastic resource that will help parents find amazing books to enjoy with their kids.

2.       http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/    The next blog is called kiss the book. I chose this blog because it contains book reviews that were conducted by school librarians as well as students. Their reviews will help you find great books for your classrooms from K-12. They have an abundance of reviews from different genres and bilingual as well.

3.       http://mrsnthebookbug.blogspot.com/ I chose this blog because it contains activities that can be used as a future librarian. She also has a list of wonderful blogs for both librarians and parents to use. It also contains links to social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.  It also has a link for teachers to view lessons and activities for the classroom. This blog contains great resources.

4.       http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/ I chose this blog because it contains book trailers. Kids love to see animation, if they can see their favorite book come to life it will get them more excited to read. I can see myself showing these to kids so they can see a summary of the book is about. Then they can decide if they want to read it or not. Some kids are visual and auditory learners, this blog utilizes those learning styles.

5.       http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/ I chose this blog because it contains an abundant amount of information for librarians. It has blog topics about leadership, collection development, teacher collaboration, makerspaces, professional development, STEM, and student engagement teaching models. As a librarian this information is crucial and to have it all under one site is perfect. I will definitely be referring to this blog as a future librarian.

My tumblr link is https://www.tumblr.com/blog/asthepageturnswow

Facebook and Twitter

Librarians are using Facebook as means of communication for the students, parents, and community members. They post pictures of award winning students, award winning books, and ways parents can get involved in attending library functions with their children. I am impressed with how the librarian at Henry Ford Elementary promotes her library on Facebook. Mrs. Narda Lugo has an amazing page demonstrating all the wonderful things that she is doing at her library. Way to go Mrs. Lugo. The comments I saw on the Facebook pages was mostly parents thanking the librarian for posting all the important information. There were also comments by the students stating they were proud to see themselves on the page. The amount of comments though was not very many, but I see it as quality not quantity. The advantages I think is that technology today is readily available so parents can stay connected, which is a plus. The librarian can do so much more with an electronic newsletter as opposed to a paper newsletter, plus we are saving the environment by using less resources. It’s great to promote services, advertise programs, and create a dialogue between the library and the patrons. A disadvantage I see would be privacy. In this day and age we value our privacy and if someone can just come to your page and take your pictures and information, I would feel violated. As a parent this would be even more of a concern as their children are being posted on the page.

After reading the tweets of Ed tech leaders I was blown away by the use of communication tools. Although you only begin with comments, you can tag on videos, links, and ask questions. The way you can connect to other professionals in your field is fantastic. Being able to have someone answer questions you may have retweeting your post and it reaching someone who can assist you is amazing. I really had fun, I can see myself using this great resource for communication with people. If you like to share and collaborate this is the tool for you.

 I am not too familiar with Twitter but it is very user friendly. I really enjoyed the functionality of it all, but I have some background experience with computers. I think parents or grandparents who want to use this technology tool and are not familiar with computers, it might seem confusing and they may get turned off. My advice would be continue working with it, in no time at all they will get the hang of it and really enjoy the networking. 

We Were Liars - Best Fiction for Young Adults

Lockhart, E. (2014). We were liars. New York: Delacorte.

Summary:

 In We Were Liars the character Candence Sinclaire Eastman tells her story by her confusion, emotional, and dejected self.  She is distinctive while suffering an awful accident that unfortunately leaves her with migraines and memory damage. She soon comprehends her grandfathers' home has been entirely transformed. This causes her memory to eventually return. Cadence figures out she was part of the fire and all the liars deceased. In the end, Cadence tips the "ghosts" to the ocean where they finally vanish.

Strengths/Textbook:

The intended audience of this book is readers ages 13 and up. This book meets the mental/emotional development because the haunting portrayal of Candice leaves her free and longing her acceptance.  She is displeased with the prejudices surrounding her world.  She is confused until at the end you realize that they were only ghosts that they had actually died in the fire.

Awards:

The sole YA title to make it into Amazon’s Best 20 Books of the Year!

Named the Best Teen & YA Book of 2014 by Amazon

Good Reads Best Young Adult Novel of 2014

Bustle’s “It” Book of 2014

A Horn Book “Best Book of 2014”

A School Library Journal “Best Book of 2014”

A Publishers Weekly “Best Book of 2014”

TIME’s 15 Best Books of 2014 (So far)

 Summer 2014 Kids’ Indie Next List (#1)

Other books by author: 

 

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Shusterman, N. (2007). Unwind. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Summary:

There is war going on against pro-choice and pro-life armies. There can be no winners, but a compromise is accomplished. Abortion has been outlawed, but there is a place for all kids.  If after they reach the age of 13 the children are still unwanted they are given to the government where their body parts are donated to others who need them. They are now called “unwound”. Kids ages 13-18 are at risk. There are 3 teenagers who can try to escape that fate. The find themselves in an underground railroad, a safe place until they turn 18. Eventually they are saved from the horrifying fate of becoming unwound. They begin fighting for the rights of others and demand change in their society.

Strengths/Textbook:

The author uses current political issues to create a science fiction work of art. He offers a solution to how we can stop fighting each other and comes up with a compromise, although this compromise is not really a solution. We see how morals plays a big part in the story, when the teenagers decide to save other unwinds from the horrific fate.

Awards:

ALA Best Books For Young Adults

 ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (Top Ten)

 ALA Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

 Abraham Lincoln Book Award Master List (IL)

 Bank Street Best Books of the Year

 Beehive Award Master List (UT)

 Black Eyed Susan Book Award Master List (MD)

 California Young Reader Medal Nominee

 Evergreen Book Award Master List (WA)

 Garden State Children's Book Award Nominee (NJ)

 Gateway Readers Award Nominee (MO)

 Georgia Peach Book Award Master List

 Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominee (AZ)

 Green Mountain Book Award

 Iowa Teen Award

 Isinglass Teen Read List Selection

 Kentucky Bluegrass Award Master List

 NYPL Best Books for Teens

 Nevada Young Reader's Award Nominee

 Nevada Young Readers' Award

 Nutmeg Children's Book Award (CT)

 Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Nominee

 Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee

 Sequoyah Children's Book Award (OK)

 Texas Lone Star Reading List

 Texas Tayshas High School Reading List

 Virginia Readers’ Choice Award Master List

 Young Adult Reading Program Reading List Selection (SD

Other books by author:

 

I Will Save You by Matt de la Pena

Peña, M. D. (2010). I will save you. New York: Delacorte Press.

Summary:

This story is about a boy named Kidd, who endured a horrible childhood due to his father. His father was abusive towards Kidd and his mother. No matter how many times his father beat his mom, she always took him back. Finally his mother couldn’t take it anymore so she decided to end her husband’s life as well as her own. After that incident, he was sent to a foster home. He met another boy named Devon. Kidd leaves the foster home and ends up working for Mr. Red as a maintenance worker. There he sees a lovely girl named Olivia. Devon searches and finds Kidd, Devon decides to hurt Olivia, and hurls Kidd over a cliff. It turns out Devon is Kidd’s other personality.

Awards:

A Junior Library Guild Selection

ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults and Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

Finalist for the 2011 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award

Named to 2012-2013 Texas High School TAYSHAS Reading List

Other books by author: 

 

The Scorpio Races – Maggie Stiefvater

Stiefvater, M. (2011). The Scorpio Races. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Summary:

 In the island of Thisby there is a “Scorpio race” that is a special race that is done every year in which men ride Celtric water horses.  There are two different horse riders this year one is Sean Kendrick who is a natural with the creatures and the other is a first female Kate Puck who unwillingly is trying the race for the first time.  Sean is sure he will win which will secure him his very own water horse.  Kate is forced to race because if she wins her family will have a place to live, if not they will be homeless.  To top it off Sean and Kate begin to have mutual feelings towards each other, but unfortunately the sad thing is they are also competitors and only one racer can win.  When Sean sacrifices his winnings Kate arises victorious.

Strengths/Textbook:

This book deals with two different characters that meet the emotional development criteria’s.  Puck is not your typical girl and actually goes against the stereotypical female characters; she is going through different emotions because she is trying to safe her family’s home but as well is feeling something for her competitor.  Sean in the other hand also wants to win his fifth title, but wants to help Kate as well.  This book intended ages are 13-17 years of age.

Other books by author: