Infographics

I’m presenting at a conference on Saturday - to school librarians around the region - and instead of using a simple Google Slide or PowerPoint presentation, I decided to explore other presentation tools. As you all know, there are some excellent free presentation tools on the web: Prezi, Emaze, Animoto, and PowToon are really cool examples that I’ve used for instruction, presentations, and in my own classes. But these tools just weren’t what I was looking for.

I’ve been curious for a while about infographics. I love the way an infographic often (and should) require visual literacy skills to interpret the information included in the final product. Since visual literacy is a 21st Century Skill that all students and teachers should possess, I decided to incorporate an infographic into my presentation. There are many free infographic tools on the web; I’d heard of both Piktochart and Canva, but there are many more. After short tutorials on both Piktochart and Canva, I decided to use Canva.

I’m not going to lie. Starting out was the hardest part, but I got the hang of it. Using Canva to create an infographic was very intuitive. Instead of creating my own right from the get-go, I used a template. There are all sorts of graphics and templates provided once you create a Canva account, even logos, which I needed to use.

I’m really happy with my final product. Soon I’ll try to create my own infographic, but it might take a few tries before I’m comfortable sharing them with the public. For now, I’ll continue to create infographics using Canva’s templates. And I intend to master Piktochart so I have options because options are important, don’t you think?

I’d love to hear about all of your experiences using infographics. Share some examples that you’re proud of! Here is mine: