About Me

Anyone who can remember coloring on old punch cards from Dad's office can't quite claim to be a digital native, so I will settle with being an "early adopter." I was the only freshman in my dorm with a personal computer, and my husband gave me the original iPod so I could bring my entire music collection to the delivery room. It had more than one button, but I loved it just the same! Since I have experience in both analog and digital worlds, I enjoy helping other digital immigrants become more familiar with technology as they discover its potential.

Brussel Sprouts and Potato Chips: My First Infographic

At first, I approached this infographic assignment the same way I do Brussel Sprouts (and most vegetables!) It was something I had to do. I knew it would be good for me. But I wasn’t looking forward to it.

Infographics convey images with visuals. If you’re old school like me, you can think of the graphics made popular by USA today. I remember when USA Today was criticized for oversimplifying information, but I think infographics are a communication tool that works for the right information and the right audience. Used educationally, they are an opportunity for using the higher order thinking skills in Blooms Taxonomy. So I knew I had do do it...but how? 

First there was the overwhelming task of choosing an infographic tool. The perfectionist in me wanted to experiment with every one, but the working mom in me elected to try a few and settle on the first one that looked workable. Anything in “beta” like Easel.ly was ruled out. I’ve had too much experience with “beta” versions, and too little time. 

I chose Piktochart because I could find a template that looked appealing. Once I understood some of the basics, the experience turned into potato chips. The ability to do just one more tweak here and one little edit there was addictive! If I resize this graphic, will it look better? What if I rotate it the other way?  Before I knew it it was 2:00 am! I was being a perfectionist again, but at least I was having fun! 

Piktochart was mostly fun, but it did a few frustrating things I didn't understand... like cutting off some of the text when I exported to a .jpg file. To see the complete infographic, click here.



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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 3, 2013 at 8:02 AM

    Vey nicely done inforgraphic, Heidi!
    I too have the challenge of sorting through available options with enough time left over to accomplish something. I went with easel.ly as a quick and simplified process for putting together my infographic, but I ended up fighting with it during and tweaking/editing it at the end. If I had to do it over, I'd try something different.

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  2. AnonymousJune 3, 2013 at 9:53 AM

    You are a 'natural' at blogging! Engaging, clear, witty!

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  3. AnonymousJune 3, 2013 at 9:54 AM

    And did I forget to say your infographic was totally wow, too? Think about getting a license for it on Creative Commons so you can share it with the world!

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