Infographics are quickly becoming “the way” to show information. Graphs and charts have always been used in the past, but an infographic is like a bar chart on steroids, with a number of charts, pictures, and text on one page. Some of them are quite lengthy and extend far beyond the end of the screen. I like them because they help to convey ideas and concepts that may be hard to comprehend and perceive by the reading of a text in a highly visual and engaging manner.
After looking at several different infographics with my seventh grade current issues class this week, I decided it would be fun for them to try and make their own. Knowing that there had to be a way for them to do this on the computer, I started a search. There are several apps out there, but most of what I found required either payment of some kind or the download of the app to the local machine. Then I ran across easel.ly on Larry Ferlazzo’s blog.
Today, my seventh graders started making infographics using the easel.ly app. We are into the early stages of the project, but so far, the app has worked great. At the moment, easel.ly is in beta, so registration is free. One of the things I like best about using the app with students is the easy registration process. Students do need an email, but they don’t have to validate their registration by going to their email. This is a big plus when students are not able to check email at school.
As far as training for students on how to use the app, I did nothing. I just showed them the app and let them go. The figured it out in about one minute. The app is intuitive and easy to use. At the moment, I have no student examples to share, but they should be coming in the near future.
