Reed Timmer of Storm Chasers and Mayor Nutter Visit SLA!

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SLA welcomed Mayor Nutter and Storm Chaser Reed Timer for a visit on Friday, March 23rd. Mr. Timmer spoke to the entire 11th grade at The Franklin Institute in the morning and then met with a smaller, multi-grade group in the library. Mr. Timmer was duly impressed with the thoughtful and complex questions SLA students, and Mayor Nutter told us that he would return!
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Macbeth Creative Q3 BM

For my Macbeth Creative Benchmark I created a puppet show. I chose one scene from all of the acts and performed them. I made the stage and the puppets. The lights that you see on the stage are christmas lights. When the turn on and off, that signifies a new scene. In each scene I incorporated a quote. Below is a video of my puppet show. Enjoy! :)

THE PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH

What went well?

I think what went well was the group contribution towards the project. I also liked how our group were doing things on time checking in with each other. I think overall our communication was very good, and when doing a group a project I believe that’s very important.

 

What did not?

I think what didn’t go well was the fact that we had so many websites that it was hard to figure out what information should be included in what. It was very hard to narrow it down.

What would you do differently next time?

            If I could do one thing differently I guess I would’ve organized the websites better, and learned how to professionally do an info graphic to make it more decorative.

 Be Concise: I think our project was concise

 Be Visual: Our visual I believe was good, it included the information that it needed and the requirements that were needed.

 Be Smarter: I think we could’ve added more information or could’ve been more detailed and specific in certain areas.

 Be Transparent: It was obvious that our project had a good overview of information that we found.

 Be Different: Our project wasn’t necessarily different or unique but it was nice, neat, and straight the point.

 Be Accurate: We used Sources that were reliable, sufficient, and to the point. We mainly based our sources on articles.

Be Attractive: Our info graphic included pictures that related to our description.

 Be Varied: We used a variety of pictures.

 Be Gracious: having graciousness throughout this project wasn’t presented as much as we could’ve.

 Be Creative: The info graphic could’ve been a little more creative. I believe we could’ve added more wording, more color throughout the project.

 Which of these areas did you excel in?

I believe we excelled in making our project concise, and making it with a variety of pictures.

 Which were not so well represented?

         I think our creativity wasn’t shown in this particular project, but overall our project I believe is well developed and straight to the point.

 Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?

         I think some elements of design were harder to include in the end product because we weren’t necessarily use to working with info-graphics, so creating something different I guess was a little more challenging.

 

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Screen Shot 2012-03-26 at 3.01.13 PM

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Info Graphic Reflection

1. What went well?

Our group was fairly successful at the research portion of the project. We were also respectful of each others opinions and abilities.

2. What did not?

Our time management wasn't as wonderful as it could of been. Communication wasn't that solid either. I can't help but think that our final product would have been better if we were stronger in these areas.

3. What would you do differently next time?

I would have spent less time looking for appropriate vectors, and more time on the actual design of the info graphic.

4. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for info graphics:

Be Concise

The orientation of certain elements in our graphic could have been formatted better.

Be Visual

We searched diligently for usable vectors for the graphic.

Be Smarter

We could have found facts not typically known on the spill.

Be Transparent

We were fairly straight to point.

Be Different

Our graphic is eye-catching with the depiction of a large drop of oil.

Be Accurate

We only used credible sources for the information presented in the info graphic.

Be Attractive

The color scheme is consistent. Nothing seems to be an eye sore.

Be Varied

    We could have included contrasting elements in the info graphic.

Be Gracious

    We could have been more sentimental in the feel of the graphic.

Be Creative

I thought using an oil drop as the main container for the information was creative.


The Great Garbage Patch

  1. ​What went well was the amount of information we were able to get about our topic. We were able to split up the work but still were able to understand all of the topic and information that we gathered/
  2. What did not went well was being able to put all of the information of the poster without overwhelming everyone.
  3. What I would do differently next time is be a way to find a way to obtain and put the information on the poster in a better way.
  4. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics - 

Be Concise - each number of objects represent a number

Be Visual - things were colorful

Be Smarter -

Be Transparent

Be Different - used cartoons

Be Accurate - same amount of cartoons stood for something

Be Attractive - it was colorful and looked entertaining

Be Varied

Be Gracious

Be Creative - cartoon animals

The areas that we excelled in for different and creative because we used animated objects that people wouldn't usually use. Areas that were not so well represented I think some elements of design were easier or harder because it just depends on the amount of information that you have. It's hard to condense so much information on a poster board without doing too much.

Candace Blocker


a. What went well? 
We all worked very well together and all did an equal amount of work. I also like the pictures we chose and how we have little talking bubbles next to them.

b. What did not? 
Putting everything together so it makes sense and the make it clear to the person who was reading it so they could understand it.

c. What would you do differently next time? 
Next time I would want us to do things more timely and not rush things. And to make things a tad more colorful.

d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics.


garbage

Alex - Kentucky/West Virginia Coal Slurry Spill

​a. What went well? 
We worked well together and managed to produce a good product that effectively compared the coal slurry spill to not only the Exxon Valdez spill but to football field lengths.

b. What did not? 
I think that trying to use the football field lengths as comparison was hard to do because we couldn't really size them to represent the spill area effectively.

c. What would you do differently next time? 
I think next time I would have used different colors and added more information about the event.

d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics -

Be Concise: Used as little text as possible.

Be Visual: We used object and events to compare the coal slurry spill to what we could relate to.

Be Smarter: Used colors and size to highlight difference between events.

Be Transparent: 

Be Different: Used photoshop to create our own infographic.

Be Accurate: Used a variety of sources to verify the information.

Be Attractive: Infographic was colorful.

Be Varied: Used not only normal shapes but other methods to display information.

Be Gracious:

Be Creative: Used various fonts and methods to visualise the information.

Which of these areas did you excel in? Which were not so well represented? Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?

I think

Libby Montana Asbestos - Reflection

​As far as things that went well, the gathering of the information played a key role in the completion of the final info-graphic. Assembling a good list of primary sources was crucial for having good facts and information, and because we had them, the final product was able to be a lot better. Also, changing things around and using a google.drawling came out pretty well, too. In regards to things that didn't go too well, are simply the spacing in which we completed our checkpoints. Lauf specifically said we'd only work on it in class, but there were times where we'd have to do some parts for homework simply because we couldn't afford to be behind in class the following day. Also on the topic of process, we did finish literally in the knick of time, because by the time class ended, we just put the finishing touches on it and submitted it. What I'd do differently really just goes with what didn't go well. And that's the process. I'm a little curious because all in all, we did a fairly good job with the process given the circumstances (people being absent, days without class, etc.). So all I could suggest is that next time, we'd have to be on top of the classwork and make sure that come the next day, we wouldn't have to work on anything outside of class.

Be Concise - We didn't use too many words, but relied on using pictures and graphs to relay the information.

Be Visual - Similarly, the majority of the info-graphic is comprised mainly if pictures, graphs, and keys to demonstrate the facts and information gathered.


Be Smarter - I'm not necessarily sure how "smarter" we could have made it, but as far as information is concerned I suppose we did a "smart" job. 


Be Transparent - Similar to being concise, it's just specific data without too many words that shows the information we've gathered.


Be Different - Though the difference factor played a role, I feel that what we did isn't too out of the ordinary. We applied many different styles of explaining the information. 

Be Accurate - The information 





Morgan M, Amanda M and Jessica H.. Infographic

The Anniston Alabama PCB Poisoning

What went well? 
We found information on our topic very easily. It was easy for us to research what we wanted and our brainstorming and collaboration went very well. 
What did not? 
We had a lot of ideas for how we wanted our info-graphic to be displayed but they required more photoshop skills than what we were capable of. 
c. What would you do differently next time? 
Next time, we would use paper and pencil so that we could specifically plan out the way we wanted our info-graphic to look. I would also use the spare time we had to look up more information about the company. Also, next time it would be better to use a site where everyone could edit the page, the work basically had to be put on one person. 
d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics -

Be Concise- remain specific to one topic. Although our topic had many elements 

Be Visual- to use visual elements and a lot less words. 

Be Smarter- think about our topic thoroughly and use whatever elements we think will work best. 

Be Transparent- to make it obvious. 

Be Different- to be creative. 

Be Accurate- make sure we do research on our topic.

Be Attractive- make sure it looks nice and is aesthetically appealing. 

Be Varied- have a variety of images

Be Gracious- fair. 

Be Creative- use the left side of our brains. 

Which of these areas did you excel in? Which were not so well represented? Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?

I think we worked very well with being attractive, concise and different. We weren't very varied because our info-graphic had a set theme. I think being gracious and being different was harder because within the time frame we had we focused on getting it done. 

Tenn, coal ash spill of 2008

1. What went well was our research. We researched a lot of ideas on our topic.

2. We needed to communicate better. We yelled at each other a lot and we had different ideas.

3. What we should do next time is to have better communication and have better time mangement.

4. I pick the creative one. because our ideas were put together in a creative way I touught. The cause and effect method was pretty well represented.

Sierra Dinvil - Blog Post

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a. What went well? 

We were able to find a lot of useful information on the Dead Zones. I learned a lot about it by researching and I feel extremely informed on the topic.

b. What did not? 

Because of the topic we had, we had an extremely hard time trying to find graphics to use. We then got distracted by trying to find graphics and stopped paying attention to the time we had, which caused us to have to drop finding graphics, and just make a creative post with the information we had.


c. What would you do differently next time? 
I would ask for help so that the process of finding graphics would come more smoothly and spend less time on finding information and more time on creating a better info graphic 
d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics -

Be Concise

Be Visual

It is very important that you make the information appealing to the eye. A boring text heavy poster, isn't exactly the way to go.

Be Smarter

Be Transparent

Don't make things hard to understand. People should be able to get the general gist just by your info graphic alone. 

Be Different

Stand out from things that people may have seen before. If it's something that's repetitive then others may not be intrigued to look.

Be Accurate

Make sure the information are facts. Do not lie to innocent people.

Be Attractive

Make the info graphic appealing to the eye. 

Be Varied

Add variety to your info graphic. In other words, don't just stick with one concept! 

Be Gracious

Be Creative

The Coal Slurry Mess in Kentucky/Virginia






I think what when well was the fact that there wasn't much argument about the design of it. We didn't have underminding ideas and we worked together to make it look very neat and creative. We tried to keep the information concise and to the point and i think we did that well. 

 Nothing really went wrong or bad. We got a little of task at times but we got out project done with all (iThink) of the required components. If we were to do this project again, the only thing I'd probably change would be the colors because I'm really picky about that. 

The ten tips that we got were very helpful to our presentation and we really tried to use them. The main ones we focused on were using contrasting and popping colors, and keeping the text easy to understand and read. 

Below are a list of things we believe we excelled in when making this project:

Being Concise

Being Visual

Being Accurate

Being Attractive

Being Varied

Being Creative



I think we could have done better at using more of the information we gathered and incorporating it in an intelligent way.  

 


Tennessee Coal Ash Spill Reflection













What went well?-
Our group collaborated and brought different ideas together which was very helpful to get the job done easily.


What didn't go well?-
There were some things that didn't go well such as keeping pictures for information rather than a lot of words to describe the facts.

What would you do differently next time?-
Next time we should add more pictures and a scale.

Which of these areas did you excel in? Which were not so well represented? Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?
We excelled in getting our message across in a creative way. It was difficult to include all information in such a visual way. Some elements are easier because we can add pictures but the difficult part is to have a dynamic layer of information within the visual for the end product.

Environmental - Infographic

What went well? 
Something that went well with our project was that we were able to sort different causes and effects into different categories and organize them into a more informative info-graphic poster. Our groups collaboration was also on point and we were able to give each other collaborative topics to add on to our project.

What did not? 
Deeper research wasn't abled to be found with this topic. I feel as a group we weren't about to find more informative passages rather then pictures that we were able to add on to our project. 

What would you do differently next time? 
Primary researches involving our topic and maybe even a scale to keep our progress on point. I even think we needed an extended amount of time because design wise our graphic could have been improved.

Which of these areas did you excel in? Which were not so well represented? Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?

The message topic for our project seemed to be very brought out into recognition which included our detailed and labeled pictures. It was difficult to add a portion of information that sets in a visual way with detailed explanations presented.


Three mile island info graphic, Dwirt, Rburenstein, Wpotts

I feel like we worked well and hard together. We spent our class time wisely and were able to stay on top of our work. We collaborated well and i think in the end everything paid off. Where as the the collaboration between me and ruben was great, it did lack a little with the other group member. We could have worked on this a little better on that, and i think that is what we could have done better if we did it again. 

Be Concise


Be Visual


Be Smarter



Be Transparent



Be Different



Be Accurate



Be Attractive



Be Varied



Be Gracious



Be Creative

Which of these areas did you excel in? Which were not so well represented? Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?

I feel as though we excelled in the creative part. We were able to use things that people can relate to to show our findings. If we had ut simply numbers it might not have been so mind boggling, however, visually seeing the number, truly brings out what is out there. We were Different in that we used different ideas to represent our data.


Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill

a. I believe the overall research went well. We found a lot of statistics and different things that we could potentially use for the info graphic, so there was a lot of freedom when deciding what to put and what to not put.

b. I believe when it came to putting the right information into the graphic we fell short. We have things that resulted in the oil spill, but not so much how it was caused or what happened afterward. I believe we needed to include more of this in the info graphic.

c. I think I would include more information about the before and after, we included a lot about what happened because of the spill, but not so much how they cleaned it up, how long it took and how much oil is still there (according to some of our sources there is still some oil remaining in the area).

d. I think we excelled in "be visual" and "be transparent." I think the "be varied" and "be smarter" elements were not as well represented. I think the "be varied" and "be smarter" elements were not as well represented because when it comes to variation, if there is too much variation things can look sloppy and they will not be consistent. So when it came to variation, it was hard to add as much due to the fear of looking sloppy or the info graphic being hard to understand. I think when it came to "be smarter" we didn't want to add too much information because it would have been overpowering and maybe even cluttered. If there was too much information, it may have been harder to understand and read.

Picher Lead Contamination- Sam Lovett-Perkins, Sasha Sapp, Tenzin Ngawang

This is a info graphic that shows the lead contamination in Picher Oklahoma, considered by some to be one of the top ten of man made environmental disasters in America. During process, each of our group members worked well together. We all stuck to our timelines and shared the work evenly. Personally I am content with the final product and how the work was divided. One thing that didn't go well was the information. The information we have is good but I feel we could have looked for more factual information and made graphs with it. One future consideration would be adding more graphs and numerical information to replace the words, the kind of statistics that speak for themselves. There are many important qualities in in effective infographics. A couple of these included being concise, visual, smart, transparent, different, accurate, attractive, varied, gracious and creative. Our end product has many of these contributes. It is visual and transparent, in a way that it is well organized but not boring. For example the whole thing was about mining and much of the information is under the shadow of a town that shows creativity and reinforces the situation. Easily organized for the viewer to view. For information, our statistics are accurate and on ThinkLink.com they are cited. A couple of contributes we did not show as well, were gracious and varied. It's hard to be particularly gracious in this situation, finding a balance between showing sympathy for the those effected by the situation and stating the hard core facts about what happened, and we could have chosen more mediums for our information. Overall though, I am pleased with our final product. 

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Infographic

Something that went well with this project is that we were able to break things up evenly and assist one another here and there. We each became experts with a certain time frame of the accident and were able to summarize each part to the whole group. 

The only flaw in our project was that it was hard to incorporate everything into a visually appealing project. We only displayed the event and what was harmed/killed, but we didn't get to incorporate how it happened or how it was improved because it was just due to lack of preparation for disasters.

Something to consider for next time is adding more information or show symbols for things on how it happened or what was going on. 

The areas we excelled in as a group were graciousnss, visual appeal, transparency, accuracy, creativity, it was different, it was concise, and it was varied but not repetitive. The areas we didn't represent so much were the knowledge we learned wasn't portrayed in the infographic as much as it should have been because it was hard to incorporate it into the project in an appealing manner. 

Love Canal Infographic - Stephen Holts, Ryan Harris, Winston Wright

What went well?
- Our collaboration and process went well, as we all collaborated to present different data in the inforgraphic. It was also very easy to decide on how we were going to present the information. There were really no conflicts with any of the group members.
~I do believe that our infographic is an effective one. It shows all of the horrible things that happened to real people because fo the disaster.   

What did not?
- Our infographic could have had a better design, our picture got across but we could have expand the infographic with additional picture and text.
~One thing I think we should have done better was include more information about the destruction. We focused more on the things that happened to the people, but some information about the disaster probably would have made this better.

What would you do differently next time?
- Try to focus on a different aspect of the Love Canal Accident.
~Include some information about

Love Canal - Ryan H.,Winston W.,Stephen H.

What went well?
- Our collaboration and process went well, as we all collaborated to present different data in the inforgraphic. It was also very easy to decide on how we were going to present the information. There were really no conflicts with any of the group members.
What did not?
- Our infographic could have had a better design, our picture got across but we could have expand the infographic with additional picture and text.
What would you do differently next time?
- Try to focus on a different aspect of the Love Canal Accident.
Which of these areas did you excel in? Which were not so well represented? Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?

One thing I think we should have done better was include more information about the destruction. We focused more on the things that happened to the people, but some information about the disaster probably would have made this better.

3) Libby, Montana Asbestos Outbreak

We did pretty well with figuring out what to do with the information, once we looked at some info graphics. However, it was hard to be original while keeping in mind that we have to include statistics. It was a challenge to be different, because we're doing something new, based off of things we're already seen. Being creative and different intertwine, because creativity wise, we were basically mimicking what we saw. The conciseness of the project wasn't horrible, it was just hard to find information. Being gracious was also quite a challenge, because we wanted to have a piece of information come from every group member.
We excelled at being smarter when it came to this project. We easily found ways to make the information transparent and accurate. The attractiveness was one of the easier tasks to do well in, because we're constantly working on projects. We know how to make things look visually well. A lot of the information did vary, making the reader have an easier time digesting what we were trying to show. The visual as a whole is good. You can conclude that there was an asbestos outbreak throughout the years (the pie chart), and the amount of people/homes it affected (shown in the ratios).

Areas of Improvement:
Be Different
Be Creative
Be Concise
Be Gracious

Outstanding Areas:
Be Smarter
Be Transparent
Be Accurate
Be Attractive
Be Varied
Be Visual

Environmental Info-GraphicRbah

 

 

a. What went well? Some of the things that went well were coming with the idea and making it to be creative yet clear. Also we worked together as a group and spilt up the work to get it done quicker and we also helped each other understanding their part of the project.

b. What did not? Some of the things that did not go well were, getting out pictures to be large on the slides and when we upload it. Also to connect the creativities with our ideas we had in mind and that our a audiences would be able to see the message clear.

c. What would you do differently next time? Some of the things we would like to do differently next time are, instead of using what we used to show our numbers on the mountain we could of more pictures and instead of the using the mountain, would could of used something different like hills etc.

d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics –our project wasn’t that creative to have all the 10 tips, however the mining people on the mountain is the notifies the creative’s that is in it because it stand for in OCK the area were very tight and many people had to make their way up by fighting and because of the oil spill it was hard. Our elements of designer were hard because of the image we had in our head kind of turned out the way we wanted it but still not exact, our pictures isn’t large enough and the 10 tips wasn’t in it as much.

REFLECTION ON ENVIRONMENT - INFOGRAPHIC

 What went well?  

Our group worked well together and we divided the project up nicely. We all were friends and there was no fighting among us. We all did a lot of researching and we all knew what we were talking about and all the parts of the project worked well together.


What did not? 

WE NEEDED TO WORK ON IT THE LAST DAY AND DAN AND RUBEN WOULD NOT GET UP SO WE HAD TO WORK ON THE PROJECT WITHOUT OUR GROUP ALL SITTING TOGETHER.  Also I feel like we rushed to finish it because we weren't ready to turn it in on Monday.

What would you do differently next time


 I would not do anything differently next time, i like my group and how we work with each other. But, i would make the project a little more visually appealing

Which of these areas did you excel in? Which were not so well represented? Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?

I feel like the smart aspect of this was us, because we introduced a lot of good information.

West Virginia/Kentucky Coal Sludge Spill: AJohnson, KCayamcela, K

                   

a. What went well? 

Our work ethic was great. We all worked together and researched information. Unlike the other catastrophes, this sludge spill was minor and did not have much argument behind it. 

b. What did not? 

Finding a way we were going to portray the information was the difficult part. 

c. What would you do differently next time? 
I wouldn't do anything differently except perhaps, if I could, pick a topic myself according to my comfort zone. I feel as though the topic we were given didn't give us much to work with. I think complexity is key. The more information one has, the more effective the info graphic will be.

d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics 

Be Concise- To be brief but not give little information.

Be Visual- To not include too much writing but images. 

Be Smarter- Must be helpful, informative, and entertaining. 

Be Transparent- To make our focus point obvious. 

Be Different- Be unique/creative. You don't always have to go by someone else's idea. 

Be Accurate- The research cannot be false. 

Be Attractive- The info graphic must be eye-catching, not boring. 

Be Varied- To keep the variation to a minimum. If it were to be too varied, the info graphic would look messy (The main idea wouldn't be there anymore).

Be Gracious- To not have too many things going on all at once. For example "this means this, and this means this, and this means this." 

Be Creative- This is similar to being different. Being simple can be bad sometimes, therefore being creative can take the boringness of a project away! 

Which of these areas did you excel in? Which were not so well represented? Why do you think some elements of design were easier or harder to include in the end product?
We excelled in almost every factor of having an effective info graphic except for the, "Be smarter" portion. I think we could have done a better job incorporating all the information we found rather than just focusing on the damage of the spill. Some elements of the design were easier than others because, depending on how "on topic" the information was to our main topic (the damage of the spill), we couldn't include other information we researched, such as: how the government responded to the spill, or how the area is today. 

PCB Info Graphic Reflection Amillatt Jhinton Mmarant

​I feel that our research went well and so did our decision making. We knew what we wanted on the info graph  and we knew how to represent the information. We never argued and we all contributed. Some contributed more than others, but we all did something. Our procrastination wasn't so good. We were distracted at times and that prevented us to get our work done earlier. Also my computer was slow and took forever to put the graphic together. I would add more information and more information about PCB. I feel that we didn't have much about the history on Monsanto. We could have also incorporated more real life photos.

Be Concise

We tried not to use a lot of words. We wanted to use more pictures to describe what was happening. We hoped that people would understand it with a quick glance. 

Be Visual

We had a lot of pictures that told their own story. We do have some sentences, but we just tried to use phrases.  We picked a theme and colors, that we tried to keep consistant through out the graphic.

Be Smarter

I thought that our graphic was clever and well represented. I don't think it is perfect, but it is good. 

Be Transparent

Our graphic was a little not clear at times and if i didn't make it, I might not understand what was going on. 

Be Different

Our graphic has a different theme than others. We used used blue throughout. We tried to have the least amount of words and others had a lot.

Be Accurate

We did tons of research and tried not to use any sources that looked unreliable.

Be Attractive

I feel that it is well organized and the color makes it appealing to the eyes. It might be a bit crowded, but I think it looks fine.

Be Varied

We used a variation of ways to display the data, like we tried to tell a story with the fish and showing a scale with the randrops. 

Be Creative

We used tons of pictures and used different ways to display the data. I thought that we were creative    with the way we approached the assignment.