This year our seventh grade students learned about infographics: what they are, how they are used, and how to create their own. Some great sites that curate infographics are David Warlick's Infographic a Day, Daily Infographic, Cool Infographics, and Visual.ly, just to name a few. The process of creating infographics can be called information design or data visualization. According to Tiago Veloso, the "infographic explosion" began around 2009. There is now a whole industry that has emerged dedicated to developing the visual representation of information. Here is how our seventh graders tested the infographic waters.

First the students searched for a favorite infographic from a selected list of sources. They studied the infographic using a list of criteria and then presented their findings to their classmates. In order to have some real data to display graphically, they created a Google Form to survey students in the school about technology use. This involved some serious thinking about how to word questions clearly, how to present choices, and how to create survey questions that were age appropriate. This was a lot harder to do than they had anticipated and some realized later that their choice of questions made some of the results a little "questionable".

The final step was to present the data in an infographic of their own creation. Not having access to high end graphics programs, and not wanting to have students create an account at yet another website (they already have many) we used basic PowerPoint to develop our infographics. It was free, accessible, familiar, and totally under our control. Chareen Snelson's Making Video Infographics with PowerPoint gave some clear directions on how to use availabe graphics in the program and the design principles to be considered.

The basic steps we used to create our finished infographics were:

1. Create 4 slides, the first for the title of the infographic and the other three for the three questions posed in the survey.

2. Save those 4 slides as jpgs.

3. Create a new PPT file with one slide.

4. Change the dimensions of that slide to portrait orientation and a size of 10" wide and 30" high. (The default slide dimenstion is 7.5 x 10). We used 30 inches because we were "stacking" 4 slides (4 multiplied by 7.5). To make a longer infographic, add another 7.5 inches for each.

5. Make the background of the single slide match the background used in the 4 original slides.

6. Insert the 4 jpgs onto the elongated slide.

7. Save the single slide as a jpg and upload to a website (We used our Flickr account).

8. Share the infographic on your site. (Students used their classblogmeister blog site to showcase their infographic.)

Here are some of the finished infographics created by our students:

          

            
          

To see the students' explanation of the process and additional infographics see the assignment group here.(Not all students linked their post to the assignment. Some students did not provide a link to their full size image.)

Each year third graders learn about the various ecosystems and then create a shoebox diorama to feature an ecosystem of their choice. They write a report on the ecosystem they chose and also share their report in a Voice Thread. Well done, third graders!

Last year's Christmas post re-visited:

At this time of year many of us in the USA, as well as in countries all over the globe, are planning for the celebration of Christmas. Even within our own country the traditions can vary greatly. Here is a chance to explore what our friends in other parts of the world may be doing as Christmas approaches. It is wonderful that so many countries have visited our class blog. Perhaps some visitor to our blog would tell us more about their celebrations or correct misinformation that might be found on the websites I have included on the Global Christmas glog here. In addition, we can learn about the history of Christmas celebrations in our own culture.

In some countries of the world the percentage of people who celebrate Christmas is quite small or even non-existent. Each culture has its own traditions, beliefs, holidays, and holy days.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all learned more about each other and grew to understand, appreciate, and respect the many beautiful and rich cultural traditions that make up our global family? To see the full size of the glog click here.

This year our eighth grade students created a video about bullying. This was a joint project for health class and technology class. They chose "three words" on which to base a script portraying one way that bullying takes place. Part of the project was learning about camera angles and other special techniques using resources available from the American Film Institute. They created a story board, planned their camera angles, shot their scenes, and then put their clips together into a mini-video. The videos were then blended into one class project.

Take their message to heart. Be a friend, not a bully. Thank you, Class of 2012, for your efforts.

Here is a beautiful interactive interpretation of Van Gogh's Starry Night. You need sound to have the full experience. The creator of this amazing video, Petros Vrellis, credits the software openFrameworks for allowing this to be possible. According to their website openFrameworks is an open source C++ tookit for creative coding.

Of course, Van Gogh's masterpiece is amazing in its own right. I wonder what he would think of Vrellis's interpretation.

The Starry Night was painted by Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) in 1889. The original is currently housed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  More information about the painting and artist can be  found at the VanGogh Gallery site. This work is considered to be of the Post-Impressionist style. According to the Museum of Modern Art Post-Imressionism "can be loosely defined as a rejection of the Impressionists’ concern for the naturalistic depiction of light and colour in favour of an emphasis on abstract qualities or symbolic content." The time period is roughly 1886 to 1905 and in addition to Van Gogh, includes the work of artists such as Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and George Seurat. They each had unique styles such as  VanGogh's impasto which is taking a thick application of paint (usually oil) that makes no attempt to look smooth. It purposely is textured to show off brush and palette knife marks.



Do you want to learn more about art? Here are some places to visit

Smithsonian's Everything Art

Famous Paintings - Art Appreciation Lessons for Kids

Artcyclopedia

 Image: The Starry Night from Wikimedia Commons in the Public Domain

The Trekking the Planet team of Darren and Sandy Van Soye began their journey around the world on January 28, and have now posted some updates. I have been anxiously watching their Google Live Tracker on the Trekking the Planet website and today - there they are! 

You can read the interesting story of their luggage being questioned as they boarded their ship in this post from January 31, and also see some beautiful views of San Diego as they left the mainland USA behind. My only experience on a ship was a whale watching excursion out of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and I had a seasick child to contend with. I wonder if there is less seasickness on such a large vessel as the Princess cruise ship the Van Soyes are on. 

Here is Sandy's recap of the first few days at sea and her impression of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean.

They have also released Education Module #4 for Week One of the journey. This module is all about the Pacific Ocean. Did you know that there are over 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean? And that if Mount Everest were placed into the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Pacific, it would totally fit under water? The ocean voyage from San Diego, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, takes five days. They will spend a day in Honolulu and another day on the island of Kaua'i. You can appreciate the size of the world's largest ocean by realizing that it is taking their ship five days to sail from point A to point B on the globe at the left. 

In the map of the Hawaiian Islands at the right, the island with the most red is the most populated island, O'ahu. This is where the capital of Hawaii, Honolulu, is located. Slightly to the north and west of Oahu is the island of Kaua'i. We are likely to be learning more about the Hawaiian Islands from the Van Soyes.

UPDATE: February 6 - The Week 2 Module is out -Learn More About Hawaii - (I didn't know that the Hawaiian alphabet only uses 12 letters!)

You can find out even more about the Pacific Ocean from the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment. For example: Did you know that it is because of the depth of the Pacific Ocean that tsunamis can reach speeds of up to 750 kilometers per hour ( as fast as a jet plane)? Or that there are 17 nations located in the Pacific Ocean? Or that the area of the Pacific Ocean is larger than all the land on Earth put together? Wow!

In my one and only trip to California I had a chance to dip my toes in the Pacific Ocean. I hope I get to see more of it someday. Have you sailed on the Pacific or seen it from the shore? Do you live in one of the Pacific nations? We have had a number of visitors from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and even Japan. Perhaps they wonder about the Atlantic Ocean the way those of us in the Eastern USA wonder about the Pacific. What a great opportunity Trekking the Planet is offering us to learn more about parts of the world we may have never seen!

Map images from CIA World Factbook.

Something exciting will begin on January 28! That is when the Trekking the Planet adventure begins. We will be able to follow Darren and Sandy Van Soye as they travel around the world on a 424-day journey across six continents. They are hoping to raise geography awareness and arouse curiosity about the world, especially for K-12 students. I am one of the teachers who have signed up to receive updates and geography modules from the Van Soyes as they begin their incredible journey.

What made them decide to embark on such a long trip that has taken them many months to plan? Check out this video to discover how the seeds were planted for the trek.

Their  special treks will include:

- a 50 mile hike on the island of Tasmania, off the coast of Australia, where they will hike through a national forest

- the country of Laos in Southeast Asia where they will live among the villagers to learn of their everyday lives including the lives of school children

-  Nepal in the Himalayas

- Central Asia -  Uzbekistan

- In Europe,  Sweden and the Arctic Circle

- Slovenia and the Julian Alps

-  In Africa, Mali and the cliff-dwellilng Dogon people

- the national forest in Ethiopia

-  In the Middle East, Jordan and the city of Petra

-  In South America,  Brazil and the Amazon rainforest

 - Argentina and the region of Patagonia

- Chile and the Atacama Desert.

The blue lines on the map indicate their travel by ship, the green lines by air, and the red lines indicate local ground transportation. They want to travel whenever possible just as the native people of the region travel in order to minimize their carbon footprint.

There are also four preparatory videos that give background on the journey. They are:

Part 1 - Why Study Geography

Part 2 - Where Are You Going? 

Part 3 - What Are You Taking?

 Part 4 - What Materials Are Available?

The last video tells of the resources they will make available to teachers to use with their classes, including geography modules that will cover history, cities, ethnic groups, government, language, customs, transportation, nature and environment, land topography, rivers, oceans, climate, vegetation, animals, ecosystems. If your class would like to receive the updates and the geography modules, be sure to register.

See a sample Education Module, free to educators, students, and parents.Get  pre-trip module #1 Basics of Geography and pre-trip module #2 Geography Today which include the 5 Themes of Geography and UK and US geography standards and curriculum.

Contact the team at Info@TrekkingthePlanet.net or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.



How much do you know about our world?

Take the Continent IQ Quiz (15 questions)

Take the Cultural Geography IQ Quiz (15 questions)

Take the Physical and Cultural Geography IQ Quiz (15 questions)

Take some challenging quizzes at TravelPod. (fast paced)

Where in the World Is This? ( photos from space)

 Flags of Peace by Paul Trafford under CC License

Crystal Ball Globe by Judy van der Velden under CC License

 As 2011 becomes “the past”, we look to 2012 with hope and anticipation, and more new discoveries, possibly topping the many amazing ones of the year just ended. Here are some that I missed as they happened but have found through end of year stories recently posted.

  A diamond is forever – or so the jewelry stores would like us to believe. It seems, however, that science now backs up that statement with the discovery of a “diamond planet”. A once massive star has been transformed into a solid diamond mass, five times larger than Earth. This gem of a discovery is actually part of a binary star system some 4000 light years from earth. Scientists noticed that the pulses of energy from the star known as J1719-1438 were regularly being disturbed. This led them to find the diamond planet which was orbiting the star. The lighter elements had been stripped away leaving nothing but carbon, which, under intense pressure, will form a diamond. Scientists believe this diamond planet is now stable and will not likely change for billions of years. This video shows the telescope used to detect the pulsars and how the “diamond planet” orbiting it was detected.

In addition to “planets in the sky, with diamonds”, scientists were able to discover a planet in its infancy. This is the youngest known planet known to exist, and has been named Lk Ca 15 b and is “only” 450 light years from earth. (Do you know how far a light year is?)This future Jupiter-sized planet is still forming and the image is an artist’s interpretation of the new planet building itself out of dust and gas. (from Nasablueshift, CC license)According to UK’s Daily Mail, Adam Kraus used the telescopes on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, to discover the youngest planet known to exist.   

But don’t go thinking that everything being discovered is “way out there”. There were many new finds right here on planet earth. In the world of archaeology it was big news that as many as 17 pyramids, more than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 settlements were uncovered in Egypt using infrared technology. Infrared images, which were taken by satellites orbiting 700 kilometers (435 miles) above the Earth, revealed the structures hidden below ground. The discoveries were announced in May by the BBC who funded the research prior to airing the broadcast. You can watch the amazing story in this video.

A number of new species were discovered in 2011 as well. You can read more about the Beelzebub bat, (pictured at the left from National Geographic), the vampire flying tree frog, mind-control fungus, the Burrunan dolphin, or the buck-toothed “evil spirit” dinosaur found in China, and much more on the National Geographic site. According to researchers at the California Academy of Sciences, 140 new species have been officially added just in the past year. The new species include 72 arthropods, 31 sea slugs, 13 fishes, 11 plants, nine sponges, three corals, and one reptile.

Planet Earth is home to perhaps thousands of species yet undiscovered and immense oceans largely unexplored. We exist in a vast universe on whose door we have just begun to faintly tap. What wonders await us in the coming year, in the coming decade, in the coming century? Which of our students around the world will take on the challenge of new discoveries in archaeology, biology, astronomy, paleontology, physics, and more? Let’s open our eyes to the wonders surrounding us and our minds to what may lie ahead. Let's learn at least one new thing about our amazing planet each day and work to protect what is here.  Wishing all of our friends around the globe a year filled with wonder, peace, and joy…Happy New Year! 

Click the image below to view the slide show (featured on the Huffington Post site) of our human family welcoming in the new year.

At this time of year many of us in the USA, as well as in countries all over the globe, are planning for the celebration of Christmas. Even within our own country the traditions can vary greatly. Here is a chance to explore what our friends in other parts of the world may be doing as Christmas approaches. It is wonderful that so many countries have visited our class blog. Perhaps some visitor to our blog would tell us more about their celebrations or correct misinformation that might be found on the websites I have included on the Global Christmas glog here. In addition, we can learn about the history of Christmas celebrations in our own culture.

In some countries of the world the percentage of people who celebrate Christmas is quite small or even non-existent.  Each culture has its own traditions, beliefs, holidays, and holy days. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all learned more about each other and grew to understand, appreciate, and respect the many beautiful and rich cultural traditions that make up our global family?  To see the full size of the glog click here.

Some projections have indicated that on Monday, October 31, 2011, (when many of us celebrate Halloween) the world’s 7 billionth person will be born. Although the exact date isn’t really important, we can be certain that by the end of 2011 there will be 7 billion plus people on this planet. National Geographic is devoting a year of special publications to this population number. Here are some interesting videos they have produced on the topic (unfortunately there may be a short commercial at the beginning of each):

From a meeting of world leaders in the year 2000 came the Millennium Development Goals, and the plan to eradicate poverty by the year 2015. Some progress has been made but there is still so much to be done. As a “birthday present” to the 7 billionth human being on the planet, we could make the effort to become aware of these eight goals, support the efforts of corporations and government agencies involved in promoting and advancing the goals, and look for ways that we as individuals can do something to make this world a better place. Click on the image below to visit information about the goals and additional videos to watch compiled by the UN global teaching and learning project CyberSchoolBus.