Technology Connections. Data Tools for Librarians and Peer Educators

by Heather Moorefield-Lang, April 2017

Looking for ways to present your data to teachers, administrators, or your community at large? Infographics and other data presentation tools are quick to use and easy for readers to follow. They are wonderful tools to incorporate when looking for ideas for presenting data-based plans or results to your community at large.

You may have heard of infographics. Infographics are data in a graphic or illustrative form, making data easier for readers to view and digest (Byrne 2011). Infographics offer a large amount of information quickly and often look like graphs, charts, maps, or diagrams. They can come in many different formats. In this month's column we will take a look at some of the newer infographic and data tools available.

Piktochart: https://piktochart.com/

An excellent online tool for creating graphics and charts. So easy to use and an excellent source for presenting and offering information to students, faculty, or your community as a whole. Piktochart offers template options to users: simply choose your template, drag and drop the best images to show your data, fill in your information, and you are done. Each infographic can be linked or downloaded. Excellent for students or educators. This is a perfect option for loading information on a website or into a newsletter. This is a great tool for sharing large amounts of data in an easy format.

Canva: https://www.canva.com/

Canva doesn't just do infographics. It offers a host of possibilities. Peer educators, students, and librarians can create flyers, presentations, and reports in Canva. This tool also offers photo editing options. Digital storytelling and comics are just a few more of the selections on the menu in Canva. There are so many ways to present information in this tool. If you want to share data or evidence about your library with a community via your library website or monthly newsletter, Canva is a great platform. Easy to use with a wealth of training videos for those who need a little extra help.

Slatebox: https://slatebox.com/

Slatebox has been around a few years but has gone through some redesigns to better address user needs. Overall, Slatebox sells itself as a collaborative visualization tool. Visualization tools are commonly digital tools and apps that help users plot or draw an idea into an image or diagram. The really nice thing about Slatebox is that it can be used to draw out a group's idea for a project, plot out a committee's plan, share a group's data with a community, and much more. Easy to use and fun to look at, Slatebox is certainly a tool to try out, especially if it's new to your digital tool collection.

Infogram: https://infogr.am/

This online tool offers users the opportunity to create graphs, charts, maps, and infographics. As with many tools, Infogram offers a free and, if you want to take your use to the next level, a pro option. When creating infographics, designers can load images and videos to support their information. Loading data into the site is easy and the final product can be shared on a library or school website, in a newsletter, or via social media. There are a host of options with this fun data representation tool.

Infographics show evidence in a visual and creative way; but there can be weaknesses. Data in infographics can sometimes be taken out of context. References and citations are incredibly important when presenting information in these formats.

Infographics and other data visualization tools are a great way for students, peer educators, and librarians to create a visual representation of the information they are trying to convey. Infographics are an exceptional method of presentation. They give users a chance to be creative with information and data representation. They are well worth trying, and I hope you enjoy using some of the options listed in this month's column with your own school population.

Works Cited

Byrne, Richard. "Picture This." School Library Journal 57, no. 6 (2011): 15.