Reading charts and infographics is part of everyday life, yet telling a story with data can be tricky. Luckily, data visualization is a skill that everyone can learn! Data visualization is the practice of translating information into a visual context, helping humans understand complex concepts and making it easier to identify patterns and uncover insights. In this workshop, learn the basics of designing data visualizations, selecting appropriate graph styles, and how to identify misleading data visuals.

This is an introduction to the classic version of ArcGIS StoryMaps. It provides a walkthrough of the website functions and has tasks listed for students to build their first story map.

This lesson on journal prestige could be taught by itself, as part of a series on scholarly communication, or as a small part of a larger lesson on information prestige.

Students learn about innovation, the distribution of innovation across the country, and what can be patented. Working in groups, they examine patents and consider the changes the patents brought. They then use a mapping program and interpret data from that map to consider how local resources promote innovation.

A hybrid teaching module with two elements: an interactive online module for students to complete ahead of class and a face-to-face lesson plan that builds on the skills learned in the online lesson. The in-class session provides students with a critical exploration of the purchasing power of minimum wages across states and/or the earnings gap between men and women employed full time.

The pre-class online course is titled: “FRED Interactive: Information Literacy” available through www.econlowdown.org. In the online course, students review a FRED graph made in the course; define the concepts nominal, real, and inflation; and discuss basic strategies for establishing the reliability of a data source.

The in-person class lesson is titled: ACRL Information Literacy Frames as FRED-Integrated Abilities: The frames Research as Inquiry, Information Creation as a Process, Scholarship as Conversation, and Authority Is Constructed and Contextual are highlighted. The instructor has two possible tasks for students;
-Option A, students work in FRED and use the formula real = (nominal/CPI)*100 to plot inflation-adjusted minimum wage rates for two states and compare the results.
-Option B, students work in FRED to plot and compare nominal and real earnings differentials for men and woman.

The lesson includes a variety of in-class and out-of-class assessment activities and links to resources and a glossary of terms provide additional learning opportunities.

This instructional session coincided with a project comparing data from two cities for an Urban Studies 1000 level (Freshmen) course. The session provided a basic overview of Simply Map as a web-based application, described the data available within and its origins (Census, American Community Survey, etc.), two activities for creating and visualizing the data, and supporting materials for understanding the data including a libguide and deliverable handout.

This workshop provides an introduction to creating infographics using Piktochart and includes advice on selecting a design, incorporating data, and structuring a story.