Information is Beautiful is a blog created by journalist/designer David McCandless to showcase the intersection of design and data. The various infographics and visualizations on the site are organized by thematic category, allowing users to make connections between various disciplines and excellence in design. This resource has strong implications for teachers looking to support STEM to STEAM initiatives in their classrooms.
Type of Material:
Reference Material
Recommended Uses:
Under the data tab (at the top) users will find an impressive spreadsheet of the site's best data. The spreadsheet includes title, description and the Bit.ly link to the data image, publication date, and date of any updates. It can be used for in-class, project-based lerning, math, statistics and social studies.
Technical Requirements:
Internet access.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
This site is dedicated to distilling the world’s data, information and knowledge into beautiful, interesting and, above all, useful visualizations, infographics and diagrams. It is supported by the visual data books that it sells.
Target Student Population:
This site is geared toward college and university folks and the general public. It could be used in many creative ways, mainly for inspiration about visualizing data.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
No prerequisite knowledge or skills needed. However, if users understand spreadsheets, data charts and strong visuals, then there will be a higher level of appreciation for what this site offers.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The site is dedicated to distilling the world’s data, information and knowledge into beautiful, interesting and, above all, useful visualizations, infographics and diagrams. The site includes tabs for a blog, the data, books, workshops, and contact information. The bottom of the page offers many options for browsing the data--interactive, all visualizations, this year, last year, and more. It is a reference site for a collection for data visualizations and a range of spreadsheets. This is a creative and visually appealing approach to illustrating and understanding data.
Concerns:
Tie-in with the curriculum would be completely up to the teacher. Use of this site for inspiration would be quite open-ended.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
There are many very interesting, intriguing, and esoteric visualizations and data sets to be found at this site. IF the data you are seeking can be found, then the material will enhance the work you are doing or the curriculum you are teaching. Although you cannot search for a topic, at the bottom of the sites' pages you can see what topics are currently popular and click on any of them. This site could be very inspiring for students creating visualizations of data.
Concerns:
Useful in more open-ended ways. Direct connection to any specific curriculum is not stated.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The site is systematically organized and the data visuals do spark interest. There are tabs for About, Blog, Data, Books, Workshops, Work for Us, and Contact. It is easily navigable with visually stunning graphics.
Concerns:
Several of the actual databases listed in the site are can no longer be accessed or found. One reviewer was unable to view some of the visualizations because the computer she was using would not accept the specific version of Flash required by visualization.
Creative Commons:
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