Infographic Assignment:
In this lesson we learned about the role of energy in transportation. Now, you’re going to engage in an activity to demonstrate your understanding of the role you, personally, play in the consumption of energy through the creation of an infographic.
Purpose of this infographic:
To successfully complete this assignment, you will create an infographic that illustrates your carbon footprint.
Lesson 6 Assignment
One interesting exercise is to see how you fit in the national averages for carbon footprint resulting from transportation. For this lesson’s assignment, you will calculate your GHG footprint related to your transportation habits using the following equations. Transportation accounts for about 28% of global GHG emissions, and that average applies to personal GHG emissions as well. In other words, the average per capita emissions is about 17 tons of carbon, of which 6-9 tons of carbon come from our personal automobiles.
But first, let us look at an example prepared by the previous instructor, Ed Pinero, by viewing this video (4:20):
The equations we will use for this exercise are as follows:
- CO2 emissions from a gallon of gasoline = 2,421 grams x 0.99 x (44/12) = 8,788 grams = 8.8 kg/gallon = 19.4 pounds/gallon
- CO2 emissions from a gallon of diesel = 2,778 grams x 0.99 x (44/12) = 10,084 grams = 10.1 kg/gallon = 22.2 pounds/gallon
Based on your driving habits, and your vehicle's city/highway fuel efficiency rating, calculate your annual GHG emissions in pounds. Prepare an infographic that shows the math and the assumptions you used. In the infographic, also note things that you could do to reduce that footprint.
- The assumptions
- Examples of what they could do to reduce that footprint
Infographic Information Video
Creating Infographics
Step 1: Getting Started
The best way to start working on your infographic is to start by reviewing the assigned online readings. You may wish to scan the assignments in advance to know which lessons have an infographic. As you work your way through the lesson, pause to write down key points you feel are especially important. You may also find it beneficial to create a quick drawing or sketch to visually support your learning and retention of information. This process is called sketch-noting. Sketch-noting is essentially capturing content in a visual format. The drawings do not have to be elaborate. They can be simple and use basic shapes. By sketching key concepts from the course, it enables your brain to remember more effectively.
Step 2: Conducting Independent Research
Once you have completed the online chapter, you will need to conduct your own investigation on a topic relating to the information discussed within the online lesson. Use the online readings as a starting point. You may consider the following questions to help you begin your independent research. First, is there something you found interesting in your readings and want to learn more about? Is there a point in which you wish to gain further clarity? Are you interested in seeing how the statistics may have changed over your lifetime? For example, comparing the data today, to the year you were born. After you have found at least one suitable article, follow the same process of note taking or sketch noting that you implemented when you reviewed the online readings. You may review as many articles as you wish to further your understanding of the topic, but you are required to submit an infographic that includes reference to a minimum of one external source. Note that some of the infographic assignments define the topic and this may help focus your research and modify the proposed steps.
Step 3: Synthesizing Key Points
In reviewing your notes or sketches, find the points you feel are most important and want to insure you remember beyond the semester. The infographic should be more than simply recapping the online readings. These points will likely be the most interesting, or thought provoking aspects of the various articles and readings you reviewed. Distill those points down to approximately ten, plus or minus a few is perfectly acceptable. This will help you narrow your focus on the points you want to convey in your infographic. Following this strategy will also give you the ability to quickly identify the connections between the course readings and other sources of information. Your submissions must include a connection between the course content and another source.
Step 4: Create the Infographic
Now we’re going to create the infographic as Step 4. When you’re ready to create your infographic, open Adobe Spark, Canva, or another program of your choice. It is recommended that you use one of the available templates in the software. This will save you a significant amount of time in creating the infographic. It will also ensure the readability and view-ability of your infographic. You are welcome to create something original, however this is recommended only for individuals who have advanced knowledge of color theory and graphic design. Mixing certain color types, such as red and green, or red and black, make text unreadable. Select the template you think your content will transfer to ,easily. Replacing text in the template with your own and change out the graphics for ones that tie more strongly to your content. When adding quotes, graphics or other data to your infographic, be sure to clearly identify the source from where it came. Simply adding a list of citations at the end of the page is not an appropriate way to cite a source and will result in a loss of points. You should also acknowledge the program where the template came from as part of the citations.
Once your infographic is complete, you can download a copy and submit it to canvas. Then you’re done! Infographics are an innovative and effective way to convey ideas that will help your intended audience grasp the content. These take practice but will help you with your communication of ideas in the future.