Translating the learning and personal growth that comes from a study abroad experience can be difficult. While you’ve done a lot of this in your journal entries, the goal of this final assignment is to synthesize your experience in a short, concise way that others will want to review. You will be doing that by creating an infographic. An infographic is a way to integrate your experience and share your learning, growth, and travel abroad story with the world. It also provides you with an educational artifact you can share on a blog, and even in Penn State poster expositions or competitions if you so choose. You can read more about the exciting poster opportunities on the "Sharing Your Experience [1]" page. NOTE: You do not need to be on campus to present. Your advisor can help facilitate remote attendance.
As someone who has completed several different study abroad opportunities, I know there is much to share. An infographic will help you tell that story, but more importantly, it will help you reflect on your experience.
An infographic is a way to visually represent your experience in an interesting, clear, and concise way. It should be
Please review the following video to learn more about the qualities commonly included in infographics.
The infographic assignment is really a set of three assignments you will complete in succession.
I highly recommend that you read through the entire infographic lesson prior to beginning so you have a good idea of what the project is and how to approach it.
Special thanks to Hailley Fargo, Head of Education and Outreach Services, Northern Kentucky University for much of the guidance and information contained in this lesson.
The first assignment is an outline of the story you want to tell.
In order to put together a good infographic, you must first create an outline, decide what areas you want to highlight, and determine how you will represent those ideas! Because you've been journaling about both your personal growth and a general interest topic (most likely your capstone), you should have enough information to create your outline and infographic. If you've received funding from the Student Engagement Network, it is recommended that your infographic focus on their recommended topics.
The outline should address the questions below that are applicable and should include some ideas for how you will present that information on the infographic. Keep in mind that this outline is a large percent of your semester grade. As such, you are expected to spend a significant amount of time and effort on this assignment. Think through what you'd like to present in your infographic and how it's all related. Feel free to review the rubric to better understand how it will be graded.
Provide an overview of your experience, including:
Please submit your outline, with ideas for graphics, as a Word or PDF to the "Infographic Outline" Dropbox by the date provided to you by the instructor.
This is graded out of 10 points and is worth 10% of your final grade.
Special thanks to Hailley Fargo, Student Engagement Librarian, The Pennsylvania State University for much of the guidance and information contained on this page.
Now that you have an outline of what you want to present, it is time to choose a layout. As you can imagine, creating an effective infographic is a bit more complicated than simply putting facts and images together. The information must also be efficiently organized to demonstrate the connections between important concepts or ideas. There are several ways in which you can organize your content. Please watch the following video for some ideas.
Your experience probably best fits into one of the following: the visual article, the flowchart, the timeline, or the map. But, you don't have to use these types, feel free to improvise, combine, or modify any of them to reach your desired outcome!
The image below offers some additional layout ideas for your infographic.
Again, some of the layouts shown above may fit your story better, but there is no prescription here, be creative!
Your experience probably best fits into one of the following: the visual article, the flowchart, the timeline, or the map. But, you don't have to use these types, feel free to improvise, combine, or modify any of them to reach your desired outcome!
Below is an example of a traditional poster. Most of your infographics should not look like this.
Special thanks to Hailley Fargo, Head of Education and Outreach Services, Northern Kentucky University for much of the guidance and information contained on this page.
Now that you know the core elements of infographics, you may be wondering how to actually get started. There are many programs out there to create infographics, but most are not recommended or supported by Penn State (for various reasons). We recommend that you use PowerPoint and start with a blank slide. The following video will walk you through how to find and import graphics into PowerPoint. You will find additional tips on the "How to Make an Infographic in PowerPoint: The Beginners’ Guide [5]" tutorial on the Graphic Mama blog.
Other good options, but not supported by Penn State help desk include:
Adobe Spark [6] is part of Adobe's Creative Cloud Suite. It allows you to create a variety of graphic-based resources. As a registered Penn State student, you have free access to this software.
Canva [7] also offers free accounts. It has a simple and easy-to-use interface and each item you create is downloadable in a PDF format. *Please note: Canva offers graphics and other elements for an additional fee. You are not expected to purchase anything in order to create your infographics. Doing so is at your own discretion.
Feel free to experiment and try different software until you find one that works well for you.
In order to be able to use this in a poster exposition or competition, it should not exceed 46” (W) x 36” (H).
Notice how this infographic tells a story in an interesting and appealing way. It would be an even better example if there were background colors to chunk sections of information.
This is a great example: It is attractive. The information is in manageable bits and the road illustrates progression and connection while maintaining it’s not a hard and fast rule.
This example shows what you can do when you have a lot of information. It also demonstrates how visuals are essential in telling a story.
Here are some examples of infographics that may give you some ideas and inspiration! This is just a few examples. You can find many more with a simple Google search.
This example focuses an audience's attention into the center of an illustration, using color to organize the learner's experience and interconnections. There's A LOT going on within this illustration and the minute detail can make the reading of the infographic seem like a puzzle to untangle.
This example utilizes historical imagery and variations in sizing of both photographs and text to emphasize key information.
This "top ten" list simply draws the attention vertically downward in a sequential series of steps. The simple display of color and patterning communicates the learner's message clearly.
This is another vertical "top down" sequence that guides the audience with arrows and simple drawings.
A comic-style infographic like this one is a fun and familar way for the audience to understand a story or process.
This inforgraphic shares A LOT of information in a "light-hearted" way by coupling comic illustrations with tables and text boxes.
Create an infographic DRAFT that tells the story of your travel abroad.
Upload a PDF of the Infographic draft to the same "Infographic Draft" Dropbox by the date found on the syllabus.
Create an infographic that tells the story of your learning while traveling abroad. When it's complete, upload a PDF of the Infographic to the "Infographic" Dropbox.
Presenting at poster exhibitions is a great way to gain professional experience and share the things you are learning. Now that you have completed an infographic, there are just a few simple steps to convert it to a poster.
I strongly suggest you consider presenting at one of the several exhibitions on campus (listed below). You might be surprised to learn that this opportunity is not limited to resident students. World Campus students are encouraged to present as well!
You can work with the instructor to have your poster printed.
Check out this 1:46 minute video showing one of our World Campus students from Florida participating in the 2018 Undergraduate Poster Exhibition.
Because you received a grant from the Student Engagement Network, you are eligible and encouraged to consider presenting at a future Student Engagement EXPO. Typically the EXPOs are head in the fall at University Park, but presenting remotely is an option for online students!
This exhibition is typically held in the spring at University Park and there is an engagement poster session included just for you! Again, presenting remotely is an option for everyone, no matter your location!
Scheudled for: April 3, 2023
Please do not hesitate to contact me or your adviser if you see any opportunities happening on campus that are not listed here that you would like to participate in. We would be happy to talk to you about how to get involved.
Links
[1] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/egee495/node/494
[2] https://piktochart.com/blog/layout-cheat-sheet-making-the-best-out-of-visual-arrangement/
[3] https://piktochart.com/
[4] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
[5] https://graphicmama.com/blog/how-to-make-an-infographic-in-powerpoint/
[6] https://spark.adobe.com/sp/onboarding
[7] https://www.canva.com/q/pro/?v=13&utm_source=google_sem&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=REV_US_EN_CanvaPro_Branded_Tier1_Core_EM&utm_term=REV_US_EN_CanvaPro_Branded_Tier1_Canva_EM&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwKKk-vyo5gIVC1YMCh1dCQMxEAAYASAAEgLqivD_BwE
[8] https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=agriculture%20youth%20opportunities
[9] https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/
[10] https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
[11] http://www.eddefy.com
[12] https://www.flickr.com/photos/amoration/8590501080/
[13] https://www.flickr.com/photos/amoration/
[14] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
[15] https://www.flickr.com/photos/rosefirerising/8551487389
[16] https://www.flickr.com/photos/rosefirerising/
[17] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
[18] https://www.history.navy.mil/news-and-events/multimedia-gallery/infographics/heritage/chief-petty-officer.html
[19] https://paindoctor.com/top-10-biggest-pain-breakthroughs-2014/
[20] https://www.flickr.com/photos/pain-pix/18958332052
[21] https://www.flickr.com/photos/pain-pix/
[22] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
[23] https://www.flickr.com/photos/56866338@N06/8704978051/in/photostream/
[24] https://www.flickr.com/photos/56866338@N06/
[25] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Licensing_tutorial_en-may_upload_in_bold.svg
[26] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
[27] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
[28] http://www.engage.psu.edu/events/expo/
[29] https://undergradresearch.psu.edu/resources/opportunities/undergraduate-exhibition
[30] https://www.ems.psu.edu/undergraduate/beyond-classroom/honors-exhibitions-and-award-competitions/undergraduate-poster