Re-post of Project Objectives

You should all have photocopy of this, but to be clear, here is the project's outline.  Be sure to read part two of the project which explains the objectives of your written theme. 

Group 1: BP Oil Spill of 2010

Group 2: Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster of 2011

Group 3: Nigeria and Oil

Information graphics or infographics are graphic, visual representations of data, information and knowledge.  They are useful because they communicate information quickly and efficiently.  However, creating an infographic is not particularly easy.  It takes time and well-researched data. 

Part I: The Infographics

Your overall goal is to take your topic and:

1.      Relay the basic “story” of the disaster/situation.

2.      Represent the public and government response to the disaster/situation.

3.      Look at the actions of the government and public over time; communicate outcomes and results.

Here is how we will approach this project:

1.      Research your topic.  Print out resources on your topic.  Articles from newspapers, magazines and political blogs are particularly great resources.  See a list of websites below.

2.      Choose the information and data you feel is most important to communicate on your infographic (the size of a poster).

3.      Compile that information on note cards. 

4.      Choose how to best represent that data. 

5.      If you realize you have too much information or too little information, adjust your data as you see fit.  Remember, you must always keep the data accurate and transparent.

6.      Create your infographic.

7.      Present your infographic to the class.

Part II: The Theme

Each group will present their infographic to the class.  Here is how you will break down the presentation:

1.      Divide the infographic into equal parts depending on the number of people in your group.  If there are three people in your group, then divide the infographic into three sections. 

2.      Groups will assign sections to members (with the help of the group leader). 

3.      Each member must write a theme of at least two pages, double-spaced on their particular topic including any appropriate historical, political, and data-based information. 

4.      The student must end his/her theme with a personal response, in which he/she expresses his/her opinion regarding the section discussed in the theme.  This must consist of at least one paragraph. 

Possible Newspapers, Magazines, Blogs and Sites

The New York Times

The Guardian

The Financial Times

BBC

National Geographic

PBS

Cool Infographics

Bloomberg

NPR

Most .gov websites (government websites)

Reuters

The Atlantic

The Economist

The New Yorker

Cool Infographics

EIA (US Energy Information Administration)

Brookings Institute

TED