Today's schedule is A-AG-B-C-D
B Block Social Studies 11
- Today we are going to examine the impacts of developing countries relying upon one
monoculture crop as a major source of export income. We'll be in the library
today to
gather data on an export crop where you are going to create your
own infographic on one of the following resources/topics:
Bananas, Coffee,
Cocoa, Cotton or Tobacco. The end product will be hard copy poster that shows the devastating effects of a developing
country relying on one monoculture agricultural crop for the majority of its
income. T
he goal of this assignment is to understand the connections between
the social problems (gender, health, children, etc.) in HIPC's with economic
development.
Take Ethiopia...coffee is its largest export crop and
the staple of its export economy (some estimate that 60% of its economy is based
on coffee exports). 15 million of its 75 million people in Ethiopia depend on
the coffee industry for work. The problem is that on the UNDP Human Development
Index Ethiopia ranked 170th out of 177 countries and the quality of life for
those in the coffee industry is low. If the price of coffee goes down, then so
does the amount of money that Ethiopia can generate. This is one example so try
to make a connection with your industry and a country that depends on it.
Once you've chosen your topic I will provide you with an information
sheet of data on your topic. It is your responsibility to search out more data
on your topic (specifically population and the human development index rating
for a country where that crop is relied upon). So today look for information
about a developing country and their reliance upon a "Legitimate" agricultural
crop (no Colombia and Coca nor Afghanistan and Opiates). You can find
information at:
CIA World
Factbook
Show at
World (click on planet and crop resources)
CIDA
Developing World Map
Infographics are a great way to graphically
depict statistical data so what are they? John Emerson wrote a great little
document called Visualizing Information for Advocacy An Introduction to
Information Design (
http://backspace.com/infodesign.pdf)
and his explanation of Infographics/Information Design is that…
Information design uses pictures, symbols, colors,
and words to communicate ideas, illustrate information or express relationships
visually. Effective design is not just a matter of making text pretty or
entertaining, but of shaping understanding and clarifying meaning. Information
design adds seeing to reading to make complex data easier to understand and to
use...Some familiar forms include charts, graphs, maps, diagrams or timelines.
These can be big or small, simple or complex, published in print or electronic
media. Information design can help you present your information in a clear and
compelling way, persuasively convey facts or ideas or discover something new in
your data.
So where can you
find examples of Infographics?
- GOOD is the integrated media
platform for people who want to live well and do good. GOOD is a company and
community for the people, businesses, and NGOs moving the world forward. GOOD’s
mission is to provide content, experiences, and utilities to serve this
community.
- Information Is
Beautiful is the media platform for David McCandless an independent data
journalist and information designer. McCandless’ passion is visualizing
information – facts, data, ideas, subjects, issues, statistics, questions – all
with the minimum of words.
- New Internationalist magazine formed the basis of the data we used in
today’s class. You can find the issues here: Coffee; Chocolate; Bananas; Tobacco; Cotton
Tools to help you create infographics can be found at:
Pie Color This delightfully easy tool simply
asks how many slices you want the pie to have and then begins work. Once you
select the number of pieces, the next screen asks for the values, provides
options to set the colors of the pieces and the background, as well as the size
of the pie graph.
Star Planet
This site includes three options--Stat Planet, Graph Maker, and Map Maker. Star
Planet has a wide range of already developed maps and graphs while Graph Maker
and Map Maker have users create Flash-based maps and graphs with data sets
provided from their own research or from various reputable sources available at
the web site.
Creately is an easy-to-use
drop and drag interface for creating a wide range of charts, graphics, and info
pictures. The free version allows you to work on a single diagram at a time.
Registration is required for saving diagrams as well as exporting as an image,
PDF, Creatly file, or emailing
Other sites include
Wordle,
Tagxedo, and
Many Eyes
C Block Social Studies 10 - Today we are back in the library for your second to last last day for research on
your family history assignment. Remember, your task is to research your family
history, which includes learning how to conduct academic research, making
critical evaluations regarding sources, and managing information. Please
remember that I want you to f
ocus on the context of history-
did your ancestor fight in the war of 1812?
What was life like for farmers during early settlement of the west? Why do you have American relatives? Use the primary documents and stories you find
to uncover what daily life might have been like for your
relatives.
Government of Canada Geneaology
Site
American National
Archives
Pier 21
Immigration Museum Research Canada
Ellis Island - U.S.
Immigration
Climbing Your Family
Tree
Family
Search
BC
Department of Vital Statistics
Ancestry
Your assignment is due Wednesday - That's two days from now.
D Block Criminology 12 - OK so this is it. These are the last two days to get your seminar topic prepared
and ready to go for Wednesday this week. Now let's talk about
stress. Some of you are not too fond of public speaking and find it an
unpleasant experience. It doesn't have to be. You have five minutes (or more if
you need it) to present information on a criminology topic to the class. The
information is about something you are interested in and why you are interested
in it. Some of you have indicated that you're panicking about speaking in front
of the class which is both natural and actually kind of funny (given that you
all have done this already just not in a structured format). So look through the
following websites to help you plan for your talk:
CAASAA Public Speaking Skills
How to Conquer Public Speaking Fear
Toastmasters Tips & Techniques
Overcoming the Fear of Speaking to
Groups
Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking
The Art of Speechmaking
We start
Wednesday with our presentations for the remainder of the week. If you are finished then you may either update your blog work (look at last Monday's entry) or finish your questions from Friday (see the entry below). Good luck.
C Block Social Studies 10 - You have assignments due today...please do not
give me any "My dog ate my homework" or "My computer crashed with all my work on
it" excuses. You will present your family tree assignments today and I look forward to see where your family falls in the history of Canada that we've looked at this year.
