How to Create Good Infographics Quickly & Cheaply Everyone is building infographics, why not me? I actually asked myself this question the other day, and my initial answer was, "Because I have absolutely no graphic design ability at all." Well, honestly that answer kind of pissed me off. Who Cares About Your Infographic? Now, no infographic post is complete without the requisite section where we talk about the "Who Cares?" Is your Idea going to be too long? Create your ideas and content with these questions in mind. The Search for an Infographic Solution My search began for a web-based program that can help me. Free or nearly freeNo annual commitmentsWeb basedEasy to use, drag and drop, and no Photoshop required I found a few that fit the criteria, and tried them out. Google Docs After doing some queries, I found that you can build a simple infographic with Google Docs. Easel.ly Easel.ly is a pretty neat program that allows you to create an infographic from a blank slate or with their templates. Infogr.am Piktochart.com Paid Solutions Summary
46 Tools To Make Infographics In The Classroom Infographics are interesting–a mash of (hopefully) easily-consumed visuals (so, symbols, shapes, and images) and added relevant character-based data (so, numbers, words, and brief sentences). The learning application for them is clear, with many academic standards–including the Common Core standards–requiring teachers to use a variety of media forms, charts, and other data for both information reading as well as general fluency. It’s curious they haven’t really “caught on” in schools considering how well they bridge both the old-form textbook habit of cramming tons of information into a small space, while also neatly overlapping with the dynamic and digital world. So if you want to try to make infographics–or better yet have students make them–where do you start? The 46 tools below, curated by Faisal Khan, are a good place to start.
How to Make a Landing Page That C.O.N.V.E.R.T.S. - Conversion Tips and Examples So you’ve got your marketing all set. You have paid search ads going, your pages are well optimized and generating good natural search, your Facebook ads are working, and you’re getting lots of traffic. (I know, this probably is a fantasy situation, but let’s go with it.) People are visiting your site, but for some reason, you’re not seeing your other numbers move at all. Not yet. You don’t want people to just visit your page. C = Clear Call to ActionO = OfferN = Narrow FocusV = VIA: Very Important AttributesE = Effective HeadlineR = Resolution-Savvy LayoutT = Tidy VisualsS = Social Proof In a famous scene from Glengarry Glen Ross, the man sent to train the hapless salesmen sums up his sales mantra – ABC: Always Be Closing. The call to action (CTA) is what you want visitors to do: Shop Now. Whatever it is you’ve decided will move people further along your conversion funnel. Considerations for strategy This is a very powerful (and easy) area to test. Considerations for design Doing it right
jude_birkett: 7 habits of highly effective... OpenDeviceLab.com - Locate, Contribute to and Sponsor an Open Device Lab (ODL) Teaching sequence for developing independence Stage 1: Explain “Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process.”EB White There are some definite pit falls to avoid in explaining things to kids. The biggest criticism of teachers talking is that it’s boring. But to suggest that teachers should therefore avoid explaining their subjects to students is a bizarre leap. This then is the aim of this post: How can we make our explanations better? The starting point in teaching any new concept or idea is lay the groundwork of propositional knowledge required. To determine whether learning has taken place we can either check whether the can remember what we’ve taught or whether they understand it. So then, what makes a great explanation? Clarity If an explanation is precise enough it is a lever capable of moving the world. There have been plenty of occasions when I’ve tried to show my students a duck, for them only to be able to see a rabbit. Be mindful though about why you’re asking questions. Relevance
Trello uses an icon font and so can you! Inspired by Github’s Octicons and a desire to clean up our kludgy icon code, I set out to convert trello.com to use an icon font. Previously, we used an image sprite method. We used a single 750×145 pixel image that contained 6 versions of each icon (two sizes and three states). We offset each icon with CSS background-image and background-position. We also loaded a sprite at double the resolution and served it to higher DPI devices via media queries. The sprite image looked like this: Spriting is a popular and battle-tested method. They are scalable and resolution-independent. I was convinced, so I set out to do the conversion. The Tools Glyphs. Importing Glyphs into Glyphs You can copy and paste Illustrator paths directly into Glyphs. More on importing from Illustrator on the Glyphs blog. Naming Glyphs As an example, Apple uses the PUA to show the the Apple logo character (F8FF). More on glyph names on the Glyphs blog. Hinting Hints In the end, our font looked like this: Did it work? and…
Teaching for A*s Beyond the very general notion that we should teach as well as we possibly can, are there approaches we can use that help to secure the highest grades at GCSE? I don’t want to suggest that there are any simple tricks or quick wins or that it is possible or wise for us to expect ever more A* grades. However, getting A*s is something we often discuss at KEGS. Perhaps it is better to think of it differently, working on the assumption that only a certain proportion of students will be awarded A*s across a national exam cohort. From conversations with colleagues and my experience as a teacher (and more recently as a parent) I do think that there are some common features of successful approaches to securing the highest grades at GCSEs; to getting close to full marks. Expectations and DriveTiming and sequencing of the courseAcceleration through depth, not speedRelating the learning to the exam requirementsFacilitating independent study There is also a sting in the tail. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Like this:
How to Create a Great Timeline Cover Photo for Your Brand Sep 12 2012 Facebook’s latest enhancements for both individuals and brands have changed the way to interact on the network. Besides lots of remarkable features like Timeline for brands, they also introduced Cover Photo, which is the first image a user sees after reaching the page. Cover Photo is the place where, for many, creativity begins. It is kind of a visual status update, which determines the voice and theme of the brand’s page. For brands, the cover photo provides an immediate and great opportunity to convey a message in a creative way. There is lots of creative potential for brands in the new Timeline format. Steps to Create a Great Timeline Cover Photo 1. Before you start making your cover photo, visit Facebook and see a few other brands’ cover photos that catch your eye. 2. Never save your time or money while considering the cover photo. In 99 of 100 cases, it’s the first impression that expands your community. 3. 4. 5. 6. The profile photo must work on its own. 7. Smirnoff Nike
Thwart the Grim-Reaper: #Ofsted reworks (Sep ’13) Here are some key Ofsted (September 2013) updates relevant to teaching and learning in the classroom. I have provided a summary of what will change for the teacher alone; ignoring all other updates. Any text in red, is crucial to ‘Thwart the Grim-Reaper’ from entering your classroom this academic year. N.b. Thwart the Grim-Reaper: #Ofsted reworks. Definition: “In some cases, the Grim Reaper can actually cause the victim’s death, leading to tales that he can be bribed, tricked, or outwitted in order to retain one’s life.” The above definition in Ofsted speak: “In some cases, the inspector can actually cause the teacher’s death, leading to an Ofsted report where the inspector can be bribed, tricked, or outwitted, based on a 25 minutes observation in order to keep you in a job.” Cartoon by Malcolm Laverty (Copyright) (If you want to skip the full details of this post, I have provided the changes ‘In a nutshell’ underneath the peanut image!) Which way have the goalposts moved? In a nutshell:
CSS-Shack 50 Resources For The Parents And Teachers Of Gifted And Talented Students Every parent hopes for their child to be smart and to excel in school, but sometimes parents just don’t know what to do with a child who is especially exceptional. Keeping him or her challenged, interested, and engaged can be tough, as can dealing with an educational system that doesn’t always focus on helping out bright students. Parents of gifted and talented children should know that they’re not alone and that there are hundreds of resources on the Web that can help every step of the way. Here are some we think stand out from the crowd, offering advice, information, support, and educational resources to help you support and encourage your child’s special abilities. Organizations These organizations help gifted students and their parents get the education, emotional support, and guidance they need to grow up happy and well-adjusted. Twitter Find quick 140-character-or-less quips and updates about working with, parenting, and helping gifted children from these excellent Twitter feeds. Blogs
10 of the Best Wordpress Plugins You Can't Live Without I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have these necessary plugins for wordpress. If you want your development life to be fast and easy then you need these. 1. WordPress SEO by Yoast This is an amazing plugin for all your meta, title and SEO needs! Download the WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin here. 2. I definitely cannot live without this plugin. Download Styles with Shortcodes Here 3. The folks at RightHere do it again! Download White Label Branding Here 4. Okay, I know this isn’t really a plugin BUT it is definitely something that you need to use, or at least try out. Click the image above or to the right for this amazing framework. 5. How can you have a top 10 list without mentioning the NextGen Gallery. Download the NextGen Gallery Plugin Here 6. Use this in conjunction with the Nextgen gallery and you’ll have some amazing tools at your disposal. Here’s the Pretty Photo PluginHere’s the Fancy Box Plugin 7. Looking for some cross-linking? Download SEO Smart Links Here 8. 9. 10.