San Diego State University Oil Spills in our Oceans Discussion

For project, you will be creating an infographic on a topic of your choice. Infographics are a mixture of text and images that are designed to educate people on a particular topic in a visually appealing manner. They must be visually attractive in order to catch your attention and the information must be presented in a manner that is easy to interpret/understand. Infographics are commonly used by a variety of companies, businesses, organizations, scientists and more to share information or teach about a particular topic. I have provided an example of an infographic below on overfishing.

Instructions:

• Choose one topic related to the field of oceanography or something we have/will discuss in class. The more specific your topic, the easier this project will be.
  • You can use your course calendar and textbook to look ahead and explore topics we haven’t covered yet. Do not limit yourself to what we have covered in the modules so far and
• Research this topic in depth. Keep track of your references. These references must be credible.
  • Wikipedia is not a credible source, but it might be a helpful place to start.
  • Brittanica is just a dictionary, try finding more sources.
• Create an outline summarizing key points of information about your topic and includes your formatted, Works Cited list.
• Design and create an infographic that would teach someone with no prior knowledge all about this topic. Include in the infographic: some written information, pictures, visual aids, links to informational pages, maps (if applicable) etc. etc.
  • The infographic itself does not need to contain any references. You will reference/cite your sources in your summary.
• Write a formal summary that summarizes the information you used to make your infographic.
  • This summary should be no less than 400 words and no more than 550 words.
  • Be sure to use in-text citations
• Generate a list of credible references you used to understand your topic and create your infographic, formatted in APA or MLA format. This will be included at the end of your written summary.
  • Remember, the infographic will not contain any references. Here is where you will give credit where it is needed for the information you find.

An example of an infographic on overfishing is provided here:

You may not use overfishing as your topic of choice. Yes, it is interesting and you may want to learn more about it. However, there are plenty of other topics to choose from.

Notice that there is a balance of images, text, and statistical information. Take some time to observe the following details:

• The overall visual appeal.
• The color scheme.
• The bold title.
• The balance between text, images, graphic design elements and statistical information.
• Lack of empty space.
• The organization and flow of information. How is your eye guided through the infographic.

These are all important pieces to consider when brainstorming how to design your infographic.

Tips on how to make an infographic:

There are many programs you can use to digitally create your infographic. Some options are listed below. Some of these are free and others are not, it just depends on what you have access to. Any of these programs are acceptable:

• Piktochart (Links to an external site.)
• Canva.com (Links to an external site.)
• Powerpoint or Google Slides (but all information must be done on one single slide- do not make a powerpoint presentation)
• Venngage (Links to an external site.)
• Adobe Spark (Links to an external site.)

There are more options out there, these are just a few to get you started if you don’t know where to begin.

Required Textbook: Trujillo, A.P & H.V. Thurman. Essentials of Oceanography, 13th edition,
2020. ISBN-13: 978-0134891521, ISBN-10: 013489152X.
– The 13th edition is the only edition that is acceptable.