Dust Bowl Infographic

I selected an infographic for my visualization blog for several reasons. First, I felt that the infographic would be most appropriate, because inofgraphics allow for a lot of information to be synthesized in one place. Because there are so many powerful photos of the Dust Bowl, I also felt that it would be the best way to showcase the images. Finally, I really enjoy infographics, and I really wanted to learn how to make one of my own. I used Piktochart.com, and I’m pretty impressed with my first attempt. I definitely plan on making more, and using them as tools in the classroom. I think students might also enjoy using Piktochart to make their own infographics for future master projects.

I began by selecting images that I felt best represented the Dust Bowl; the selections varied from photos of landscapes, to people, to charts and maps. I think the best way to help a student “visualize” a topic is to give him as many mediums of information as possible. Then I selected some short quotations and sections from websites that could give some additional information to complement the photos. I originally wanted to cram as much information on the infographic as possible, but as I worked I decided that quality was probably better than quantity and worked to create a visually interesting and not-cluttered infographic. Because the main goal of this infographic isn’t to teach enough information to cover an entire unit, it doesn’t need to be completely full of all of the facts, figures and sources for the unit.

Creating the visualization did help me understand the content of the Dust Bowl unit on a deeper level. It forced me to choose photos and facts that I found most interesting and necessary. I want this infographic to provide an overview on the Dust Bowl, as well as some facts and figures to help put it more in perspective for the students viewing it, because I expect them to have little to no knowledge on the Great Depression, let alone the Dust Bowl. Looking more critically at the photos forced me to consider their sources and the implications of who took the photo or created the document. As a History major, we’re taught to be critical of every source we read, but sometimes we take photos and maps/graphs at their face values because it’s difficult to imagine that they wouldn’t tell the “truth.” In my search, I found some photos in my collection that were from the wrong period, or a different location, which helped me select better photos for the infographic.

Using a lot of photos and short quotations from primary sources was also pretty beneficial to my understanding of the Dust Bowl era. A few of my sources are very text heavy, without any pictures. The infographic is a good companion to them. It helped me, “put a face to the Dust Bowl.” Seeing photos that align with a text almost always make the text more engaging. Seeing the photos really personifies this devastating period in United States history.