Synergy: Visualizing Poetry

Visualizing poetry involves analyzing the language, structure, mood, and theme of a poem, then creating a visual connection through drawing, watercolor, paint or other visual medium. Or, creating a mental image. Comics poetry blends aspects of comics and poetry.

Read the recently published children's book, then learn more at the website:

POEMS TO SEE BY: A COMIC ARTIST INTERPRETS GREAT POETRY by Julian Peters is an anthology of classic poems presented for a new generation of readers through a rich variety of visuals. Exploring twenty-four English-language poets, the book examines six themes: seeing yourself, others, art, nature, time, and death.

COMICS AS POETRY is an online article by Ivan Brunetti (January 30, 2020) that explores the connection between comics and poetry.

Read the article at https://bit.ly/2F6MJ72

ARC courtesy of Plough Publishing.

Website Review: Data Africa

DATA AFRICA is an open source agriculture, climate, poverty, and health visualization engine.

Students use the interactive map to click on an African country or search by location. For each country, data is provided about agriculture, climate, health, and poverty. In addition, an introduction provides an overview of the country and its challenges.

Librarians will find this to be a useful resource for students working on research projects associated with countries in Africa. The visualizations will appeal to special needs and reluctant learners.

To visit the website, go to https://dataafrica.io/.

Website Review: Street Change

STREET CHANGE is a web-based project showing changes in urban landscapes over time.

This interactive map helps scholars measure changes in the physical appearance of neighborhoods by examining Google Street View images over time. Users select from views of Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, New York, and Washington, DC. By clicking on hotspots on a map, students can see how a particular location has changed over time.

Librarians will find this to be a useful way to talk with students about urban geography. Work with social studies and computer science teachers to show how technology can be used to assist scholarly research.

To visit the website, go to http://streetchange.media.mit.edu/.

Website Review: Cracking the Mystery of Egg Shape

CRACKING THE MYSTERY OF EGG SHAPE from Science Magazine explores an intriguing questions.

This web project addresses the question of why not all eggs are shaped like a chicken’s. This fascinating online article incorporates easy-to-read text with compelling visualizations that help readers understand the science behind the shape of eggs.

Librarians will find this engaging article to be an interesting way to jump-start a discussion of birds and eggs. It would also be useful in teaching students about the many different ways charts and graphs can be used in science to visualize data.

To read the article, go to http://vis.sciencemag.org/eggs/.

Book Review: Eruptions, Earthquakes, and Emissions

ERUPTIONS, EARTHQUAKES, & EMISSIONS is an interactive visualization exploring global volcanism over time.

Published by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the amazing interactive allows users to see the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and sulfur dioxide levels from 1960 to 2017. User can click on the map for more details about particular events.

Librarians will find this website provides an effective way to show students the location of these activities along with changes over time. Ask students to select a particular time period or location to explore in-depth.

To visit the website, go to https://volcano.si.axismaps.io/.

Review Review: Seven Things to Know About Climate Change

SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE is an informative visualization for all ages.

Published by National Geographic, this easy-to-understand visualization focuses on seven key ideas related to climate change. Each fact contains text, data, and visuals to support its statement. In addition to the visual, a link is provided to the project’s climate hub with further information.

Librarians will find this website to be an effective way to introduce key concepts related to climate change. Ask each student to explore one of the seven facts in-depth and share that they find with their science class.

To visit the website, go to https://www.nationalgeographic.com/…/seven-things-to-know-…/.

Website Review: Women's Footprint in History

WOMEN’S FOOTPRINT IN HISTORY is an interactive timeline from United Nations Women featuring well and lesser known trailblazers.

The attractive, interactive timeline features a women from history along with connections or implications for today. Students can stroll down through history or click on specific dates on the timeline.

Librarians will find this easy-to-use website useful for information literacy activities related to timelines and history. Involve students in creating their own “then” and “now” screens based on a person not found on the website timeline.

To visit the website, go to http://interactive.unwomen.org/…/womensfootpr…/en/index.html.

Website Review: Global Gender Gap Report

The GLOBAL GENDER GAP REPORT BROWSER tells an interactive story based on an award-winning data visualization from the World Economic Forum and Two-N.

Users scroll through recent global data showing gender equality data by nation. The story of gender issues is told through a series of compelling, interactive charts and graphs. This easy-to-use tool allows students to explore particular areas of interest such as regions of the world and changes over time.

Librarians will find this engaging tool to be useful in teaching concepts related to data literacy. Involve youth in using this dynamic tool to address their “big questions” related to gender equity. Of particular interest is the ability to visualize data by country.

To visit the website, go to http://projects.two-n.com/world-gender/.

Digital Collection: The GLOBE Program

THE GLOBE PROGRAM

Contents: This international project contains science data sets that youth can explore using online visualization software. The measurements included in the project date from 1995 to the present. Users can choose from base maps such as the world at night, land surface temperature, and precipitation estimates.

Classroom Connections: Students can make use of the data sets or share their own data. A teacher section contains resources for students, teachers, and citizen scientists from around the world.

Featured Digital Objects:
Visualization - http://vis.globe.gov/GLOBE/
Teacher Resources - http://www.globe.gov/do-globe

To visit the collection, http://www.globe.gov

Website Review: A Visual Introduction to Machine Learning

A VISUAL INTRODUCTION TO MACHINE LEARNING is a web-based, interactive infographic explaining how data sets are used to create machine learning models.

As users scroll down the web page, they are taken step-by-step through the process of understanding machine learning using the example of distinguishing homes in New York from homes in San Francisco. Using visually rich charts, diagrams, and other illustrations, users explore the fundamentals of machine learning.

Librarians will find this easy-to-use website provides an excellent introduction to a complex topic associated with the mathematics and computer science curriculum. Pair it will books associated with statistical thinking and computer science. Also, weave it into the data literacy curriculum.

To visit the website, go to http://www.r2d3.us/visual-intro-to-machine-learning-part-1/.

Website Review: Histography

HISTOGRAPHY is a website visualization of world history that can be explored many different ways.

After opening the website, users are presented with a timeline containing dots representing historical events from the last four hundred years. Clicking a dot presents an event, date, and image along with a link to a Wikipedia article. Clicking related events, show users historical points that are connected to the original article.

By clicking on the timeline, users can select from eras covering decades or millions of years such as Middle Ages or Age of Reptiles . Users can also explore the resources by choosing selected events from categories such as art, disasters, and discoveries. Resources can also be accessed by selecting from editorial stories.

Librarians will find that students are fascinated by this interactive visualization. Use it to motivate young historians and help them explore history. Incorporate the website into a lesson focusing on timelines and categories of history.

To visit the website, go to http://histography.io/.

Website Review: Data USA

DATA USA provides easy-to-access visualizations of critical issues facing the United States.

Describing itself as “the most comprehensive visualization of U.S. public data”, the website is a collaboration between corporations and MIT. The easy-to-use website puts public US Government data in the hands of citizens.

In the Profiles section, users can conduct a general search or narrow their focus by location, industry, occupation, or education. Within each of these four profile areas, users can focus in on specific aspects by scrolling down the page and viewing an engaging infographic.

The Stories section provides fascinating insights into the data in particular areas such as men and industry or obesity and diabetes. These short articles are written by experts and demonstrate the importance of data across disciplines.

The Map area allows users to zoom in on particular areas of the United States to explore the data.

The Data component details the data sources used in building the website.

Use the Glossary page in the About section to introduce youth to key terms related to data analysis.

Librarians will find this tool to be an excellent way to address data literacy topics. Youth can use the website to access information, conduct their own analysis, and create their own stories about America’s people, places, industries, and educational institutions. From basic comparisons of two places to complex analysis of issues such as rural vs urban locations, the website is a great way for youth to explore data and visualizations.

In addition to containing useful information, students will find the website to be visually stunning.

To visit the website, go to http://datausa.io/.

App Review: NASA's Visualization Explorer

NASA’s VISUALIZATION EXPLORER app provides up-to-date information about NASA’s exploration of the Earth, sun, moon, planets, and universe.

The app features Story Lists by topic including Earth, Planet and Moons, Sun, and Universe. Stories can be saved or bookmarked for later use. Stories include visualizations, animations, and images along with short informational texts.

A sharing tool allows users to copy articles and take notes using the standard tablet features.

Librarians will find this app to be useful for classes working on current events related to science. It would also be an effective tool to jumpstart research projects. The highly visual stories would be particularly useful for students with special needs or reluctant readers.

To download the app, go to https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/nasaviz/.

App Review: EarthViewer

EARTHVIEWER is a fascinating, interactive app from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute that allows users to explore the science of Earth’s history.

Through timelines and visualizations, students can see the continents grow and shift as they scroll through billions of years of Earth’s history. Users can zoom into their favorite landmark and follow how it changes through time. Layers allow users to view data on atmospheric composition, temperature, biodiversity, day length, and solar luminosity.

Part of the HHMI’s BioInteractive initiative, the app opens with the option to take a short tutorial or jump right into the program. Users pinch out or in to switch between timeline views. The three main timeline views include phanerozoic (540 million years), deep history (4.6 billion years), and modern (100 years). Suggested areas to explore contain place markers such as cities, fossils, impact events, mass extinctions, biological events, and geological events. In-depth options include text and illustrations about topics such as the greenhouse effect and plate tectonics. The teacher resources area includes quick guides, references, and other information.

Librarians will find endless applications for this resource. Students can start with a modern city and track it back through time. Or, follow a famous fossil as it moves through time. Collaborate with the science teacher to build connections with the library’s science collection including books on prehistoric creatures, fossils, plate tectonics, and other curriculum-related topics.

The accompanying website also includes data files, classroom activities, worksheets, video clips, and a downloadable version.

To learn more, go to http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/earthviewer.

Website Review: The National Map

THE NATIONAL MAP at http://nationalmap.gov/ is a versatile mapping website sponsored by the United States Geological Survey.

Although Google Maps works for lots of mapping projects, The National Map provides more in-depth opportunities to explore geography topics with maps.

The Viewer and Download Platform allows users to visualize topographic data. Themes such as elevation, orthoimagery, land cover, hydrography, geographic names, boundaries, transportation, and structures are available. Maps also feature both current and historical topography. Mashups that include The National Map are created by many organizations such as those involved with emergency services or health care. A new 3D Elevation Program is currently being developed.

To go directly to the viewer, go to http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/. Users can select layers associated with their arms of interest.

The US Topo Maps section makes “Quad Maps” available to users. These recently produced maps can be viewed, downloaded as PDF files and printed for free. Or, they can be purchased in the map store.

The Historical Topo Map section features historical maps that provide a snapshot of the nation’s physical and cultural past. The maps are useful in multi-disciplinary projects that connect the past to the present. These maps can be viewed online or downloaded.

The Fact Sheets, Videos, and Information Products section features useful background information.

Get your school involved with a partnership project with the USGS. The website features lots of opportunities to become involved as part of important national geography projects.