iInfograph

This assigned asked us to create an infographic to highlight statistical, timeline, process, or geographical-based information. Your goal should be to show your audience “what they should look for among the clutter of detail.”

Commentary:

The intended experience of the iCinemagraph for my students was to show a major innovation in history, the printing press. The Printing Revolution, as it eventually became known as, happened in Europe at the beginning of the 1500s. Gutenberg’s Printing Press had many impacts on the world ranging from an increase in literacy, the mass production of literary medias, a decrease in the cost of literature, to a growing scare within the Roman Catholic Church because potentially power threatening messages could be spread much quicker. Since then, printing has expanded and changed tremendously because new technologies that have allowed printing to become more efficient.

The two GIFs show those changes with the printing press. In the GIF with myself, you will see how hand printing massive books, like the Bible, would have taken an extensive period of time. The last GIF of the Philadelphia Inquirer shows printing in one of the most efficient ways seen in the modern world.

The reason why I decided to choose the Printing Revolution is because in my World History class I do a large unit on different types of revolutions seen throughout the world with their causes and effects. Originally, I was going to create an abstract GIF about my definition of history (the study of the complexity of interrelated events seen through time). However, it would have been more practical and useful if I created a GIF that was content related and something that I could use in class. Thus, I changed directions to then focus on innovations and technologies that have changed history.

After creating my first GIF of the office copier and myself, I had planned on showing an example of the Transportation Revolution with trains and cars. However, with the help of others, we figured that showing another form of printing would be better for my students because another printing device would allow my students another view of how literature is created. Showing another way of printing to my students would would increase their knowledge on what printing was like and how dramatically it has changed because we all know that the more ways we show the same idea the better the students will understand.

I had choose to have my hand move because it really shows how slow and time consuming hand writing is, whereas in the Philadelphia printing press really shows how quickly and efficient modern day printing is. Using Photoshop was not that difficult. I didn’t have any major problems with masking or layering because in both of my GIFs, my background were completely still.