Note: Remember that today is the last day you can drop classes without grade penalty.

Today, we’re talking about graphics. You’ll find lots of useful information in Chapter 8 of Markel, including specifics on how to use different kinds of graphs. We’ll go over some important tips that are relevant for your second project.

Creating (and Choosing) Graphics

Create or choose images that meet these criteria:

• The graphics need to be free of copyright restrictions (unless they fit the definition of fair use), or you must obtain permission to use them. [More on this topic in the next section.]
• Photos and/or illustrations should accurately depict the information in the document. Avoid images that are simply decorative.
• The images should be crisp and well-lit.
• Garish, clashing, and overly colorful images are a poor choice. Think about the image and the rest of the design on the page as you make a choice.
• Background noise should be eliminated. There should be nothing irrelevant or distracting in the image. Avoid photobombs!
• The text should refer to the pictures, and the graphics should work in harmony with the written text.

Finding Graphics You Can Freely Use

• Read Copyright Fair Use and How it Works for Online Images, from Social Media Examiner, for an explanation of how and when you can use images that you find online.
• Visit these tools to explore whether images you find online are copyright protected and whether your use is fair use:
  • Digital Slider, from the American Library Association.
  • Copyright Genie, from the American Library Association.
  • Fair Use Evaluator, from the American Library Association.
• If you are unsure, you can look for copyright and media use guidelines online. For instance, NASA has posted guidelines on Using NASA Imagery and Linking to NASA Web Sites, and the U.S. government has posted this explanation of Copyright and Other Rights Pertaining to U.S. Government Works.
• If you are looking for images, here are two good starting points:
  • Finding Public Domain Images for Multimedia Projects, from EdTechTeacher. Note that some of the links on this page are out of date.
  • The British Library Puts 1,000,000 Images into the Public Domain, Making Them Free to Reuse & Remix, from Open Culture.
  • Selected Internet Resources — Government Resources for
    Science Images and Video, from the Library of Congress.
  • Creative Commons Search.

Using Graphics

• If necessary, be sure that your crop and resize your images before you add them to your document.
• Use the insert tools in the word processor you prefer to place the images on the page. On your Google Drive, look under the Insert menu.
• Be sure that cite the source for your graphics as well. See pp. 186–187 of the text book for details.

In-Class Writing

We’ll end with the in-class writing. Go to “Tests & Quizzes” in Scholar and complete today’s assignment, “03/03 Choosing Graphics.” As usual, you have until 5 PM tomorrow (3/4) to finish your work.

Homework

• Have your rough draft available on your Google Drive for peer review on Wednesday, 3/5. You’ll use the instructions in Step One of Using Google Drive for Peer Review to upload your work with a classmate that day.
• I will also explain the online class work for Friday, 3/7, so be sure you attend so that you know what you need to do!