Using New Tools to Repurpose Content

I wanted my students to see how they could up their online game using the digital tools we covered at the workshop. Previously, most of our website content was not tailored to the online experience. Articles were simply copy and pasted. Graphics were screenshot and uploaded. I took three pieces of student work and repurposed them specifically for the web.

College Money Poll Questions

The following survey summary graphic appeared both in print and online this past year.

Now, here’s what that same information looks like when compiled using Flourish.

Putting all of the pie charts in one graphic was a little more challenging than I expected, but I wanted to avoid having four different embeds. Perhaps creating the pie charts individually and using them to create a Flourish story would have been a better approach. Flourish was neither as intuitive nor as customizable I expected based on our sneak peak at the workshop, but it’s free.

Global Link Map

Our school offers students the chance to travel the world with its Global Link program. Previously, these trips were embedded in spring break. However, next year, they will all have an academic focus. Students published an online article about the change. I used StoryMap JS to make the same content more visually appealing.

College Map

I managed to convince the staff to create a Google version of annual college map, but it ended up in WordPress draft purgatory. Plus, our print version was a heat map, and I wanted to see what the online equivalent looked like. Here’s a picture of what was printed.

And here’s what I made in Flourish.

It’s not as detailed as the printed map, but I think it could be if I played with the points layer in Flourish.  I made the conscious decision to avoid listing specific students’ colleges. Why? After spotting this post in my social media feed I plan on encouraging my editors to think about whether this a tradition they want to continue.