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Begin playing with infographic tools; here's a great selection

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Begin playing with infographic tools; here's a great selection

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The best infographic maker options can help you present complex data in a simple yet striking visual form. Of course, you can create your own infographic from scratch - but that can be a huge undertaking. The best infographic makers make presenting data much simpler, with a range of flexible, customisable templates.

We've picked out a list of the best infographic makers. We've included both free and paid tools, and while many are are aimed at beginners, even these are often hugely capable tools. As part of our rigorous review process we've evaluated them according to their easy of use, flexibility and customisation options and value.

If you need some inspiration, just take a look at our collection of the best infographics. And if you do fancy creating your own infographic from scratch, take a look at our guide on how to download Photoshop.

The best infographic makers available now

The best infographic maker for social media

If you need to make infographics quickly and easily for social media, Adobe Creative Cloud Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is one of the best tools around. It has over 10,000 templates to choose from and thousands of free license-free assets to smarten up your design. There's a basic free plan, but as our Creative Cloud Express review explains, you'll need a subscription to unlock all the many features available.

Creative Cloud Express can do a lot more than design just infographics, but it's the best tool that we've found for that purpose for social. It uses a drag-and-drop editor which is super simple to use. Search through the templates to get the one you want, and then start editing. You can add your own background, change the text, add an image, introduce an icon and include your own logo (if you have one). When done, the infographic maker lets you resize for your favourite social platform with a single click, then download (we recommend saving in cloud storage). Sit back and watch your infographic go viral. Get Adobe Creative Cloud now for Adobe's full suite of design apps.

02. Canva Infographic Tool

A brilliant video infographic maker

Canva is a powerful and easy-to-use online design tool that's suitable for all manner of creative tasks, from brochures to presentations and much more besides. It also offers users a vast library of images, icons, fonts and features to choose from.

It features a dedicated free infographic maker with hundreds of free design elements and fonts at your fingertips. There are many more premium elements that you can buy for $1. When we reviewed it, we found Canva benefited from being simple to use for all kinds of design work, including infographic creation. At the same time, it offers a good level of customisation for such an accessible tool.

See our full Canva review for more details.

03. Venngage

The best infographic maker for a dedicated tool

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid

Venngage is one of the most popular picks for those looking for a dedicated tool for making infographics. Our first two picks as the best infographic makers can be used for all kinds of design, whereas Venngage was created specifically infographics in mind (although it covers diagrams and reports and other such pieces too). Thanks to this specialisation it offers a vast number of creative templates for the purpose (more than 7,500, in fact).

It's super-easy to use thanks to a handy image search feature, which makes finding and adding images to your infographics a breeze. Though there's a massive range of features available, including font upload and the ability to export in Powerpoint and even interactive PDF, many of these are only available as part of a Business account (there's a big jump between what you get from a Premium account and the Business plan). However, there is also a fairly decent Free plan, and the Premium subscription gets you everything you need to create attractive infographics with a highly professional feel.

A good option for creating infographics quickly

The highly rated graphics tool Snappa is another one that we found super-easy to use, with pre-made templates galore and a library packed full of high-res images - over 4,000,000 to be exact. It lets you remove image backgrounds with a single click and has a range of text effects and graphics to drop in. You can even share to social direct from the program. There's a free plan (you can have one user, 6,000 templates and three downloads a month), and paid-for options from $10 per month offering more features.

05. Piktochart

A great infographic maker for beginners

If you're after an entry-level infographic maker, Piktochart takes out the legwork of designing an infographic by supplying you with easy to customise templates. Once you've uploaded your stats, you can tweak the layout and colour scheme. Given that infographics are an art form in and of themselves, and one that can be overwhelming at first, Piktochart is a great way to get to grips with the medium. There are various pricing options, including a free account that allows you to make up to five visuals, although you'll have to pay to get rid of the Piktochart watermark.

06. DesignCap

Another simple to use infographic maker

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The best infographic maker to use in 2023

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Our pick of the best premium and free infographic maker tools.

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Begin thinking about your choice of curation tool for later in the term.

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Begin thinking about your choice of curation tool for later in the term.

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After my previous post regarding the place of curation in a busy person's life, I have been asked by several people about which curation platform to choose.

Obviously there are plenty of tools out there, and each has its benefits and disadvantages. The choice is dependent upon personal preference (some tools you will like, others you just won't warm to) as well as the purpose for your curation.

If you are curating highly visual material, a text heavy bookmarking tool will not create an arresting curated collection. However complex topics with many sub-topics may benefit from a text based tool with a tagging feature, which enables you to search within an already curated collection for finer grained sorting. If you have an audience of school students, particularly groups under 13 years of age, check whether an account is required to view the finished collection. There is no point spending hours creating a resource that users cannot access because they do not have an account.

Also look at publishing options. If you are hoping to include your curated collection in a blog, make sure that the final product will have an embed code so that you can present the collection beautifully. If simple sharing on social media or via email is all you are planning, then a weblink will suffice.

I have collected a range of different tool options on the following Pinterest board. Below the Pinterest board, you will see an infographic (click on the link below the infographic for a printable version) which reviews several tools and provides a summary of things to consider when deciding on a tool.

The most important thing is to choose a tool you like and are comfortable with - and happily, with so many options to choose from, there is bound to be a perfect tool out there for you!

Created using Visme. An easy-to-use Infographic Maker.
Download a printable version (PDF)

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After my previous post regarding the place of curation in a busy person's life, I have been asked by several people about which curation platform to choose. Obviously there are plenty of tools out there, and each has its benefits and disadvantages.

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One powerful example of students taking on a different role in the classroom happens when teachers use the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development as a framework for inquiry. Students explore their passions, interests, and curiosities based on the 17 U.N. goals, identifying learning objectives connected to a particular goal where they'd like to focus. Teachers then co-design standards with learners, standards with language such as gaining a deeper understanding of "x" or inspiring an audience to "do y."

Students achieve a more genuine ownership over their learning as they grapple with these authentic problems -- ones that have troubled global leaders for decades. In these spaces students take on more of the heavy lifting of learning as they are actively involved in the construction of understanding.
2. The teacher as guide and mentor
Just as the role of the learner has shifted in these classrooms, so too has the role of the teacher. Teachers in these spaces are constantly reflecting and making changes in order to foster a culture of learning. They are highly aware of what's happening around them; they take the time to stop and listen; and they pick up on the slightest clues and use these to shape next steps. They constantly ask questions of themselves that guide their practice and inform their decisions. Cumulatively they use these reflections to revise their path and better meet the needs of their students.

In all of these classrooms, teachers use a variety of strategies to support their students. It's a misperception that student-centered classrooms don't include any lecturing. At times it's essential the teacher share his or her expertise with the larger group. But teachers in these classrooms also make space for learner-centered discourse such as Socratic Seminars, in which students drive the discussion and the teacher guides and facilitates the collaboration. Or students might lead a lesson with the teacher observing and compiling formative feedback to support reflection, revision and growth.

In the inquiry classroom, students often interview experts in a specific field in order to gain a deeper understanding of their inquiry topic. Teachers support them with direct instruction that introduces the class to what a strong interview entails, and identifies the processes that should be adopted to ensure students will be successful in this task. During this time exemplars are shown and discussed, sample questions are collaboratively created and planning initial steps are accomplished.

Embarking in this learning together as a group, by way of a lecture, makes sense in that all students must gain this broader and more general understanding of interviewing. The teacher then facilitates smaller breakout groups where students can delve more deeply into their individual interviews and begin to personalize the task in a more meaningful and supportive manner. It is in this gradual release of control over learning that the inquiry classroom thrives.
3. The whole child is celebrated and nurtured
Whether it be social-emotional learning, personal awareness and social responsibility, grit and growth mindset, or empathy, the language around learning has shifted in these spaces to focus on nurturing the whole student. Dispositions are at the core of these classrooms where qualities such as creativity, collaboration and communication are explicitly discussed, reflected on and supported.

In all of these classrooms there's a joint emphasis on the product or summative piece to learning as well as the process of learning. It is in this process that students demonstrate meaningful growth in the characteristics and dispositions of a lifelong learner.

This is evident in inquiry spaces that utilize the design thinking method. This process calls on students to identify a challenge, gather information, generate potential solutions, refine ideas, and test solutions. High school students in one Vancouver classroom designed a solution to bring clean drinking water to rural areas that did not have access to this essential resource in their communities.

Some students prototyped an affordable handheld water purification system, other students designed a community sewage treatment facility, and a third group created a water use plan for the community. It's worth noting that many students didn't ultimately achieve a tangible or working solution by the end of the unit. But that wasn't the goal. More important was the empathy gained during the process. The design-thinking process provided rich opportunities for student reflection and allowed the teacher to see social and emotional skills at work.
4. Structures and frameworks exist but learning isn't overly prescribed or standardized
In these classrooms, standards do not solely drive the learning and content is not overly standardized. Students are often learning about different things that they have all individually chosen, but each student is operating within a common unified structure. Learner agency is a core component of being student-centered. Teachers can use strategies and routines to help students organize, reflect and revise as they go.

This is evident in high-quality project-based learning classrooms where projects are focused on student learning goals and include essential project design elements such as identifying key understandings, posing a challenging problem, partaking in sustained inquiry, reflection, revision and sharing learning with an authentic audience.

One example of this in action is a classroom where students were learning about positive impact on others. The provocation used by the teacher was an inspiring video titled Project Daniel.

After watching the video the teacher challenged students to "help one, help many" and identify a problem, plan a solution and put this plan into action in order to make a difference in someone else's life. One group of students 3D-printed fidget spinners for younger students dealing with anxiety. Another group designed a public service announcement campaign encouraging kindness and acceptance in their school community. And another group interviewed senior citizens at a local old-age home to document, archive and share their advice for youth in order to build empathy. Although each group was working on a uniquely personalized project, they all learned from one another throughout the process as they shared their work.

Inquiry is at the heart of many education buzzwords and can be a useful tool for framing ones approach to them. John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Paolo Freire and Jean Piaget planted the roots of inquiry long ago, but every educator can leverage their constructivist example to find a pedagogy that best fits their unique teaching style. Ultimately the goal should always be to empower students to continue wondering and seeking their own answers.

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Four Inquiry Qualities At The Heart of Student-Centered Teaching | KQED

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Student-centered pedagogies have inquiry at their heart -- a commonality key to their success and far more critical than keeping the jargon straight.

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Mandy Lupton's blog

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Guided Inquiry Design in Action - K-12 Examples of best practice of inquiry-based learning

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Here you will find pioneers in inquiry-based learning engaging in a 52 week challenge of reflective practice. As one of the authors of Guided Inquiry and Guided Inquiry Design and national

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What the Heck Is Inquiry-Based Learning?

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Teachers use inquiry-based learning to combat the “dunno” -- a chronic problem in student engagement. Check out these four steps for creating inquiry-based curriculum.

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Readings in the section Introduction to Inquiry Learning and Information Literacy

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Kath Murdoch is an inquiry guru! Check out her blog for great information and resources

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I am fortunate to be able to spend a lot of time in the natural environment. It is the source of my well-being and the sustenance of my curiosity. As has been noted by many, being in nature also helps keep our ego in check. It literally puts us in our place.