Infographic

                                    Link to infographic:
                                   https://magic.piktochart.com/editor/piktochart/17472968#

Rationale of infographic

For my infographic I wanted to piggyback off of my paper in a visual form to help my audience get a better stance of where I was coming from. The infographic was slightly challenging like the paper because like the paper there was so much information and different sources to use, I had to narrow down which sources would provide my audience with the best interpretation of the data. To start my infographic off I wanted to use a title that would make my audience which is college athletes and incoming athletes, want to view and read more into the topic. To do this I felt I needed to present accurate facts as well as putting visuals in that people could read and that were not dull. For most of the text I used a money green color because they article is about paying student athletes and the color of money is green.

Also the green color is something that pops out on the background that I chose. With certain graphs I used the color of the college or university to display my graph data. In other parts of the infographic I use data and pictures that I found from credible sources and articles which are based on the same thing. I specifically choose articles that displayed their data in a colorful manner but also had accurate data and related to the specifics of what I was getting at. Also to give a better overall understanding of what I was getting at I choose a specific sport as an example and elaborated on that specific sport to show how much money the sport generates and how the athletes do not benefit from it. Throughout the project I put in little pictures hinting at my overall topic that student athletes should be paid I did this so that as well as getting the data that they need to understand the topic, they are getting that I am leaning toward the side of paying athletes.  

In the begging of my infographic I started off with a title bolded in green with money signs around it. This gives off the sense that the topic is going to focus around money and I wanted it to be slightly creative and different. Under my title I have a picture of what looks like a student athlete with books and other items you would expect a student athlete to have, he has on a jersey so it is very clear that he is an athlete. Around the athlete are money signs and the picture itself relates back to the title of “pay for play”. As you go further down the infographic that’s when my first amount of data is presented. I start off with the main source of funding for student athletes and that is the scholarships. I start with this because it is a common theme that people believe that scholarships cover everything and this is why student athletes should not get paid so I wanted to first kill this myth before going further into my topic. 

Rationale of blogs

When entering this class and seeing that we had to write blog posts I was not sure how I would do or how I would manage seeing as how it would be my first blog. The topic I focused on mostly was the pay of collegiate student athletes. Upon first choosing this topic I was not very sure about it, it seemed interesting and something I felt I could write about but I didn’t know much about it. As the class went on and I got the hang of using the blogs and what I needed to do the level of interest in my topic increased as well because I wanted to learn more about it so I could make better blogs and write more in depth. When first researching my topics I used a broad scope “why student athletes should be paid” I felt that they should but I did not have a reason why and I also did not know why they were not being paid. As the post went on I furthered my researched and went from just being interested in my topic to actually being a supporter of athletes being paid. I learned that through my research certain sources were not as credible as others. For this topic sports sources like ESPN and others like it seemed to be the most credible for this topic, while other sources; like those of sports blogs or people who started websites of their own were not. The evidence I used in my blogs was accurate graphs and tables I got from credible sources to show the amount of money colleges and universities make and I also used pictures relating to my topic to draw more interests to my blog.

From this project just building my blog up over time I learned that certain things work and others do not. With blogs the text cannot be too long so in the place of these blogs I used pictures, graphs and videos. The videos I used focused on my topic and I used it because I felt it would help further explain my topic better and give the readers a better understanding of my blog and my views as a whole. I used pictures throughout my blog to help add culture and make my blog more readable and interesting. Also I used pictures as evidence of my topic. A long with the graphs and tables, some of the picture used helped me to get my information and ideas across in a way that words could not. 

Draft of info graph and topic

link is here

link is here

Rationale

why it works and how it helps

The resources that I gained while creating this blog will help me in a variety of many different ways, for starters from the creativity aspect. This is my first blog and it challenged me to think outside of the box and be creative with what I wanted to say and how I wanted to format the evidence and my own opinions. This being my first time doing a blog it was challenging at first trying to figure out how I would format my work and what to include to make my blog informative but also interesting. Doing these blog posts also helped me with organization and only using what was needed and relevant for the audience to gain a clear picture of what I was trying to say. For blog posts you want to get straight to the point and leave all of the unnecessary details and things that stray from the subject out of your posts so that you do not confuse the readers. While working on my blog post the most useful sources that I used were news sources and business sources. Both these sources provided accurate statistics and had the graphs to go along with them. Finding sources was not hard but finding the right sources that could provide you with all of the data you needed became a challenge because not all sources are credible and reliable. Another challenge I had to overcome while working with my sources is finding correct graphs and tables to back up what I was saying.

I used many different multimodal’s to get my point across to my audience. The main ones I used were graphs and tables but I also tried to incorporate videos and pictures as well to keep my blog posts from being too wordy and boring. Again I am new to the whole concept of blogs so I wanted to try to be as creative as possible when using multimodals as well I wanted eye popping and colorful graphs as well as interesting videos and pictures that would keep readers entertained as well as getting my point across. The sources that I gathered related directly to my topic and usually help me gain more knowledge about the topic that I was making the blog post on.  I know that for some of the topics I choose it started out a tad bit rough when trying to find information from credible sources because some of the information did not sound correct so I had to really do a lot of research to make sure my sources were credible. 

Is it worth the time and stress?

The stress is worth the degree

Is getting your degree really worth the stress time and money you invest in a college or university? According to study.com people who earned degrees in 2015 earned $48,500 while those without degrees earned $23,900. so yes, it really is worth it in the long run. Although some people drop out of school and manage to find jobs it it shown that those who do not finish college are more likely to be unemployed long term. Although finishing school does not guarantee you a job the odds are in your favor and you are more likely to succeed in the job market with a degree than if you did not have one.

The article goes on to state that over the years the earnings of college graduates has increased and will continue to increase as time goes on.The article also states that earnings also differ as far as gender also but even this does not change the fact that college graduates on average earn more.
 

College is a stressful time not only from the loads of course work but from just trying to figure out how you are going to pay for it all, be the best student you can be and manage a social life all at the same time. But based on the statistics and findings college does pay off in the long run. Although it may seem like the most logical option to stop school and start working, if you just manage to finish and get your degree. 

Is it worth it

An article published by American Radio works goes further in depth about the different statistics of higher education. 

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The graph above from American Radio works shows the value of higher education and how the job market is revolving around the graduation rates of college students. By the graph above shows that more available jobs for those with degrees will increase dramatically by the year 2018. 

Blog 3: The business of college sports

Pay for play, why not?

The ever growing debate of "should college athletes be paid"has become an interesting topic in today's society and quite frankly, they should. It is known that college athletics generates millions in revenue and this would not be possible without the athletes themselves. Yes these athletes spend countless hours perfecting their craft to bring there school money and championships but the question still arises of what is the athlete getting out of it? According to Listland college athletes should not be paid because they spend almost as much money as they generate. The example that they use is the University of auburn constructing a mega screen that is 11,000 square feet, high definition and can be seen from 30 miles away. The total cost of this was 13.9 million, and you ask yourself was this screen really needed? College sports like college is a business everyone wants the newest and biggest products to bring in fans and keep the money train flowing. But you never see a business that does not pay its employees. College athletes spend more time on the field then some full time employees do at their jobs, but still are not required to be paid for their play.

some argue that college athletes should not be paid because they are on full scholarships and everything is paid for so all they have to worry about is being good at their sport but this is incorrect. Believe it or not all college athletes do not receive full scholarships , and on top of that some college athletes don't receive scholarships at all. Outside of sports these athletes do have lives and some have responsibilities and even bills and with practice and school, there is little time for a job. These collegiate programs are generating millions of dollars from the hard work of athletes and not giving them anything of the profit that is gained. Below is a graph from Business Insider of different schools and the amount of money individual sports brought in.

What do stats and reports tell us about the college dropout rate

The Ugly Truth about dropout statistics

Based on statistics The United states has the highest dropout rate in the developed world according to Business Insider. In 2008 55 percent of undergraduates received their degree over a 6 year span. In my opinion there are many reasons that students dropout but the main is the cost of attending a college or university. As stated in the statistics from College Atlas 40% of college students have parents who did not go to college and 50% of college dropouts made less than $35,000 a year, not much motivation if you ask me.



 College is a business and like all businesses it runs off of money, the money you invest in the school pays for you to go to school of course but it also helps the school run. Personally i think that higher education is very expensive and for some people it is not worth the cost that's why they feel that dropping out and going into the working world is the best option for them . The cost of attending a college or university is steadily rising and my prediction is that future generations will be less inclined to stay in school because of the ridiculous cost of attending. Although i understand that colleges need the money to run, what i do not understand is why so much money is needed from each student yearly on an increasing basis. If there is a noticeable dropout rate due to the cost you would think that there would be a plan or methods implemented to curve the steadily increasing dropout rates. And according to the statistics as costs keep rising so will the amount of students that don't finish college.Looking at numerous graphs its very clear that the ever present cost of just attending college is more of a burden to students then any other factor, the group of students it seems to have the highest effect on are underclassman specifically incoming freshman. Although not shown in the info graphic above, incoming freshman and first year students are the most likely to drop out of college. The data that i gathered does not directly translate their dropping out to cost but from statistics of college students in general, we can assume that cost plays a role in this factor.

This chart from education reform now just depicts the graduation rates over a 6 year period of different colleges.