{
"title": "UFR 1.5 - Balancing the Federal Budget",
"name": "budget-crunch",
"description": "Budget Crunch",
"image": "budget-crunch.jpg",
"questions": [
  {
    "x": 0.6,
    "y": 0.3,
    "text": "What is the likely cause of the “budget crunch”?"
  },{
    "x": 0.2,
    "y": 0.7,
    "text": "What are the possible costs or consequences of the budget crunch?"
  },{
    "x": 0.2,
    "y": 0.1,
    "text": "What point of view does the cartoonist have on the need to reduce deficit spending?"
  }
],
"labels": [
  {
    "name": "Economic Concepts",
    "options": ["Tradeoff", "Opportunity Cost", "Efficiency"]
  },
  {
    "name": "Political Concepts",
    "options": ["Role of government"]
  },
   {
    "name": "Values",
    "options": ["Freedom of Choice", "Equity", "Shared Responsibility","Fiscal Responsibility"]
  },
  {
    "name": "Rhetorical Devices",
    "options": ["Symbolism"]
  }
],
 "stickers": ["donkey.png", "elephant.png", "school.png", "hospital.png", "police.png"]
}
   

[
      {
      "x": 0.6,
      "y": 0.3,
      "text": "What is the
      likely cause of the
      “budget crunch”?"
      },
      ...
]

[
      {
      "x": 0.6,
      "y": 0.3,
      "text": "What is the likely cause of the “budget crunch”?"
      },
      ...
]

[
      {
      "name": "Economic Concepts",
      "options":
      ["Tradeoff",
      "Opportunity Cost",
      "Efficiency"]
  },...
]

[
      {
      "name": "Economic Concepts",
      "options": ["Tradeoff", "Opportunity Cost","Efficiency"]
  },...
]

Introduction

The Council for Economic Education's Image Annotation Tool allows students to creatively comment on political cartoons and other images, and to share their annotated creations with their teachers or fellow students. These instructions describe how to use the tool in a general manner. Specific guidance for interacting with particular cartoons may be provided in associated lesson plans, published on CEE’s EconEdLink website at http://www.econedlink.org.

Image Annotation Elements

Each cartoon annotation exercise contains several elements that can be added to the cartoon to comment on it, or to reinforce or change its meaning. Some of the annotation elements are pre-defined, and some you can create yourself. These elements are described below.

Questions

Each cartoon may contain one or more pre-defined questions, identified by red pushpin icons. Double-click the pushpin to open a window that will display the question and allow you to type your response to it. Click the Add Answer button to record your response. The pushpins will turn green after you answer the question. You may edit your response by double-clicking the pushpin and following the same steps.

Bubbles

Bubbles are speech or thought bubbles that you create to comment upon the cartoon. To add a bubble, click on the Bubbles button on the right edge of the screen. This will open the Bubbles Panel. Select the type of bubble you’d like to add, either a left or right speech button, with oval shaped outlines, or a left or right thought bubble, with cloudlike outlines. Click within the Text Input area and type the text you wish to add. The number in the upper right corner of the text input area tells you how many characters remain of the maximum 140-character limit. Click the Add button to add your bubble to the cartoon. Drag the bubble to an appropriate area of the cartoon. You may resize the bubble by clicking on it, then dragging one of the sizing boxes in the corners of the sticker.

Captions

Captions are text boxes that you create to comment upon the cartoon. To add a caption, click on the Captions button on the right edge of the screen. This will open the Captions Panel. Click in the Text Input area and type the text you wish to add to the cartoon. The number in the upper right corner of the text input area tells you how many characters remain of the maximum 50-character limit. Click the Add button to add your caption to the cartoon. Drag the caption to an appropriate area of the cartoon.

Stickers

Stickers are small illustrations that can be placed on the cartoon to reinforce or its meaning. To add a sticker, click the Stickers button on the right edge of the screen, click on the sticker you wish to add, then click the Add button to add the sticker to the cartoon. Drag the sticker to an appropriate location to comment on the cartoon. You may resize the sticker by clicking on it, then dragging one of the sizing boxes in the corners of the sticker. You may tilt the sticker by clicking on it, then dragging the box at the top of the vertical line ascending from the top of the sticker.

Labels

Labels are pre-defined keywords, organized into categories like Economic Concepts, Political Concepts, Values and Rhetorical Devices. To add a label to the cartoon, click the Labels button on the right edge of the screen, to open the Labels panel. Select a label category by clicking on the colored text in the top row of the Labels Panel. Select a specific label from the dropdown below, then click the Add button to add the label to the cartoon. Drag the label to an appropriate location on the cartoon that illustrates the selected concept.

Editing Questions, Bubbles and Captions

To edit the text you entered in a questions, bubble, or caption, double-click it, edit the text in the pop-up window, then click the Add button to update the cartoon with your edits.

Removing Image Annotations

To remove one of your annotation elements, double-click it, then click the Remove button in the pop-up window.

Hiding Annotation Elements

Clicking the bubble, question, caption, sticker and label icons below the cartoon will hide or display the selected annotations. This may be helpful if you wish to view the underlying cartoon without distractions. You may also use the Opacity slider to fade the annotations.

Publishing your Annotated Cartoon

When you’ve completed annotating your cartoon, click the Publish button to save your annotations. The screen that follows provides several options for sharing your creation with others:

• Click the Email button to automatically create a message in your default email application, containing a link to your annotated cartoon. Address the email appropriately, edit the email text if you like, and send it to your recipient. This option requires locally installed email software, which may not be available on devices like Chromebooks or tablets.'
• Click the Copy Message to Clipboard button to copy a pre-defined message that contains a link to your annotated cartoon. You can paste this message into your choice of communications software (Twitter, Skype, Slack, etc.). If your device does not support this feature, you can also select, copy and paste the text from the text box below the Email and Copy Message to Clipboard buttons.
• Copy the link from your web browser’s address bar and share it with others by whatever means you choose.

If you wish to make further changes to your creation, click the Go Back to Edit button below the cartoon.

Questions or Comments?

For further assistance in using this tool, or to report problems encountered when using it, please complete and submit our Contact Us form, or email econedlink@councilforeconed.org. Your request will be automatically entered into our help desk system. An appropriate staff member will be assigned to assist you and will endeavor to respond within 24 hours of your request.