Visualize+Data

CHARTLE.NET

Names: Shawny Tan and Shadia Yamin

What does this tool do? This tool creates different charts based on data that you input.

Who is this tool for? This tool is for both teachers and students.

What will be created? Pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs, scatter plots, venn diagrams all different kinds of charts

Are the steps clearly laid out? Yes, the steps are pretty clear.

What should I know before I begin? You must know which charts to use for what kind of data. For example, percentage data is best displayed using a pie chart, while data over time is best displayed using a line graph.

What do I need to gather before I begin? You need to gather some data ahead of time to use this tool.

What will my students accomplish using this tool? They will learn how numerical data is easier to visualize and understand when made into a graph or chart.

How will this Online tool help you? Your students? It will help us display classroom data such as grade distribution and progress over time. It will help students organize and create charts based on data that they have collected themselves for presentations and projects in different classes.

Which curriculum links or standards could this Online Tool encourage?

This Online Tool helps students with analyzing data. If they are able to create the charts, they can better understand and analyze charts when they appear on standardized exams.

What are the benefits (added value) to using this Online Tool?

Displaying data and charts in the classroom can motivate competitive students. The format of this tool is more user-friendly than excel. Making charts with cool colors is also very engaging for the students. This tool also includes maps which are not present in excel.

What challenges will you face as you work with this Online Tool? Students will have a hard time determining when to use what chart, or what type of chart best fits their data.

Students will be confused as to where to enter their data if they are unfamiliar with the type of diagram they are trying to use. For example, if they are unfamiliar with scatter plots, they will have a hard time figuring out what goes on the x-axis and what goes on the y-axis.

Students may be absent when the teacher demonstrates how to use the tool. These students will be confused if they start to use the tool without prior instruction.

Students will have a hard time finding where to edit certain charts because they have to scroll down to make edits.


 * Does this Online Tool have a help menu that explains how to enter your data? **

Type in the content of your page here.

X Timeline Name: Liz Collins

What does this tool do? This tool helps teachers or students create interactive timelines.

Who is this tool for? Teachers and students

What will be created? Timelines

Are the steps clearly laid out? Yes, there are boxes to fill in that will help you create a timeline.

What should I know before I begin? You will have to sign up.

What do I need to gather before I begin? You should decide what your timeline events and descriptions will be and find any audio or video you would like to use.

What will my students accomplish using this tool? The students will be able to map events in a story (or in history) and understand the relationship of these events through time. They can also find more information on each event. How will this online tool help you? How will it help your students? This tool will help me present information in a clear way. It will help my students interact with the events we are studying and to read and re-read at their own pace.

Which curriculum links or SOL competencies could this online tool encourage? This tool could help teachers teach summarizing effectively. Mapping a sequence of events through time is a skill necessary for good summarizing.

What are the benefits (added value) to using this online tool? This timeline (unlike an on-paper timeline) is interactive, allowing students to click on individual events for more information or to look at the big picture.

What challenges will you face as you work with this online tool? Navigating back from individual events to the timeline wasn’t particularly easy. Also, the page loads pretty slowly after you add new events. The sample timeline I made wouldn't load at all- the website said that it "Detected an error" and to try again later. Not good!

What questions do you have as you investigate this online tool? Will this waste more time than it saves? Will students be interested in creating their own timelines ?

Gliffy and Create a graph

Names: Lance and Kate

What does this tool do? This tool allows us to make different diagrams such as flow charts, ven diagrams, and even floorplans.

Create a graph allows users to create bar, line, area, pie, or scatter plot graph. Once created, links to graphs can be sent to others for collaboration.

Who is this tool for? Teachers can use gliffy to create flow charts to explain concepts or to make graphics for students to fill in.

Students could use this to create study tools and organize ideas.

Create a graph would be useful for both students and teachers. It allows students who may not have access to Excel to still have the ability to produce graphs.

What will be created? A flow chart/blueprint/diagram etc.

Bar graph, line graph, area graph, pie chart, or scatter plot

Are the steps clearly laid out? It is pretty self explanatory and easy to figure out.

The steps are easily laid out, and help/examples are provided on the left hand side of the screen. It also includes a tutorial. However, the format and creation process is quite different from that of Excel, which may pose an initial challenge for some users.

What should I know before I begin? You need to know the difference between the different types of charts and their uses.

You need to know the difference between the various types of graphs and when it would be most appropriate to use each type. You also need to know the difference between the x- and y-axes and how to label data.

What do I need to gather before I begin? You need to gather qualitative information

You need to gather quantitative data.

What will my students accomplish using this tool? They will create a way to organize ideas

Students will be able to visually represent their research or experimental data. How will this Online tool help you? Your students? It will allow me to make charts online quickly instead of trying to make charts via the paint program and taking forever to get it right.

The online tool will be useful for students who do not have access to Microsoft Excel at home. Which curriculum links or SOL competencies could this Online Tool encourage?

Science processes (e.g. photosynthesis; body systems; biogeochemical cycles; food webs).

Graphical representation of science data; scientific method; independent science projects

What are the benefits (added value) to using this Online Tool? They are good if the kids do not have great drawing/mapping skills

It is good incase students do not have access to excel or a spreadsheet program at home. It is also simpler to use than excel.

What challenges will you face as you work with this Online Tool? This did not have a tutorial. It was confusing to figure out how to create an original and not use they examples that were given.

It is different to use than excel and other spreadsheet programs students will be expected to use throughout their schooling.

How do you use some of the more complex symbols?
 * What questions do you have as you investigate this Online Tool? **

Is there an easy way to use this with a large amount of data?

Review of Gliffy and Create-A-Graph

Names: Dina and Trilby What does this tool do? Gliffy: Online diagram software Create-A-Graph: Create graphs from supplied data. Who is this tool for? Gliffy: Teachers and older students Create-A-Graph Students What will be created? Gliffy: A variety of online diagrams, ranging from flow charts to Venn Diagrams to floor plans Create-A-Graph: A graph Are the steps clearly laid out? Gliffy: Yes. There is more to explore, but it seems intuitive. Create-A-Graph: Very simple… Click and enter data. What should I know before I begin? Gliffy: The applications of different visual diagrams. Create-A-Graph: The uses of different types of graphs. What do I need to gather before I begin? Gliffy: Data Create-A-Graph: Data What will my students accomplish using this tool? Gliffy: They can make graphic organizers to study content. Create-A-Graph: They can practice creating graphs. They could use the graphs they create to analyze trends in the data. How will this Online tool help you? Your students? Gliffy: Students can create study guides. Teachers can create hand outs. Create-A-Graph: Teachers can organize student data. Students can create neat graphs for labs, assignments, projects, etc. Which curriculum links or SOL competencies could this Online Tool encourage? Gliffy: Math: measurement, scale standards Create-A-Graph: graphing standards What are the benefits (added value) to using this Online Tool? Gliffy: You can create very professional-looking documents. Create-A-Graph: This program is very kid-friendly. You can export the document as a variety of file types. What challenges will you face as you work with this Online Tool? Gliffy: The layout may be intimidating to younger students. Create-A-Graph: Students need to understand basics (what is x-axis, what is an appropriate title, etc.) of graphing before they begin creating a graph. You cannot embed it directly into a website.

Gliffy and Create-A-Graph

Names: Shawny Tan and Eric Jones

What does this tool do? Both Gliffy and Create a Graph creates graphs and charts. Gliffy is more useful for creating flow diagrams and venn diagrams, while Create a Graph is more useful for creating graphs based on collected data.

Who is this tool for? Gliffy is useful for teachers who want to create diagrams to help students take notes or organize information. Create a Graph is useful for teachers who want to display data in their classrooms. Both Gliffy and Create a Graph are useful for students who want to create their own diagrams and charts for projects.

What will be created? Gliffy – a diagram will be created. You can choose from Venn diagrams, flow charts, floor plans, and business diagrams, among others. Create a Graph – A Bar graph, Line Graph, Pie Graph, or Grid Graph will be created.

Are the steps clearly laid out? For Create-A-Graph, the steps are very clearly laid out in the tabs. The tabs show Design, Data, Labels, Preview, and Print/Save. If you follow the tabs, the graph comes out just right. For Gliffy, you must work with premade charts. You must edit these charts to look like how you want them. For example, if you want to make a family lineage chart, you must use the buttons at the top to create your own charts and change the ones that are premade.

What should I know before I begin? You do not need a log-in account for either site. For both tools, you must know how these charts, diagrams, and graphs work, otherwise you will have no clue what you are looking at. You must have learned about these diagrams beforehand.

What do I need to gather before I begin? For both tools, you must know the information you want to put into the diagrams/graphs. The graphs in Create-A-Graph require numerical data. Before starting on Gliffy, you must know how you want your diagram to look. A sketch of your diagram may be useful so that you know exactly what you want to create. If you don’t do a sketch first, you may take a lot longer to create your diagram.

What will my students accomplish using this tool? Students will be able to better organize their data and information by using Gliffy and Create-A-Graph.

How will this Online tool help you? Your students? These tools will help me create flow charts and diagrams for my students, and they will help me organize data to report to my administrators. My students will find these tools helpful if they do an assignment that requires a diagram or graph.

Which curriculum links or SOL competencies could this Online Tool encourage? These tools will help students with analyzing data. Since they are able to make their own graphs and diagrams, they will learn through creating.

What are the benefits (added value) to using this Online Tool? Gliffy is the first tool I have seen that creates flow charts and concept maps. Making these types of diagrams on Gliffy is much easier than on Microsoft Word as long as you have a picture in mind of what you want your diagram to look like. With Gliffy, it is also possible to “blog and share” your diagram.

Create-A-Graph is simple and clearly laid out so students will be able to follow the steps easily to create their graph. They can also preview the graph so that they can check if they entered in the data correctly.

What challenges will you face as you work with this Online Tool? Students may not like the fact that they are in “KIDS’ ZONE” with Create-A-Graph. It may especially hurt the pride of high school students to use this tool.

What does this tool do? Interactive corkboard – let’s users post sticky notes to their virtual corkboard wherever they are. Who is this tool for? Teachers can create a classroom corkboard for anything! Students can post. Have a corkboard for your notes – students can post their thoughts, questions, exit slips. Have a corkboard for an assignment or theme – students can post any additions to the class’s theme/assignment. What will be created? Anything! Students and teachers can post notes/text/pictures with comments or questions based around the theme of the corkboard. Teachers can use it to present new information. Are the steps clearly laid out? Yes. What should I know before I begin? You should know what you want to use your post notes for and how you would like to organize it. What do I need to gather before I begin? You have to get a group together to create a collaborative wall, otherwise it’s just a corkboard for yourself What will my students accomplish using this tool? Students can work collaboratively to comment on any aspect of the class corkboard. Comparision Very similar to wall wisher, but wall wisher didn’t look as pretty or fun to use. What does this tool do? Another interactive sticky note Who is this tool for? Teachers can create a classroom corkboard for anything! Students can post. Have a corkboard for your notes – students can post their thoughts, questions, exit slips. Have a corkboard for an assignment or theme – students can post any additions to the class’s theme/assignment. What will be created? Anything! Students and teachers can post notes/text/pictures with comments or questions based around the theme of the corkboard.Teachers can use it to present new information. Positca – you can filter notes, it’s easy to organize Are the steps clearly laid out? Yes What should I know before I begin? Postica - You have to create an account, there is no demo. Stixy - You also need an account. No demo, but there is an explanation page. What do I need to gather before I begin? You should know what you want to use your post notes for and how you would like to organize it. What will my students accomplish using this tool? Students can work collaborative to comment on any aspect of the class corkboard. Comparision Positca is very easy to use. Stixy has more widgets you can put in notes – you can make a list or a post a photo. You can embed these into postica, but it’s more user friendly on stixy.
 * What questions do you have as you investigate this Online Tool? **
 * Is it possible to embed Create-A-Graph graphs in wikispaces or other websites. **
 * Lino/Wellwisher**
 * Names: Shadia Yamin & Sarah Wise**
 * Postica/Stixy**
 * Names: Shadia Yamin & Sarah Wise**
 * Gliffy/Create-a-Graph**
 * Names: Shadia Yamin & Sarah Wise**

What does this tool do? Create graph and charts Who is this tool for? Classes can create any graph or chart they want What will be created? Gliffy – create technical drawings, visual aides Create a graph – create mathematical graphs, play with previous data Are the steps clearly laid out? Gliffy – no, you have to figure it out. Create a graph – yes, it’s very kid friendly What should I know before I begin? Gliffy – no sign up needed You need to be familiar with the graphs, charts, etc. provided by the site. What do I need to gather before I begin? You need to have your data and have an idea of how you want it presented. What will my students accomplish using this tool? Create-a graph has more exploration for students to engage in. Comparision Create-a –graph – more focused of data type graphs. Gliffy – lots of different types of graph, charts, visual organizers.