Gapminder.org

Heath Green ITEC 7445Dr. Bacon

Gapminder Explained Gapminder.org is a free database website that

students can use to research statistics, build graphs, and analyze maps.

It is available to all for free and can be used for research projects, creating presentations, and seeing change over time in the US and all over the world.

It has a videos section to explain why analyzing data gives us a more accurate picture of reality.

It has a teacher section with lesson ideas to use in the classroom.

Gapminder Explained One of the founders of Gapminder, Hans

Rosling explains the importance of using data to tell history in his presentation, “A River of Myths.”

Gapminder’s Support of Cobb County SD’s Technology Vision “Technology serves as a tool to engage

students in quality learning experiences requiring higher-order thinking skills to solve authentic problems.”

Gapminder allows students and teachers to find data easily to support and defend student assertions in reports, discussions, and presentations.

Gapminder’s Support of Cobb County SD’s Technology Vision “Students will use next generation

technology tools to access, analyze, and apply increasingly complex information to draw conclusions and make informed decisions”

Gapminder presents data sets on graphs and maps. This allows students to easily analyze the data to discover new and interesting relationships between seemingly unrelated events and phenomena.

Gapminder’s Support of Cobb County SD’s Technology Vision “Student learning will be enhanced

through open access and equitable distribution of online communication tools and information resources.”

Gapminder is a free website available to everyone with no signup or registration required. Students and teachers can access the site immediately and begin looking at data.

Gapminder’s Support of Cobb County SD’s Technology Vision “Students and teachers will use

technology to extend learning beyond the classroom and the school day.”

Since the site can be accessed without registration or fees by everyone, students can use the information before, during, and after the school day.

Gapminder’s Support of Cobb County SD’s Technology Vision “Students will use technology to

collaborate with classmates, educators, and experts around the world.”

The data is collected from reputable sources and compiled by statisticians at research universities all over the world. This gives students and teachers easy access to experts.

Objectives The objective of using Gapminder is to

give students an easily available data set that can be used to support research projects, blog posts, wikis, discussions, or position papers for students in Social Studies, Math, English, and Science classes.

The website gives a dependable set of data and presents visually pleasing and attention-grabbing way.

Benefits of Gapminder The data is readily available on any desktop or laptop computer,

and there is no fee to access the site. The data is dependable and sourced. The website gives the data in easily readable map or graph forms. The website can show change over time, which is a great

resource for history classes. It allows students to manipulate the data to find interesting and

useful correlations. They become more responsible for their own learning and can be more creative.

Students can link there graphs to any presentation, blog posts, or wikis and share them on a computer that has ready internet access.

The web software can be downloaded as an offline version for free.

Target Student Population Cobb County has a variety students from

all income levels. As a result, many students may not have ready access to the internet at home. Therefore, this technology will be used primarily in schools.

The large amounts of data available, the complexity of the graphs, and the detail of graphs make the technology useful for middle and high school students.

Target Student Population All classrooms that have access to desktop or

laptop computers can access the site. CCSD gives two rolling laptop carts to each

subject area. Media centers also have multiple computer

carts and computer labs. Each school is equipped with computer labs. All schools now have a BYOD policy as well.

Hardware and Software The site is free and there is no

registration needed. The software can also be downloaded

and used offline for free. Access to a class set of computers with

internet capability is needed to access the site or download the offline version to a computer.

Technical Support Any hardware issues can be addressed using

CCSD technical support. The site features a simple “get started” video

to explain how to manipulate graphs. The site has a blog that gives helpful

information for using the site and applying the knowledge gained from the site.

It has an FAQ section and a contact email address for technical questions related to the site.

Limitations of Gapminder If students need to access the site

outside of school, they will need a dependable internet connection or they will need to download the offline version while online.

The site does not work on mobile phones, so a computer is needed.

Costs of Gapminder Accessing the site is free. The cost comes from buying laptops and

desktops that can access the site with an internet connection.

Costs are still minimized, because schools already have these devices on hand. There are no special hardware needs outside of a computer with internet access.

Any training needed can be obtained free of charge through the FAQ section of the website linked here or by emailing info@gapminder.org.

Costs of Gapminder The most prohibitive cost will be laptops

if they are needed at a school. A dependable laptop starts at around

$300 according to www.cnet.com. However, most schools are already

equipped with this technology.

Funding Sources Schools in Cobb County have individual

foundations that could raise money. Teachers could use a crowd-funding

website like www.donorschoose.org. SPLOST funds could be allocated to

purchasing desktops or laptops.

Using Gapminder in the classroom. Teachers can create a specific graph or map to illustrate

the connection between two variables. Teachers can use the site’s change over time feature to

show how various data sets have changed throughout history.

Students can use the data as part of research projects, papers, and presentations. They can link to any graph they create on the site by using

the “Share This Graph” button on the website. Teachers can use the example lessons created and

uploaded to the website. Teachers can use the data sets, graphs, and maps as part

of a WebQuest activity.

Gapminder Promotes Specific Learning Goals Students can create digital graphs, maps, and

graph-timelines and link them to presentations. They could also be part of student wikis and

blogs. Teachers can use the data, graphs, and maps

as part of presentations or introductions to a specific concept.

The data can be used for many higher-order thinking exercises that require students to make an assertion and back it with real data.

Gapminder Promotes Differentiation Students have an enormous amount of data at

their fingertips to explore and manipulate. The data offers a world of possible conclusions.

The data is presented in multiple forms. Raw list Bar or line graph Plot points Map

The site offers a way to engage students who may not like math, history, or graphing.

Collaboration and Communication With Gapminder Students are able to collaborate with

the experts who compile the data. Students are able to collaborate with

each other by using the data as part or blog or wiki posts.

Teachers and students can work together to investigate and interpret the data.

Research of Effectiveness Gapminder is still relatively new, so

there is little research to support effectiveness in the classroom, but the site has many endorsements. Singularityhub.com says, “Gapminder

presents important global data in clear graphs that move dynamically so that you can watch the history of the world unfold through the magic of statistics.”

Research of Effectiveness More praise

The Harvard College Global Health Review says, “One man’s vision to clarify the bigger picture is opening eyes and turning heads.”

I Use Statistics in Education, a site funded by the European Commission meant to help teachers teach statistics says, “Gapminder is an excellent tool for illustrating world development.”

Professional Development This site is very easy to use, so there is

very little professional development needed. The site’s FAQ page explains how to use

the tools on the site. Interested teachers could learn to use it

over the course of a single planning period.

Accessing the site is as simple as accessing any other site on the web, since there is no registration needed.

Reflection I actually used this website this year in class, so I have

some reflection from that and some from completing the project. The website is really fun for students to use to play with data.

I gave them one set and allowed them to choose the other set to create a graph. Students found all sorts of interesting correlations between economic growth and various other data sets like pollution, birth rates, and cancer deaths.

The website is any statistics, history, economics, or government teacher’s dream. It has so much to observe and ATTEMPT to interpret.

Students do not often get excited about looking at data, but the site presents in such an eye-catching way that it is difficult to lose interest or ignore.

Works Cited Krumme, Alexis (2012, November 13) Hans Rosling

and Gapminder: Revolutionizing Data in Global Health. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from Harvard College Global Health Review: http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/hghr/online/rosling-gapminder/

Saenz, Aaron (2010, August 12) Gapminder Makes Statistics Awesome- Now on Your Desktop. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from Singularity Hub: http://singularityhub.com/2010/08/12/gapminder-makes-statistics-awesome-now-on-your-desktop-video/

Schmidt, Malene (2013, June) Gapminder. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from I Use Statistics in Education: http://www.i-use.eu/databases/gapminder-databases.html