Science and Math Learning Activities

Describing Data Using Statistics

Personal reaction: First reaction was I thought I missed a step as it does not include instructions so I was not sure how to proceed. Once I realized I was at the basic interface I started playing around with the different points. If you already know the definitions of mean, median, mode, and range this simulation will make sense otherwise it could be confusing. It seems to be great to give a visual perspective on the material.

Ease of use: This simulation is very basic and easy to use. There is not much to it other than moving points on the grid to visually see the mean, mode, median, and range of the grid.

Educational value: I feel this simulation could be useful for students but only for visual demonstration purposes only. It does not exactly teach definitions, but more to show how changing the data manipulates the mean, mode, median, and range.

Age/Developmentally appropriate: This simulation was stated it was designed for grade 9-12. I feel this appropriate for this age range but it could also work for adult students in a statistics or pre-algebra course.

Theme appropriate: When compiling and reporting research data, it is important to understand the concepts of mean, mode, median, and range and this simulation may help to understand how changes in data is affected.

Touch Screen Physics Simulator

Personal reaction: This is a great simulator which shows how capacitive touch screens work. I was impressed how well it is designed and setup as it was easy to figure out how to use each function to manipulate different data points to see the changes. What I really found to be helpful is each data area offers definitions to explain what you are changing and gives excellent examples to make sense of the information.

Ease of use: Between the worksheet and simulator interface, I found the simulator to be very easy to use and understand.

Educational value: I feel this simulator has high value in teaching how capacitive touchscreens work by giving students the ability to manipulate the electric potential with the finger and system capacitance. It offers a breakdown of the definitions terms involved to gain a better understanding of what you are accomplishing in the simulation.

Age/Developmentally appropriate: This simulation could be used by high school students and adult based learners. Some knowledge of electric field, capacitors circuits should be required to understand.

Theme appropriate: UX research can be applied in many areas. For individuals in areas such as software or electrical engineering, understanding the concept of finger capacitance plays a major role in successful design research for touchscreen related projects.

Pie Chart Data Analysis

Personal reaction: My first reaction to this simulator was not a positive one as it was difficult to access. Because it uses Java I had to use Internet Explorer to access it properly. Other than that it was useful simulation. Following the activity directions and entering data into the selected fields it was helpful to see the results broken into percentages.

Ease of use: Again this technology for this simulator is very outdated as newer web browsers do not support java based applets anymore so it could easily create problems for students that only use Chrome or Safari.

Educational value: The simulator offers students an easy way to figure out percentages of the required activities. Following the instructions they then take the entered information and discuss students percentage amounts that can be converted to fractions. It will help to understand the concept of figuring out how to convert fractions to percentages and vice versa using real life scenario data.

Age/Developmentally appropriate: The website suggested this simulator for older high school students but I feel it is more appropriate for younger students that are beginning to understand percentages and fractions. Could be useful for adult learners in pre-algebra setting.

Theme appropriate: In UX research, percentages and fractions play an important role in how researchers present their complied data findings to stakeholders and being able to understand these concepts is necessary for research success.

Area Model Algebra

Personal reaction: I was impressed with this simulation after figuring out the simple layout. It breakdowns every part of an equation so you can visually see how it is formed vs the classic paper way. I also liked that you can hide the dimensions, area, and calculation so you can try to figure out each part on your then check your answers.

Ease of use: I found this simulator to be easy to use and the interface is very simplistic compared to other simulators I tested.

Educational value: This simulator is a great tool to use to understand all of the moving parts of an equation. It gives learners the ability to visually see a different perspective of the equation process that may help to better understand the necessary steps that are needed to correctly solve it. I find that seeing a new perspective of how to correctly setup and solve equations could help improve students algebra skill set.

Age/Developmentally appropriate: The simulator interface is very simplistic and could easily be used by younger students who are beginning to study algebra concepts. Adult students who need a refresher or beginning algebra level concepts could also benefit by using this simulation in their studies.

Theme appropriate: In the UX research field, analytical math and reasoning skills are valuable for researchers to understand. It is common practice that creating and solving variables is a requirement to compiling and making sense of research data. This simulation could be helpful to learn and practice how variables are broken down, formed and solved correctly. Stakeholders depend on research results to be calculated correctly!