Highlands High School, Spanish teacher Laura Fleischer Proaño's students made data narratives using the EarthTime tool. Through her Spanish class, the students researched causes and effects of migration, including refugee migration from Spanish speaking countries.  In many cases, the students found that people were fleeing their countries due to instability and violence. The students then learned how to highlight these factors using EarthTime and to write narratives (in Spanish) about the refugee situation in various countries.

This example takes “data” out of the technology or data classroom. The primary focus of this course was learning the Spanish language and culture in Spanish speaking countries.  By combining existing curriculum with our data tools, students were able to understand how big data is used for storytelling, and how several different conclusions can be drawn from the same data. We are going to build on what this classroom has done by working with additional Spanish teachers throughout West Virginia who will work as a cohort to create EarthTime narratives with their students.