Tools for Displaying Data

This section offers applets for creating several types of data display. They can be useful for class presentations as well as for offering “pictures” of those long lists of numbers collected as data. Students can engage more easily with the visual displays and make better sense of their data through these interactive exercises. The last two tools offered here help in collecting all that data: a stopwatch and a spinner.

Create a Graph http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing

Students will learn how to create area, bar, pie, and line graphs. They are provided with information about what each type of graph shows and what the graphs can be used for, along with an example of each type of graph. They can create the graphs using their own data. MSP full record

Bar chart (grades 6-8) http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_323_g_3_t_5.html

This virtual manipulative enables students to make a bar chart, three to twelve columns wide and five to twenty rows tall. They can label columns and click on cells to make the chart. A special feature: Students can enter data as quantities, and then by clicking the percentage button, they can instantly see the percentage relationship of the quantities. MSP full record

Circle Graph http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/piecharttool/index.html

This activity allows the user to graph data on a circle graph. Users can use predefined data sets or enter their own data. Especially good for showing examples of this type of display! MSP full record

Histogram (grades 6-8) http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_145_g_3_t_5.html

This virtual manipulative enables students to construct histograms to summarize data. They can, first, view examples of real-world data, such as the number of minutes between eruptions of Old Faithful, then clear the data and enter their own. Finally, students can switch the display mode and see the same data as a box plot. MSP full record

Histogram http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/histogram/index.html

This second applet for creating histograms offers as examples real-world data sets more appropriate for older middle school students. The applet automatically displays the number of elements in the data set, the mean and standard deviation, and a frequency chart along with the histogram for each data set. MSP full record

Box plot (grades 6-8) http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_200_g_3_t_5.html

This virtual manipulative enables students to construct box plots to summarize data. As students enter data into a table, the applet displays the minimum and maximum data values, the lower and upper quartiles, and the median. The number in the data set, the average, and the standard deviation are also shown. MSP full record

Stem-and-Leaf Plotter http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/stemleaf/index.html

This activity generates a stem-and-leaf plot from data that students enter. After examining the display, students are challenged to give the mean, median, and modes; feedback is immediate and answers given, if requested. MSP full record

Scatterplot (grades 6-8) http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_144_g_3_t_5.html

To visualize the relationship between two variables, a scatter plot is often used. Here students click on a point on a grid to enter data or add values to a list. The manipulative displays the data points but also a line of best fit and its equation, for those students studying algebra. Besides instructions on using the applet, you’ll find an interesting activity that engages students in comparing their height with their hand span. MSP full record

Data picking http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/shockwave/games/datapick.html

In this interactive game, students create a table of data they collect from the onscreen characters and then select a scatter plot, a histogram, a line graph, or a pie chart that best represents the data. The amount of data increases and the type of data representation changes according to which of three levels of difficulty is selected. Tips for students are available as well as a full explanation of the key instructional ideas underlying the game. MSP full record

Stopwatch http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/stopwatch/index.html

Functions just like a real stopwatch as well as recording set times, accurate to the nearest tenth of a second. MSP full record

Adjustable Spinner http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/spinner/index.html

Users can create a game spinner with one to twelve sectors to look at experimental and theoretical probabilities. MSP full record

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Copyright June 2008 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.