TQ #7

Gapminder is eye opening. It is truly impressive how many variables can be measured/displayed by the application. I experimented by changing each axis and observing the results when the graph is run. I also ran some simulations within just the U.S. states like the total number of registered vehicles versus income per person. I am most interested in technology growth - including cell phones, personal computers, etc. I was most curious to examine the relationship between income per person, population, and economic variables.

One of the most interesting graphs I created was the relationship between individual income versus number of cell phones.
http://graphs.gapminder.org/world/index.php#$majorMode=chart$is;shi=t;ly=2003;lb=f;il=t;fs=11;al=30;stl=t;st=t;nsl=t;se=t$wst;tts=C$ts;sp=6;ti=2004$zpv;v=0$inc_x;mmid=XCOORDS;iid=pyj6tScZqmEcKuNdFCUo6TQ;by=ind$inc_y;mmid=YCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj1jiMAkmq1iMg;by=ind$inc_s;uniValue=8.21;iid=phAwcNAVuyj0XOoBL_n5tAQ;by=ind$inc_c;uniValue=255;gid=CATID0;by=grp$map_x;scale=lin;dataMin=0;dataMax=334824000$map_y;scale=log;dataMin=162;dataMax=119849$map_s;sma=49;smi=2.65$cd;bd=0$inds=i239_t001980,,,,
Then I checked the total population versus the number of cell phones.
http://graphs.gapminder.org/world/index.php#$majorMode=chart$is;shi=t;ly=2003;lb=f;il=t;fs=11;al=30;stl=t;st=t;nsl=t;se=t$wst;tts=C$ts;sp=6;ti=2004$zpv;v=0$inc_x;mmid=XCOORDS;iid=pyj6tScZqmEcKuNdFCUo6TQ;by=ind$inc_y;mmid=YCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj0XOoBL_n5tAQ;by=ind$inc_s;uniValue=8.21;iid=phAwcNAVuyj0XOoBL_n5tAQ;by=ind$inc_c;uniValue=255;gid=CATID0;by=grp$map_x;scale=lin;dataMin=0;dataMax=334824000$map_y;scale=lin;dataMin=0;dataMax=1458024460$map_s;sma=49;smi=2.65$cd;bd=0$inds=i239_t001980,,,,
If you look at the graphs, take a look at China. The amount of cell phones in China just explodes between 1999 and present. The number of cell phones in China is almost double that of the U.S. At first I thought it was related to the population of China since they have over 1.2 billion people as opposed to the U.S. 200 million. But then when looking at the income per person, the same thing happened, and individual income in China did not rise any faster than it did in the U.S. during the same time period. In fact, the individual income in the U.S. is almost twice that of China, but the number of cell phones just exploded. I think this is a fabulous tool to use in an educational environment. Just using it on my own had me totally engaged and willing to experiment. The experiments made me think and ask questions, and even do some wikipedia research.

My only concern about the application is that it is somewhat complex to use. There are so many different options that it may be more beneficial for a teacher to provide students with a solid handful of simulation suggestions to keep them on track. While it enables students to be very creative and observe the relationship between two previously unrelated ideas, it is very easy for multiple simulations to cloud their vision. I also have a feeling that some teachers would experience a mild learning curve - especially those not very adept with technology.