I. Introduction
Create Graphs Quickly and Easily with GraphPower.
GraphPower is designed to help bring graphing into the elementary classroom as an integral part of integrated, project-based math, science, and social science explorations. The types of graphs produced using GraphPower include pictograph, vertical bar graph, horizontal bar graph, line graph, circle graph, and box & whisker graph. During this demonstration, you will learn how to enter data into a database by entering original data or sample data provided in GraphPower and how to create six impressive graphs all with a simple click of the mouse!
Go Ahead and Install!
Once installed click on Ventura Educational Systems Logo and then Click on GraphPower Logo to start. The graph center window will automatically open with the tool palette displayed down the left side of the window. The default graph is the pictograph.
II. Let's Go
Tutorial
Begin by choosing one of nine tutorial levels by pulling down the Window menu and clicking on Graph Tutor. The bottom icon in the tool palette is the Level Indicator and is used to control the difficulty of the lesson presented in the Graph Tutor. Choose the desired level by clicking on the top of the indicator to raise the level; bottom to lower the level.
Here for example we see a change from level 3 to level 4.
III. Graph Grab Bag
Let's get started by exploring some of the features of GraphPower by moving directly into the "Graph Grab Bag"
· First let's go to the Options menu and select Dynamic Link. This option connects the Data Center to the selected graph as you will see.
· Select the Special menu. Pull down the menu and select Graph Grab Bag. Once open, you will see a sample graph. Move the mouse to the Circle Graph icon and click on it. Your graph instantly transforms from the displayed graph to a circle graph complete with labels and numbers.
· Go up to the Special menu again select Show Percentages. The graph labels are now shown as percentages.
· Move to the Bar Graph icon in the tool palette. Select either a Vertical or Horizontal Bar Graph. Click on the Vertical and watch the graph change again! Want to add more description to the graph? Add a key or legend!
· Go up to the Special Menu and select Key/Legend. A key instantly appears on the graph and may be moved anywhere you find it to be most effective. Click on the Horizontal Bar Graph, once again, see the how easily the graph changes in its presentation.
· Return to the Special menu and select the Playground option. This feature allows you to manipulate the bar and line graphs by dragging the bars or the points to different positions. Move the open hand to any bar and click. Hold the button down and the hand closes, indicating it has grasped the bar. Drag the bar to the desired location along the horizontal line and release the mouse button.
· Take a look at the Dynamic Link by going to the Data Center by clicking on the icon or going to the Window menu and selecting it. You will see the data has also changed!
Now let's try the next two graphing options: the Line Graph , and the Box and Whisker Graph. With a simple click of the mouse, you may choose the clearest, most effective graph to represent! Now that you have a feel for some of the unique features of GraphPower, let's begin by creating some of our own graphs.
Click on the Line Graph icon to view
a line graph.
Click on the Box and Whisker (Box
Plot) icon to view a Box and Whisker graph.
IV. Graphing
Let's design a pictograph!
· Select the Pictograph icon from the tool palette.
· Go to the Special menu and choose the Symbol Library. Once displayed, take a look at the library by clicking on the right hand corner of the page. It's easy to pick your favorite symbol!
· Move the Open Hand Cursor and click on the symbol. The hand closes to show the symbol is held inside. Move to the bottom row and click up to twelve times. To release the symbol click anywhere outside the graph. Choose another symbol and try again.
We chose four apples and six cherries. You may also add data to a pictograph by opening the Data Center and typing in the item from the pictograph you would like to add such as lemons and grapes. When you go back to the pictograph
screen, the symbols are automatically added to the graph. We can now change our graph from a pictograph and make a graph of our choice by just clicking on the graph icon in the tool palette.
Click on the other graph icons to view the other types of graphs. After all this data manipulation, let's give some ownership to all your hard work!
· Go to the Identification item in the Options menu. This will open a dialog box where a students name, grade, and teacher is entered. The level of GraphPower is automatically set according to the grade entered. This may be overridden however by clicking the top or bottom of the level indicator.
IV. Data Center
· Pull down the Window menu and open Data Center. A blank database will automatically open. You can design your own graph keeping in mind the graphic symbol (i.e. grape ) is limited to the content of Symbol Library.
· Enter data in the Categories column. Let's graph types of housing. (see graph on the following page) We also need to enter labels for the categories.
· Move the cursor to the Label 1 column and highlight it by dragging the mouse over the letters while holding the button down. It will be highlighted black. Type in a column heading that will be used as a label in the key/legend. We used city names for each label.
· Use Color Control at the bottom to change the color in which data will appear.
· Click on desired graph in the tool palette and view the final product!
· Close the Data Center, by simply clicking on the left hand corner.
· Change the organization of your data, just click on the desired graphing icon.
· Add a title, go to the Options menu and choose Title. Enter the title for your graph, choose where you want it and click "OK". Notice the title on the top of your graph.
· Label your data by going back to the Options window and selecting Data Label and Scale Label.
The screen will ask you to enter a label, whether you want the label hidden or written vertically or not, and click "OK". You also have the option of adding a key/legend, changing the range, adding or removing horizontal or vertical lines; all ways of personalizing the graph and selecting the best way to organize the data.
The Note Pad icon directly above the Level Indicator is used to open the Note Pad, a special feature where the teacher or student can add a question or comment to the graph. Text entered into the Note Pad is saved along with the data for the graph when Save is selected from the File menu.
V. Additional Assistance
· Open the Help Mode option in the Window menu. What you see is a spiral notebook with tabs providing quick reference to the various program features.
· Click on the Functions tab. Listed are all the possible functions you may enter into the Data Center. These will allow you to perform statistical functions, database functions, and graphing functions. Let's try out a few!
· Close this window by clicking on the close box in the upper left corner.
· Click on the Data Center icon and let's begin! Move the cursor to the Categories column.
· Type in =months and hit return. You now have all the months of the year listed in the column. This is a database function. We then typed in the label, "Days" in column one.
· Go to the last cell in column 2 and type in the =sort, hit return and watch what happens! The data is sorted in ascending order. This is a statistical function.
· Move the cursor to the next column, highlight it and type in Birthdays. Enter data as to how many of your students birthdays fall into each month. Once the data has been entered, select a graphing icon in which you would like to present the data. You have now performed a few special functions!
· Open the the Glossary option in the Window menu. This provides the student with terms and definitions essential to understanding graphing and may be referenced at any time.
Each time you choose to close the program or go to a new project, a screen opens that asks, "Save your project before quitting?" At that time a project may be titled and saved onto a disk for future reference. A graph may also be copied or cut and then pasted into a word processing program for publication.
VII. Conclusion
As you can see, I have given you just a brief overview of the unique features of GraphPower. We live in the Age of Information and are constantly bombarded with facts and figures about our complex world. The ability to understand and interpret graphs is an increasingly important skill which helps us to make sense of confusing information in an effort to be better able to make decisions.
GraphPower provides the ability to represent data gathered and also allows the students to perform functions to interpret the data and to relate the study of mathematics to their individual personal experiences. The design of GraphPower makes the program useful in other curriculum areas besides just math. By using this program, teachers have a valuable tool to facilitate students in becoming better problem solvers and to improve data analysis skills by getting them involved in collecting, organizing, graphing, and interpreting data.
Summary:
6 Graphs:
Pictograph, Circle Graph,
Cut and Paste Graphs, One-Step Printing