Author: Harshil Parikh

Jodie Deinhammer
High School Science, Anatomy, and Physiology Teacher
Coppell High School
Coppell, TX

“Over the last few years, I have searched for ways to incorporate data analysis into my senior level Anatomy and Physiology course.  Stumbling across Tuva was one of my favorite finds of the year.  

This year, my classes were able to analyze the use of vaccines in society and support their claims of efficacy with evidence obtained from Tuva.  They could clearly see the correlation between vaccination rate and disease.  They also discovered an outlier in the data which generated engaging class discussions and interesting perspective on disease, society, and income.  

Students need to be able to manipulate data, extrapolate information, and make informed decisions in order to develop evidence based conclusions in science. TuvaLab gives educators the ability to provide this to our learners with its user friendly interface and customization.”

Anne Kridle
Junior High Science Teacher
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School
Yorba Linda, CA

“I am new to using Tuva data sets, but have found it to be very user friendly and something my students enjoy as another fun learning tool.  My middle school students have been using it on their iPads and are able to navigate the system and discover different ways to analyze the data, graphs and draw information from the data sets. I look forward to using it more with my students!”

Jill Spellman
Computer Teacher K-8
HolyTrinity Interparochial School
Westfield,
NJ

“The Tuva web site is a fantastic resource for viewing and manipulating
data which I have recently used in my 3rd-8th grade computer classes
at Holy Trinity Interparochial School in Westfield, NJ. 

Having
the ability to instantly move attributes to the x or y axis, to
change chart types, and to effortlessly apply functions like sums and
percentages, provides the student with powerful tools to personalize
and visualize a data set which could otherwise present itself as dull
statistical information. 

For
example, students were fascinated to be able to click on a dot in a
plot and learn about an individual passenger who had been onboard the
Titanic.  Once they caught on to how to manipulate the attributes, I
heard comments like, “Oh look, this is so sad – here’s a four
month old baby boy named Gilbert who did not survive”.  Others
looked through the data in a table format to see if they could find a
passenger who shared their last name.  

Younger
classes did an activity with dog breeds.  A student informed me that
she really wanted to get a dog and she asked me for a pencil and a
sticky note so she could report to her parents which breeds were
“good with children”.  The eighth graders had recently read the
Diary of Anne Frank, so I thought it was appropriate to have them do
an activity relating to the Holocaust.   To see the numbers of
deaths in European countries in a graphical format was a poignant way
for the students to understand the magnitude of devastation.  

The Tuva
website provides an engaging way for students to learn how to
extract useful information from data and to help them form arguments
and draw conclusions.”

Kayla Telford (Poland)
High School Science Teacher
Wake County Public Schools
Apex, North Carolina

“Tuva is very easy to use and they have a very responsive staff to help you through any troubles you might have. Tuva is also very receptive to new ideas and feedback. They quickly gathered and uploaded a data set that was requested within the next two weeks. Tuva has developed the next generation graphing tool and they care about it is used in the classroom. They aim to make it as easy as possible for the teacher to use with their class.”

Sarah Holmes

7th grade Life Science, 8th grade Earth Science, and AP Environmental ScienceDirector of School Gardens at The Barstow School in Kansas City, MO

“Tuva has inspired me to incorporate more data into my science classroom. The powerful interface is easy for students to understand and allows them to pick out trends and generate questions based on the data. Tuva staff is helpful and quick to respond to my inquiries. I am excited to share this amazing resource with my colleagues and students!”