Analyze Mean, Median, and Mode in a Technology Survey
Central tendencies are very important in mathematical data.
They are used to describe patterns in data, as well as the most typical value in
a set of values. The purpose of this project is to help students learn how to
calculate the mean, median, mode, and range of specific data, and to
determine which measure would be the most appropriate for given data.
For this project, divide the class into small groups of about three students. You
can adjust the number of students per group according to class size and
number of topics, but create groups that will be able to divide the work fairly.
Each group will consider a different technology-usage topic, such as cell phone
or computer usage, time spent on the Internet, or time spent playing
technology-based games. You can create a list of technology-usage topics for
the students to choose from, brainstorm with your students to create a list of
topics, or let each group come up with their own topic, which will then be
approved by you.
Once each group has a topic, they will be responsible for creating a singlequestion electronic survey that is appropriate to their topic on technology
usage. Some examples might be:
How many minutes/hours a day do you use your cell phone?
How much time do you spend on the Internet?
How much time do you spend playing video/computer games?
How many text messages do you send a day?
Students will be required to deliver their survey question electronically. For
example, they might use an online survey tool such as SurveyMonkey, or create
and distribute a form using Google Docs. They could also simply create a
document or spreadsheet form and then distribute it via the Web or e-mail.
Each student in a group will be asked to distribute the survey question to at
least 15 to 20 participants, so a three-person group should have a minimum of
45 responses; however, you can adjust this number according to your needs. To
get more controlled results, they should decide on a target audience for their
survey – fellow teens, adults, teachers, etc.
Once the groups have obtained their survey results, they will need to
collectively analyze and calculate their data to measure the mean, median,
mode, and range. Each group will create an appropriate chart or graph using a
program such as Microsoft Excel to display their findings. They will also need to
submit a brief report on which central tendency method is most appropriate for
measuring their data and whether there are any patterns that they have
observed.
As a possible extension to this project, you could combine all of the group
projects on an interactive Web site, such as the class or school Web site, so
that other students can view and learn from the results of this project. Or, if
you want to see how usage varies in other areas or cultures, have students poll
students from other countries, as well as locally, and then compare the results.
Collecting your Data:
There are likely several different technologies that you could use to complete
this project, and we’ve included a few possibilities below. Take time to think
about which technologies are available to you and which ones you know how to
use. You may think of a different way, or your teacher may suggest an
alternative.
Use an online survey creation tool such as SurveyMonkey to create and
deliver the survey to an audience.
Create and send a polling form using Google Docs.
Use a database such as Microsoft Access to request, record, and analyze
survey results.
Use an e-mail program such as Microsoft Outlook to create and deliver
the survey to an audience.
Use a spreadsheet application such as Microsoft Excel or Google
Spreadsheet to record and analyze survey results.
Use a word processing program such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs to
create the survey question or summary report.
Use a graphing program such as Create A Graph or Microsoft Excel to
illustrate your results.
Planning your Project:
Listed below are a number of questions you need to answer prior to doing your
project. These questions will help you to think about and plan how you will
complete your project. The questions and responses are to be turned in as part
of your Project Plan.
1. What is your topic? What is your survey question?
2. How will you distribute the survey? What technologies did you consider
before deciding on this method or technology? What influenced your
choice?
3. Will your survey responses be controlled by some form of list, or will you
let the answers be open-ended? Is there a danger to open-ended
questions? If so, what?
4. Is there an intended audience for your survey question? If so, what is it
and why did you choose this audience? How do you think it will affect
the results of your survey?
5. After you conduct your survey, how will you gather and store results?
6. What do the results of your survey show? Were you surprised by the
survey results? Why or why not?
7. Were your survey results considerably different than those of the other
members in your group? Why do you think that is?
8. What digital tools aided you in completing the project? Would you
choose something different next time?
9. Was the work for this project distributed fairly? If not, how would you
distribute it if you were to do the project again?
10. Did each group member handle their part of the project well?
11. How did your team delegate the responsibilities of the group? List the
team members and which portion of the project they completed.
Remember to look at your rubric to understand how you will be
graded so you can be sure to include all required elements.
Analyze Mean, Median, and Mode in a Technology Survey
Discipline: Math
Skill: 2
This project consists of two main components:
A series of project questions that are presented and answered. A list of
questions for this project is included in the Project Questions section
below.
A presentation of the project having used some method to collect the
data using technology..
Although these two components are designed to be used together, they are
separate and can be completed in the order you prefer.
Digital Project Overview (for teachers):
Central tendencies are very important in mathematical data. They are used to
describe patterns in data, as well as the most typical value in a set of values.
The purpose of this project is to help students learn how to calculate the
mean, median, mode, and range of specific data, and to determine which
measure would be the most appropriate for given data.
For this project, divide the class into small groups of about three students. You
can adjust the number of students per group according to class size and
number of topics, but create groups that will be able to divide the work fairly.
Each group will consider a different technology-usage topic, such as cell phone
or computer usage, time spent on the Internet, or time spent playing
technology-based games. You can create a list of technology-usage topics for
the students to choose from, brainstorm with your students to create a list of
topics, or let each group come up with their own topic, which will then be
approved by you.
Once each group has a topic, they will be responsible for creating a singlequestion electronic survey that is appropriate to their topic on technology
usage. Some examples might be:
How many minutes/hours a day do you use your cell phone?
How much time do you spend on the Internet?
How much time do you spend playing video/computer games?
How many text messages do you send a day?
Students will be required to deliver their survey question electronically. For
example, they might use an online survey tool such as SurveyMonkey, or create
and distribute a form using Google Docs. They could also simply create a
document or spreadsheet form and then distribute it via the Web or e-mail.
Each student in a group will be asked to distribute the survey question to at
least 15 to 20 participants, so a three-person group should have a minimum of
45 responses; however, you can adjust this number according to your needs. To
get more controlled results, they should decide on a target audience for their
survey – fellow teens, adults, teachers, etc.
Once the groups have obtained their survey results, they will need to
collectively analyze and calculate their data to measure the mean, median,
mode, and range. Each group will create an appropriate chart or graph using a
program such as Create A Graph or Microsoft Excel to display their findings.
They will also need to submit a brief report on which central tendency method
is most appropriate for measuring their data and whether there are any
patterns that they have observed.
As a possible extension to this project, you could combine all of the group
projects on an interactive Web site, such as the class or school Web site, so
that other students can view and learn from the results of this project. Or, if
you want to see how usage varies with other groups/grade levels etc. and
compare the results.
Hints:
The hints that are provided to the students in completing their project and
project plan are just suggestions. Please review them to ensure that you are
familiar with the technologies listed and that you can open files using that
application. If you do not have a particular application, you will need to
caution your students to either save the project as a file type you can view,
such as a pdf, or to use an alternative application. You may also need to ask
for assistance from either an LMS or the technology department if you are
unfamiliar about a certain technology or need assistance teaching your
students.