Benefits & Limitations of Different Graphing Tools
We are often asked “What tool/program should my students be graphing in?”
This is a great question…and there is no one answer to it in our opinion. Instead the answer depends on a variety of things, such as:
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What is your budget?
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What are you wanting your students to do with the data?
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How old are your students?
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What does your school/district/organization already have?
We are happy to share our thoughts on various tools/programs/platforms out there. If you are looking for more on when to graph by hand versus with technology, check out our suggestions here at “How are/should we make the graph?”
** Please note that this list represents our range of thoughts as a tool-agnostic company. Also, we will update this list as things change, as this is an ever changing industry. So share your thoughts with us!
Google Sheets - In about 75+% of the schools that we work with and almost every middle school.
Benefits: schools already have it, often used for graphing, easy to integrate into LMS, multiple students can be working simultaneously in the same file from different devices, and easy to search for "how-to’s" online to troubleshoot and make the program work.
Limitations: spreadsheet program that has been round-peg-square-holed into a graphing program, not designed for Exploratory Data Analysis, features and layout often change, doesn't provide users an intuitive way to understand how data are processed to best visualize, hard for students to easily visualize single variables and distribution of data, and leans towards statistical outputs more than prompting statistical thinking.
Excel - What many of us are more comfortable with and in many high schools that we work with.
Benefits: they are already used to it (somewhat), many HS have it and many teachers have it (if they are not on a Chromebook), if using Microsoft 365 easy to integrate into LMS, and often what is used for graphing (especially in Physics and Chemistry in our experience).
Limitations: spreadsheet program that has been round-peg-square-holed into a graphing program, not designed for Exploratory Data Analysis, features and layout change periodically and/or version that teachers have differs from what students have, doesn't provide users an intuitive way to understand how data are processed to best visualize, hard for students to easily to visualize single variables and distribution of data, and leans towards statistical outputs more than prompting statistical thinking.
CODAP - Used in many NSF-funded projects. Offers opportunity to work with math, science, and social studies relevant datasets.
Benefits: free to use (and will remain that way is our sense), pre-populated datasets/lessons (tagged by topic and grade level), great visual depiction of representational nature of datasets, easy drag-and-drop graphing features, can visualize single variables and distribution data, can have multiple components on the same screen all visible at the same time, pre-populated datasets/lessons (tagged by topic and grade level), able to upload your own data into tool, easy to integrate into LMS, and designed around helping users to explore data.
Limitations: lots of features are included but not always intuitive to find for a new user, small number of pre-populated datasets, doesn't provide users an intuitive way to understand how data are processed to best visualize, multiple students cannot be working simultaneously in the same file from different devices, and limited graph types and statistical analyses.
HHMI Data Explorer - Relatively new offering (as of Fall 2022).
Benefits: free to use (and will remain so is our sense), set up in a question-response set up to help students connect decision with result in the graph, can visualize multiple graphs from same dataset on one screen at once, can run multiple common statistical analyses on datasets, able to upload your own data, and designed to help science teachers get students to the graph faster to help with meaning making from the data.
Limitations: limited number of pre-populated datasets, limited graph type options, question-response set up gets clunky or confusing for some graph types/questions, user cannot interact much with the graph once it is made -- instead just make a new graph, many expert data move features are included but not always intuitive to find or figure out how to use for a new user, doesn't provide users an intuitive way to understand how data are processed to best visualize, and multiple students cannot be working simultaneously in the same file from different devices.
Tuva - Integrated into BrainPOP Science and STEMscopes. Offers opportunity to work with math, science, and social studies relevant datasets.
Benefits: tools freely accessible (and will remain so is our sense), pre-populated datasets/lessons (tagged by topic and grade level), easy drag-and-drop and toggle on-off graphing components, lots of graph types, can visualize single variables and distribution data, multiple statistical analysis options geared towards MS and HS applications (including AP stats), easy to integrate into LMS, and designed around helping users to explore data.
Limitations: can only use ~15 datasets across math/science ES/MS/HS for free and upload a total of 5 of your own datasets for free before need to pay for Premium, interface can be overwhelming at first because there are so many options, freemium model keeps changing what is included for free vs pay, and multiple students cannot be working simultaneously in the same file from different devices.
DataClassroom - Integrated into many Data Nuggets. Offers opportunity to work with math, science, and social studies relevant datasets.
Benefits: tools, datasets, activities, & animated stats testing freely accessible (and will remain so is our sense), all features and resources fully free to use for first 30 days (then subscription model to access ability to upload your own data, Graph Wizard help, statistical tests launched from the graphs (Graph Driven Tests), and Learning Management System rostering), pre-populated datasets/lessons (tagged by topic and grade level), able to upload your own data (with subscription after 30 days), easy toggle on/off variables and graphing components, can visualize single variables and distribution data, multiple statistical analysis options with descriptions to help unpack what it is doing and what it means, graph choice wizard feature to help students learn graph choice, University version integrates in the RStudio (for connections to coding/data science), easy to integrate into LMS, and designed around helping users to explore data.
Limitations: lots of features are included that can be manipulated but takes some digging to find for a new user, multiple students cannot be working simultaneously in the same file from different devices, limited graph types (but more than CODAP), and single variable graphing is not set up to see frequency distribution (i.e., line plot or dot plot) but "chatter" around center (hard to make a unidimensional dot plot).
Desmos - Used a lot in math and Physics settings because it is an online graphing calculator.
Benefits: many students have accounts set up for students in math, graphing calculator functions similar to math applications of data, multiple statistical analysis options geared towards HS applications, and easy to integrate into LMS.
Limitations: geared towards graphing functions more than exploring data, limited exploration abilities, datasets mostly about simulations than larger datasets, and multiple students cannot be working simultaneously in the same file from different devices.
Gizmos - Digital labs and simulations with quick graphing of results built in.
Benefits: students can visualize data from simulations / digital labs in real time, and easy to integrate into LMS.
Limitations: limited exploration abilities or graphing features, and multiple students cannot be working simultaneously in the same file from different devices.
Let us know: What other graphing programs should we include on this list?
What are your thoughts about these graphing programs?
