Back By Popular Demand: Trends
Two weeks ago, I wrote a post describing how 21st century educators use technology to take a digital pulse of popular culture. I mentioned a site called What the Trend. Today, while I was talking to an acquaintance who works for Google, she kindly pointed out that Google Labs has a nifty resource for comparing and contrasting the popularity of ideas. Upon checking out this resource, I was hooked. To use Google Trends, supply a few related terms (using commas to separate them) and click the Search Trends button. For example, I jokingly supplied bacon, lettuce, and tomato. What I got in return was the following graph.
In terms of search, bacon seems to be gaining in popularity these days though the term tomato was of some importance to folks over the last few years. Admittedly, my example is silly. Think, however, how this resource could be used to generate questions about a number of topics being discussed in schools throughout the world. For example, in a social studies class, pupils might compare trends in terms of Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, and ancient Egypt.
In a language arts class, a teacher might ask students to conduct a little investigation about the popularity of titles by the same author. While studying a lesson on health, learners could examine trends surrounding obesity and anorexia. Google Trends has the potential to generate higher-level thinking and excellent discussions.
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