SLJ Reviews Wolfram|Alpha: The computational search engine has much to offer libraries
RSSStephen Wolfram (left) is one smart guy. His book, A New Kind of Science (Wolfram Media, 2002), a scientific tome weighing in at more than five pounds, managed to draw mainstream attention to the importance of computational systems. In 2009, after almost 30 years of research and development, Wolfram released the revolutionary Wolfram|Alpha, a so-called computational knowledge engine built on the ideas of A New Kind of Science and the Wolfram Mathematica algebraic program.
Despite its powerful technical abilities, the real beauty of Wolfram|Alpha is that, once again, Stephen Wolfram has managed to make high technology and a wealth of carefully organized information accessible to mainstream users. In other words, Wolfram|Alpha’s the ultimate librarian playground packed with 10 trillion-plus pieces of data and over 50,000 algorithms for calculating, comparing, and otherwise manipulating a large percentage of human knowledge.
As the header on the spare home page states, “Enter what you want to calculate or know about.”
Wolfram|Alpha
Grades Browsing the “Examples by Topic” page on Wolfram|Alpha may lead one to assume that the site’s inclusion of complex topics like acoustics, astrophysics, and geomagnetism suggests a high school (or higher) user level. Don’t be fooled by the big words. The whole point of Wolfram|Alpha is to make complex concepts accessible; it does the computation so you can focus on the related concepts. So while independent use of Wolfram|Alpha will be more limited to high school students, there’s a great deal available for elementary and middle school classrooms as well.
Cost Free, at least for browser access to Wolfram|Alpha. There are additional mobile apps including a universal iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad version and a new Android app available for $1.99 each. Though you can opt for free mobile access by pointing your devices browser to http://m.wolframalpha.com, the apps provide a more polished interface.
You might also want to look at the Wolfram Mathematica Player, a free download that allows access to a library of demonstrations explaining various math and science principles. Any computation result on Wolfram|Alpha can also be downloaded for display in the free Mathematica Player.
The Big Picture To truly appreciate the potential of Wolfram|Alpha, we need to consider a new kind of education. So advised Conrad Wolfram (Stephen’s younger brother), who addressed the issue in a recent TEDGlobal talk about separating calculation from math. In short, Wolfram thinks schools should stop wasting time teaching students to perform calculations by hand, when these tasks are more effectively accomplished by computer. Instead, he suggests, teachers spend that valuable time exploring aspects of math and science as they apply to real-world examples.
This means we need to radically rethink traditional grade ranges for content. Elementary students can use Wolfram|Alpha to explore name frequency, for example, as part of a lesson on fractions and probability. The abundance of data provided by Wolfram|Alpha—graphs for the fraction/percent of the name’s frequency in the U.S., annual number of babies with the name, and rank of name from 1880 to 2009 as well as a current age distribution graph—means that teachers can explore complex math without students having to calculate. Instead, the learning can leap directly to the highest ranges of Bloom’s Taxonomy, with students evaluating what the historical data in the graphs really means. For example: how did the second most common name in 2009, Ethan, go from obscurity to the top of the charts in under 20 years? Or why is “Michael” ranked third in 2009, but currently the most common name in the U. S. See for yourself; simply enter a name into the computation box on the front page of Wolfram|Alpha.
Beyond providing statistics on name frequency, the actual capabilities of Wolfram|Alpha are so vast as to be almost incomprehensible. As the “About” page states, this is a site that can perform computations on over 10 trillion points of data. Basically, we’re talking about a dataset the size of Google’s web index. Only instead of returning a list of sites that you have to search through, Wolfram|Alpha automatically computes the result or finds the answer for you. Luckily, Wolfram understands that new users are likely to be overwhelmed. Try checking out the “Examples by Topic” link on the main page or “New To Wolfram|Alpha?” for suggestions on possible calculations to try.
Another source for ideas is the educators page. Here you’ll find a variety of lesson plans on topics ranging from quadratic equations to creative writing. The page also features a video gallery showing examples of Wolfram|Alpha being used in schools and colleges. The Wolfram|Alpha Community site has an education group forum for further discussion of classroom use.
| Credit for Packing the Slothouber-Graatsma Cube Wolfram Demonstrations Project Contributed by: Jon Perry |
An especially interesting education forum topic is an ongoing discussion about the impact of Wolfram|Alpha on teaching and learning. Is a site that does the work for students helping or hurting learners in the long run? As one Russian teacher commented upon discovering the site, “Frankly speaking, I am in a deep shock.” Perhaps some of this has to do with the extent to which Wolfram|Alpha actually does do the work of basic calculation. I cannot begin to discern (though Wolfram|Alpha probably can) the number of hours I spent in high school algebra trying to solve something like 3x+4=5x+7. Not only can Wolfram|Alpha tell me that x = -3/2, but a magical “show steps” button will show me the process necessary to “show my work” in an assignment. Math teachers will have to devise a whole new type of homework.
Look and Feel
Wolfram|Alpha is one of the cleanest sites out there with a minimalist design akin to Google’s search page. Subtle embellishments that enhance the design and extend functionality give personality to Wolfram|Alpha while also making it feel more like an application than a website. For example, click one of the examples in the “New to Wolfram|Alpha” sidebar that appears after you launch a search and a red arrow draws your attention to the insertion of the query into the persistent computation bar at the top of the page. As the red arrow on the left side gracefully fades away, another arrow providing help on how to get the result remains to guide the user. Advanced users can easily banish the “New to Wolfram|Alpha” box with a single click.
Results pages are also packed with hidden gems. Any result set can be used to create an embeddable widget for your website or results can be shared across a variety of social tools. For more immediate saving and sharing, each boxed chunk of information can be saved as an image or turned into text for copying/pasting. Simply hover your mouse over the bottom left corner of the box for options. Additional links at the bottom of the results will display a list of sources used in the computation or download the entire computational page as a PDF or Mathematica file (free player available). The only flaw on this beautiful display are the near-ubiquitous Google text ads that finance so many “free” sites.
How it Works I suppose it’s rather flippant to reduce this section to a simple “rather well, thank you.” So here goes. Imagine that the world is a computer program, and that all pieces of knowledge are just variables that can be plugged into algebraic expressions. So if I want to compare the population of France and Germany, what I’m really doing is building an equation that divides the population of France by the population of Germany. Only Wolfram|Alpha just does it and tells me that the population of France is about 77.7 percent the size of Germany. See, even though we thought it was a social studies question, it was really just a math problem.
In the end, I think Wolfram|Alpha is like Google in function as well as design. You know some really good stuff is happening behind the scenes, but you quickly realize that you don’t have anywhere near enough doctorate degrees to really understand it. My suggestion? Just let the awesome power of Wolfram|Alpha wash over you. Let it do the hard work on the back end while you focus on making sense of the results you get.
| Conrad Wolfram at TEDGlobal, July 2010 in Oxford, England. Photo by James Duncan Davidson/TED |
For Students and Teachers
Students: this site does your homework. Learn it. Love it. Copy/paste it. Teachers: this site does your students’ homework, so listen up and start creating new assignments that can’t be resolved through simple computation. As Conrad Wolfram advises in his TED talk, our student assignments and assessments must be based upon the analysis and use of information, not the calculating of information. The only thing that saves the infamous bird units from being finally put to rest by this site is the simple fact that Wolfram|Alpha is too scientific to tell you what a barn swallow eats. It does, however, have all the other vital facts down cold. A tool like Wolfram|Alpha is among the best examples of why 21st century teaching is a radical departure from our business as usual in schools.
Report Card Wolfram|Alpha gets a solid A+. It truly is a revolutionary product that performs amazing computations using a staggering number of data points. At the same time that it meets the needs of scientists around the world, the site’s clean design and helpful enhancements makes it easily accessible for younger students as well. I highly recommend taking some time to explore Wolfram|Alpha to see how it can become part of your libraries go-to resources.
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| Author Information |
| Christopher Harris (infomancy@gmail.com) is coordinator of the school library system of the Genesee Valley (NY) Educational Partnership. |
