So I started teaching before the Web. I was using internet services (Gopher and CompuServe!), but it was rough going. To develop realistic problems in my classroom, I relied on two things: (1) The New York Public Library Desk Reference and (2) a copy of a recent almanac (not the Farmer’s Almanac, but a compendium of recent data on a variety of topics; they used to be quite common and you can still get them). This allowed me to make an application, word problem or project based on real, recent data for things like linear modelling in Grade 9, integration questions in Calculus, etc. And both I and the students knew they were dealing with actual data, in all its messy nature.
This brought me to chatOAME’s ability to use real data in producing problems. Too often, general LLMs will produce fake data and unrealistic situations. I had one problem generated that had a hockey net 2 meters tall! So I’ve added two things to chatOAME so that when you want something realistic, it uses real, verifiable information to the problem:
1) 𝐂𝐁𝐂 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬. We’ve used the CBC News RSS feeds (updated daily) to integrate real data and situations into problems when you want it. It goes back about a fortnight and tries to use the real data presented to form the situation, or one tangential to it. It also includes the link to the news story to give the students context – this is happening right now!
2) 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤. The World Bank has a large database of statistics on issues for almost every country, so if you want to do a linear model comparing two countries’ agriculture, or a quadratic model on cell phone usage by teenagers, it will pull together the actual data and generate a problem around them, with a link back to the source so you know there data is real (it’s a data file, so not nice to look at, but verifiable).
I’ve made it easy to bring in: there’s a toggle for “Real Data” below your prompt and then a choice between the two different data sources. If it can’t fit a news story or data to your prompt, it will let you know.
I’ve just about got the same setup with UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals’ data – so you’ll be able to see how Canada, or any other country, is doing with things like water, education, and economic growth.
I still have to deal with how to avoid a 2m tall hockey net, but there’s always a next step!
