Disease Detectives

We are continuously learning about the unpredictable powers of nature. Throughout the course of history, neither wars nor natural disasters have killed as many people as viruses, bacteria, and parasites that cause disease. Within our environment, a throng of infectious pathogens perpetually surround us, some leading to mild or severe symptoms and others leading to none at all. Some of these infectious pathogens become widespread affecting whole areas, and sometimes across a continent or our entire globe. Unfortunately the likelihood of epidemics and pandemics is increasing, and has increased over time since humans have settled in larger cities, established long-distance trade routes, and increased contact with various populations, animals, and ecosystems. This term, Pandemic-a disease prevalent over several countries and/or the world-is a term making headlines across the globe, instilling fear in many, and urging scientists across the world to unite and find a cure.

Currently, the 8th graders are living through the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already changed the way we live, but this is not the only pandemic to have rattled our world. In this unit, 8th Graders learned to act like epidemiologists in order to understand the role epidemiology plays in responding to disease outbreaks and protecting public health. They also looked at the persistence of disease and pandemics throughout history, as a means to grasp that understanding the factors that nurture pandemics and improvements to healthcare are powerful tools in mitigating their impact. They answered several questions: How have epidemic and pandemic diseases shaped humanity, what weaknesses and strengths can pandemics expose in a society, what role should leaders, in government and elsewhere, play in controlling the spread of infectious disease, and finally what does it mean to be a "good citizen" in the context of a pandemic?

As a part of their final project, 8th graders designed the wireframes for apps you see below that help people within our community combat not only the physical symptoms of a virus like COVID-19, but also the mental, social, and emotional effects it has on us all.

Learn more about the making of each app, watch the demo, and then move through their clickable wireframe.