This video lesson will introduce students to algorithmic thinking through the use of a popular field in graph theory—social networking. Specifically, by acting as nodes in a graph (i.e. people in a social network), the students will experientially gain an understanding of graph theory terminology and distance in a graph (i.e. number of introductions required to meet a target person). Once the idea of distance in a graph has been built, the students will discover Dijkstra's Algorithm. The lesson should take approximately 90 minutes and can be comfortably partitioned across two class sessions if necessary (see the note in the accompanying Teacher Guide). There are no special supplies needed for this class and all necessary hand-outs can be downloaded from this website.
- Subject:
- Mathematics
- Material Type:
- Lecture
- Provider:
- MIT
- Provider Set:
- MIT Blossoms
- Author:
- Dr. F. Jordan Srour, Dr. George Turkiyyah
- Date Added:
- 03/18/2020