Click here to go to our interactive Shiny website on infection dynamics which is hosted on the free service of shinyapps.io!
This website was designed to illustrate infection dynamics during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, but beyond that, the presented infection models are a great way to show a lay audience how models work.
First, we explain and describe the data and make it accessible for interaction and experience.
Second come the models: With simple infection dynamics (SIR), it is easy to explain what species, reactions and parameters are. These are the building blocks of models. The least tangible of the three, parameters, is made interactive and readers can see how they affect models. Later, some more complex dynamics are introduced.
Thirdly, parameter estimation: They are an important aspect of models, as they give the model the necessary descriptiveness of reality. While lay audiences have probably already seen the data and have an own mental model on how infections work, they probably did not yet come into contact with parameter estimation.