Flow of Activities
Activity Collecting data
How can I source data to answer a question or solve a problem?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Collecting, managing and analysing data (ACTDIP016)
What's this about?
Navigation skills and information management are important digital literacy skills. Evidence of these skills are demonstrated when students efficiently locate up-to-date, relevant and accessible sources and then organise sources for efficient retrieval.
Synthesis and critical assessment are also relevant skills. Students can demonstrate them by selecting appropriate resources from a list of competing resources, identifying credible resources and in particular how data is used (is it used accurately?). Incorporate the ethical and legal use of information.
Learning tasks
- Choose a relevant context to collect data to answer a question or help solve a problem. After defining the problem and identifying data requirements, students acquire data from online sources by narrowing the focus; for example, filtering data using provided options or performing queries using advanced search functions.
- Access and sort data from a database. Provide a relevant class context such as learning about convicts and, more specifically, stories of the First Fleet. Learn to navigate the convict database. Another relevant example might be an online database to research Australian reptiles. Alternatively, search online for relevant databases suited to your classroom context.
- Collect data via a survey using Google Forms, Survey Monkey or similar tool, or by interviewing and recording the data using relevant tools.
Supporting Resources
First Fleet database
This is a searchable database of 780 First Fleet convicts. Students use the advanced
search function, enabling the convict data to be queried by age, gender, occupation, crime, value of crime, sentence, reason for transportation, date and place of trial, partner in crime, description of looks and behaviour, date of leaving the colony or date of death, and details about marriage and children. Download datasets as a spreadsheet.
Australian Reptile Online Database
This is a searchable database containing information on all currently
recognised Australian reptile species.
Lesson Ideas
Is it going to rain today?
This lesson examines the importance of data in effective decision-making.
Students find, sort and interpret Bureau of Meteorology rainfall data. They collect their own data and analyse the resulting datasets.
Design thinking process: Empathising
This lesson is about how to reduce litter in the school ground.
Students explore the design thinking process of empathising and they seek to understand more about the users and the problem. Students collect data, and use a spreadsheet to organise the data.
Food Fact Finder
As students investigate claims made on packaging about the nutritional benefit of foods,
they consider how they might develop a digital solution to make it easier for consumers to quickly weigh up decisions about different options.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Research plan
- Checklist (digital literacy skills)
Activity Devices to collect data
What peripheral devices can be used to collect data?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
What's this about?
Data can be collected using peripheral devices; for example, by using a data logger and data probe to collect data about changing soil temperatures for plants. The data can be recorded, interpreted and presented as a digital graph.
Electronic kits such as LittleBits and microcontrollers such as BBC Micro:bit and Arduino have sensors that can be used to collect/display data.
Learning tasks
- Explore the use of data logging equipment and various probes, electronic kits or microcontrollers to gather data.
- Explore data collection using a wrist-worn wearable device that has some kind of fitness tracking (eg a FitBit type human activity sensor and data logger).
- As part of a ‘smart garden’ project, students collect data about the growing conditions of their garden and use this data to maintain plant health and create information products.
Supporting Resources
Learning environments
This lesson guides students to investigate different sensors to collect data on
light, noise and temperature.
How to use data from FitBit
How does exercise affect sleep quality? Using Reflect and one year of FitBit
data, this website visualises the way to an unexpected answer.
Wearable tracking devices
This article provides some background information on tracking devices.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Presentation or demonstration
- Artefact analysis
- Labelling diagram
Activity Organising and analysing data
What software help to organise and analyse data?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Collecting, managing and analysing data (ACTDIP016)
What's this about?
Spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel and iOS Numbers enables users to do numeric calculations and analysis. The formulas enable automation and allow the user to develop complex calculations that can change based on the numbers entered. The user can also create charts based on the data entered.
Learning tasks
- Provide guidance and support for students to use a spreadsheet to organise and analyse data that they have collected. Useful skills to develop include:
- using data validation to restrict the type of data or the valuesthat users enter into a cell
- formatting cells to a particular format such as date, currency or numerical entry
- using autosum to automatically sum a row or column of data
- creating charts based on the data entered
- creating formulas to automate calculations.
- Set up a skills matrix identifying students who are skilled in a particular aspect of using a spreadsheet. Encourage students to share their skills and knowledge.
Supporting Resources
Excel tutorials
Select the relevant module for the software version (eg 2013 or 2016).
Numbers support
Mac and iOS users can follow these tutorials to develop skills in using Numbers.
Work Sample: Digital project: Learning Tool
Annotated learning tools created by students featuring
branching and repetition.
Home energy use
This lesson idea explores energy use in homes, and compares individual energy use with the class average and calculate and graph CO2 emissions.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Artefact analysis
Activity Create an infographic
How can we visualise data to create information?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Investigating and defining (ACTDIP017)
What's this about?
Data visualisation involves using tools to present data in a visual context. Visualising data enables us to more easily see patterns, trends and correlations.
Data visualisation tools such as spreadsheets enable us to present data as charts and graphs. Other tools provide more sophisticated ways to visualise data such as infographics, geographic maps and heat maps that use colour to communicate relationships between data values.
Learning tasks
- Students design and create information in the format of an infographic. The infographic incorporates data students have acquired and analysed.
Supporting Resources
Eight free tools for creating infographics
Choose from this list of options for infographic tools.
Choose your own statistic
These data visualisations explore different statistics about Australian
society.
Is it going to rain today?
This lesson provides a structure to visualise data collected and analysed
through an inquiry.
Heat maps of AFL players
This is an example of a heat map; it presents data about AFL players’
possessions, showing the locations of possessions on the football field as a heat map.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Presentation or demonstration
- Artefact analysis
- Design plan