Data and representation

We, as humans, are massive consumers of data. We make sense of the world around us by what we see and hear, and by using what we understand about ourselves and how we interact with each other.

The ways in which we engage with technology have become increasingly powerful and ubiquitous. The applications and systems that we use daily need to be able to store and process information in different ways. Therefore, it should be no surprise that a fundamental concept that underpins the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies is how data is represented, managed, analysed and interpreted. Data can include text, images and sounds that are stored in some format.

James Curran, Associate Professor at the University of Sydney explains data representation in this video, which also includes a short exercise. You might find the BBC guide on data useful as well. It covers binary numbers, hexadecimals and characters, and encoding images, audio and video.

For further curriculum links, lessons ideas and resources check out the Data representation topic on our website.

Definitions within the Australian Curriculum

Data

'In Digital Technologies, discrete representation of information using number codes. Data may include characters (for example, alphabetic letters, numbers and symbols), images, sounds and/or instructions that, when represented by number codes, can be manipulated, stored and communicated by digital systems. For example, characters may be represented using ASCII code or images may be represented by a bitmap of numbers representing each "dot" or pixel.'

Database

'A collection of data organised by records and fields that can be easily stored, accessed, managed and updated. Each discrete piece of data to be stored is represented by a field (for example, song title, song artist or bank account number, date of transaction); and values in the fields that are associated with an entity (for example, a song, a bank transaction) are a record. Interaction with a database usually takes place through a user interface designed specifically for the structure and use of the data stored in it.'

From the Australian Curriculum, Technologies glossary.

Lesson ideas

The Digital Technologies Hub features lesson ideas with step-by-step instructions for implementing one or more of the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies content descriptions for each band of the curriculum.

Try one of these lesson ideas to address the area of data representation in your classroom.

Primary

Data detective (years F–2)

With support, students conduct a simple survey to collect, organise and present data. In doing so, they demonstrate their understanding of how to use patterns to represent data symbolically.

Secondary

Everything you always wanted to know (years 9–10)

Students design, build and evaluate their own database and perform queries and build reports based on that database.

Check out what other lesson ideas are available for: Primary and Secondary.

Spotlight case study

Bits of Binary: Digital Technologies Curriculum in Year 5

Teachers at Good News Lutheran School are exploring ways to teach the content and skills of the new Digital Technologies Curriculum. The Year 5 teachers collaborated with a Digital Learning Facilitator to present a sequence of lessons introducing the concept of binary numbers through online and unplugged activities.

You can find further examples of practice and school communities embracing digital technologies in the case studies section of our website: Primary and Secondary.

Webinars

Coding

Presented by: Tim Bell
31 May, 4.30–5.30pm (AEDT) and 6.30–7.30pm (AEDT)
Tim Bell joined us in our Melbourne office for a live workshop, which we’ve recorded as a webinar for you. During this webinar, Tim demonstrates some simple, effective, and engaging ways to incorporate coding and programming into everyday learning. For more details, and to register, follow the link below.

Register now!

Integrating digital technologies into other subject areas

Presented by: Anna Kinnane
Last month, Anna Kinnane presented a webinar on the practical ways to integrate the areas of Data representation and Algorithms with subject areas such as Mathematics, English, and the Arts, where there is a natural fit. The recording for this, and all of our previous webinars can be found on our webinars page.

Upcoming events

Find out what competitions, conferences and professional learning opportunities are on offer in 2017 through our events calendar.

Women in STEM; various dates in March–August, VIC
BrisMakerFest 2017; 3 June, QLD
Exploring the Digital Technologies Curriculum; 7 June, VIC
EduTECH 2017; 8–9 June, NSW
Regional Victoria Invent To Learn workshops; 9 and 13 June, VIC
Regional CS4HS Digital Technologies workshops; 19–23 June, NSW
ECAWA State Conference 2017; 23–24 June, WA
Kickstart your Digital Technologies learning; 4 July, VIC
STEAMing AHEAD: Navigating a digital future conference; 19–20 July, SA
DigiCon17 conference; 27–28 July, VIC
Leading a Digital School conference; 17–19 August, QLD
Improving STEM Education conference; 29–30 August, VIC
K–12 Digital Classroom Practice conference; 1–2 September, VIC

Digital technologies making news

Digital technologies + math — Getting started, Dr Rebecca Vivian
STEM 'toys' that work in the classroom, Meridith Ebbs
Hacking the classroom (TEDxKitchenerED), Brian Aspinall
Digital technologies in action across Australia, Celia Coffa
This computer language is feeding hacker values into young minds, Backchannel

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