Hands on Data

What did we do in this workshop?

This weeks workshop was on the topic of Hands on Data and was presented by Danielle, Jacqui and I. The activites the class were to complete and related learning resources we made for this presentation can be seen on our Hands on Data Website that we created using iWeb.

We decided to introduce the topic by providing a definition to the class of what a database is, then we asked the class to brainstorm what they believed to be examples of data and databases. We then discussed with them how data is not just numerical and text. Data can be lots of things such as pictures, graphs, tables and music. Therefore a database is not just simply a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel that contains text and numbers and is not just limited to being computerised. For example a database can be a filing cabinet, a scrapbook, a folder, your e-mail account, a photo album and even your computer itself can be considered as a database.

After introducing the class to the topic of Hands on Data, we gave them a design brief. This design brief was that a cafe wanted to work out their profits so that they could promote the company to potential franchise owners.

Firstly the class was to make a table using Excel of the businesses sales and costs and then calculate the cafes profit. They were then to create graphs showing the profits of the company. Then they were to make a video in iMovie using the company logo, images of food that the company may sell and the graphs that they made in Excel to promote the company.

 

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What did I learn about ICT?

This week I learnt many different things relating to ICT.

I learnt how to:

  1.  make a graph in Excel on a Mac
  2. create a logo in Publisher using an image, text and border then save it as a JPEG file
  3. import images into iMovie through iPhoto
  4. take a screen snapshot and a snapshot of a specific area on a Mac
  5. create a movie in iMovie using still images
  6. add music to a video clip in iMovie
  7. add transitions to a video clip in iMovie
  8. add text to an image in iMovie
  9. publish an iMovie project to a folder in a variety of different formats and to YouTube
  10. and most importantly I learnt that data is more than text and numbers and a database isn’t just an Excel or Access document!

 

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What did I learn about teaching?

I learnt that:

  1.  while you are teaching students, the students are also teaching you
  2. that students are very restless when it gets closer to holidays and they have a lot of other work due in other subjects
  3. that how you introduce the lesson makes a big difference to how the students behave and how much they learn
  4. that you can never assume students have previous knowledge on a topic
  5. timing your activities is important
  6. students need clear and concise instructions
  7. it is very hard to gain back students attention once they are emersed in a task and are talking, so have a strategy to gain attention when needed e.g. putting your hand up, counting or clapping your hands

Two other groups also presented the topic of Hands on Data to their workshop classes. These can be seen by clicking on the following links.

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