The project has gathered the following questions about data education. If you have a question that you think could be suited to this page email is at dataschools@ed.ac.uk
Why should my child be learning about data?
Data is all around us. Data can be used to help us make better decisions, help us understand what is going around us and help us improve our lives and that of our communities. Being able to recognise data, understand what it is telling you and ask questions about it is becoming a critical skill for everyone, not just our children and young people. Moving beyond these core skills, data science is an area of science and engineering that is fast growing and being used by a wide range of industries from construction to banking and agriculture to health care. Becoming data literate opens up a range of different career paths and opportunities to our children and young people, with Scotland alone anticipated to need over 100,000 data literate workers in the next eight years. Read more on the importance of data science and data literacy
I don’t know anything about data science how can I help my child?
You’ve come to the right place! We are here to help introduce families to data science. You’ll be surprised how much data you already see in your every day world and how much you might already be taking decisions as a result of it. Do you watch the weather forecast and plan your day as a result? That’s you interpreting the data presented to you and making a decision. Do you use a step counter to try and increase your physical activity? That’s data too. Take a look at our Getting Started Guides to find out more about data in our everyday lives.
I don’t have access to a printer how can I access these materials?
You don’t need to be able to print anything. The projects and activities we list can be understood by reading the description or watching a short video. We have focused on activities that use items commonly available at home or even outside in your garden or the local park.
Do I need robots or extra technology to take part?
No you don’t. We provide a range of activities. Some include optional use of technology but you and your family can take part without the need for robots or other devices. If you are interested in making use of devices then you could consider a microbit, raspberry pi or a range of IoT (Internet of Things) sensors
I have three children all different ages, how can I work with them all?
We have designed all the activities to work for children of any age. We offer different guidance for different age groups but the overall activity should allows families with any age of child/children to work together on them.
I don’t have PowerPoint or Word, how can I read the files?
All of our activities can be read in any web browser. Any additional files will be available in pdf as well as formats such as .doc (MS Word) and .ppt (PowerPoint).
If you have questions about data education email us at dataschools@ed.ac.uk