30.11.20
Support for Industry volunteers
Craig, Judy and Kate from the Data Education in Schools team have produced videos to support industry volunteers or STEM Ambassadors working with school learners. The short videos cover topics like what to expect from your first visit, basics of child protection, an overview of the Scottish computing curriculum, answering…
20.11.20
Discovering the NPA in Data Science and new guides
Educators from all over Scotland and beyond gathered together last week to find out about the National Progression Award in Data Science and the new Educator and Learner Guides. Presenting the webinar, we had the authors of the guides, Kate Farrell (University of Edinburgh) and Jo Watts (Effini) talking about…
12.11.20
Data Skills Live: where computer science meets theatre
On 4th Nov we ran our first Data Skills Live Lesson where 350 learners came together from 15 Scottish local authorities to defend the rhino and learn some new data skills in the process. If you’re new to the idea of a live lesson on YouTube, don’t worry we will…
10.11.20
History of graphs
Humans have been drawing information visually since the times of the cavemen and we have been recording data in tables since the 2nd century. However, the person seen as the father of statistical graphics was a Scot, William Playfair (1759-1823). William Playfair is not to be confused with his nephew,…
09.11.20
Choosing an optional unit for the NPA Data Science
There are two core units in the National Progression Award (NPA) in Data Science, and at Level 5 and 6 there is also an optional unit. There’s a great choice of options, so hopefully centres and educators will find one that suits their situation and their learners interests. Data Security…
05.11.20
Core skills in the NPA Data Science
The NPA in Data Science has been designed to support the development of a range of core skills in learners. Find out how the qualification supports learners to gain and expend their core skills in different areas. ICT Throughout the course, in all of the core and optional units, learners…
05.11.20
Delivery models for the NPA Data Science
The NPA in Data Science has been designed to fit in flexibly to a wide variety of delivery models within schools and colleges to address the realities of staff time, expertise and enthusiasms as well as learner demand and local industry requirements. The course can be delivered in a range…
05.11.20
Topics in the NPA Data Science
Educators new to Data Science often wonder what is actually covered in the National Progression Award (NPA) in Data Science. We will explain the main topics covered in the core units of the qualification. There are two core units, in Data Science and Data Citizenship. At Level 5 and 6…
05.11.20
Assessment in the NPA Data Science
Educators interested in offering the National Progression Award (or NPA) in Data Science often wonder about how assessment works for NPA qualifications, and for the NPA Data Science specifically. NPAs are available in a variety of subject areas and assess a defined set of skills and knowledge in specialist vocational areas. Learners…
05.11.20
Software for the NPA Data Science
One of the most common questions we get asked about the new National Progression Award (NPA) in Data Science is what software or programming languages will schools need to run the course. The NPA has been designed to provide a great deal of flexibility in the software tools that can…
17.09.20
Book Review: The Ethical Algorithm
Book Review of ‘The Ethical Algorithm: the Science of Socially Aware Algorithm Design’ by Michael Kearns and Aaron Roth I am reading ‘The Ethical Algorithm: the Science of Socially Aware Algorithm Design’ by Michael Kearns and Aaron Roth, and it has reminded me why I like computer science. Computer science…
01.09.20
New project: Designing conversational assistants to reduce gender bias
Recently, biased machine learning has received increased attention. This project will address a different type of bias which is not learnt from data, but encoded during the design process. We illustrate this problem on the example of Conversational Assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, or Google’s Assistant,…