Big Data

Big data is big business. 

This workshop explains how and why companies make money from our data. Students begin by learning about the difference between data and information, examine how an algorithm to find the highest number in a list will use a sorting algorithm and introduce the concept of filtering. 

Students then move onto learn about different types of question and make a paper-based survey, as well as a Facebook style quiz. The quiz is developed in Python and uses a Harry Potter theme that informs the user what Hogwarts house they would be sorted into. 

Although, the Python tutorial is fully guided it is anticipated that students have some previous experience with programming in Python before attempting this workshop. Programming concepts covered include: the print statement, input functions, variables, lists, the max function and functions. The workshop also helps to teach students how to become responsible digital citizens by investigating the ethical considerations of how companies get our data, including looking into the Cambridge Analytica scandal.