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Our motto: "A problem is a solution waiting to be found! Let's use digital technology to be our creative best!"

Unit 15: Digital Networks

Unit 15: Digital Networks

Let's refresh our knowledge base thus far. Humans create data (information) which is entered into a digital device (input). Most digital devices use a binary code to process data. In physical terms data is tiny, tiny, tiny little bits of electricity that the device recognizes as combinations of "0's" and "1"'s. Data can be managed in many ways. It can be:

Displayed or presented

  • Visually on a screen (output device)
  • Heard - audio with speaker. (output device.)
  • Printed (output device)

Stored

  • On a storage device. Hard disk, USB, DVD, External hard drive, or the Internet ("Cloud")
  • Storage devices are generally input and output devices. Which one listed above is not input/output?

Networked (for sharing)

  • LAN (Local Area Network) where devices are connected with a common controlling computer (Server). School is a good example.
  • WAN (Wide Area Network) where multiple devices are connected covering a variety of different locations. A large company with many offices around the world is an example.
  • INTERNET. Is a huge world wide network of computers that enable us to access data. Websites are an example.

Transmitted (moved) in different ways:

  • Using cables to connect each device. Your classroom may use this.
  • Wireless. Where each device sends an electronic signal carrying the data to a router device that controls the flow of data.
  • Mobile. Often uses any combination of cables, wireless and the telephony system to get information to and from a satellite. A smartphone is a good example.

Watch the video (top right) about the history of computing, what's inside a computer, and networks
Learn about Networks and play a quiz (left)

  1. Discuss as a class some possible survey questions
  2. Your survey can collect data manually or use an online site like https://www.surveyhero.com/. If you are using Google classroom students could use Google forms.
  3. Watch the DigitalNinja video (right) to learn how to compose survey data in a Spread Sheet Application (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets):
    1. Open up a spreadsheet App/program
    2. Name your spreadsheet file as: MySurvey
    3. Column headings are: | Choices | Votes |
    4. Use a formula to auto sum add up all the votes
    5. Using the software generate a graph (pie or bar)
    6. Type or write a short paragraph that interprets what the data shows..
As a class discuss:

  • The types of networks families may have at home.
  • The network set up of your school:
    • Peripheral (output) devices available for students to use.
    • Storage options.
    • Networks (cable and wireless).

15-visualise data

Digital words are a part of our everyday life. Match the words to the images. 

Match image to text

 

  • Examine the main components of common digital systems, and how such digital systems may connect together to form networks to transmit data.
  • Examine how whole numbers are used as the basis for representing all types of data in digital systems.
  • Acquire, store and validate different types of data and use a range of software to interpret and visualise data to create information.

  • Digital Systems

    • Examine the main components of common digital systems, and how such digital systems may connect together to form networks to transmit data
      • Describing digital systems as having internal and external components that perform different functions, for example external components for inputting data including keyboard, microphone, stylus; internal processing components include the central processing unit; external output components including speakers, projector, screen; and data and information storage components include cloud and external devices
      • Explaining how data may be transmitted between two digital systems in different ways, for example that wires or cables are used in wired networks and radio waves are used to transfer data in wireless or mobile networks
      • Identifying different types of networks that allow data to be sent between digital systems, for example wired, wireless and mobile
      • VCDTDS026

      Examine how whole numbers are used as the basis for representing all types of data in digital systems

      • Recognising that digital systems represent all types of data using number codes that ultimately are patterns of 1s and 0s
      • Explaining that binary represents numbers using 1s and 0s and these represent the on and off electrical states respectively in hardware and robotics
      • Recognising that the numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3 could be represented by the patterns of two binary digits of 00, 01, 10 and 11
      • Representing whole numbers in binary, for example counting in binary from zero to 15, or writing a friend’s age in binary
      • Exploring how division by two can be used as a technique to determine the binary representation of any whole number by collecting remainder terms
      • Representing the state of an object in a game as active or inactive using the respective binary values of 1 or 0

      VCDTDI027

       

      Acquire, store and validate different types of data and use a range of software to interpret and visualise data to create information

      • Using digital systems to validate data, for example setting data types in a spreadsheet to make sure a date is input correctly
      • Selecting and using peripheral devices suitable to the data type, for example using a data probe to collect numeric data about changing soil temperatures for plants, interpreting the data and sharing the results as a digital graph
      • Recognising the difference between numerical, text and date formats in spreadsheets
      • Using software to automate calculations to help with interpreting data, for example using functions to make arithmetic calculations using multiple cells and summing cell ranges
      • Acquiring data from online sources by narrowing the focus, for example filtering data using provided options or performing queries using advanced search functions
      • Using data visualisation software to help in interpreting trends, for example uploading data to a web application and building a visualisation of the dataset

      VCDTDI028