

Unit 8: Databases - Records
Any software that stores and manages information is a database. Data can be displayed as text, symbols, images, sound and video. Different types of software allow us to manage and use data for different purposes. Learn more.
Over the next units we will explore the three most popular types of software to show data. (See table below)
Spreadsheets and Records Data
Spreadsheets or worksheets are files that allow us to easily manage information (data) and keep records using columns and rows. Each area where data is entered is called a "cell". Each cell can be formatted to look differently, and to perform calculations. Learn more. We will explore how to use Spreadsheet software to build a simple database.
Unit 8 | Unit 9 | Unit 10 |
1. Spreadsheets (Numbers & Graphs) | 2. Presentation (Visual & multi media) | 3. Word Processing (text, tables, images) |
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The worlds largest databases
You will be surprised to learn that the Internet is not the world's largest database. Learn more. The Internet has over 1 billion websites accessed by more than 10 billion devices (2017). Most of us are familiar with Google as a way to search the Internet. In this unit we will use the Internet to collect data and create a simple database using spreadsheet software.
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Watch the video (top right) about databases |
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Play the Musical numbers game (left) |
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As a class discuss:
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- Recognise different types of data and explore how the same data can be represented in different ways.
- Collect, access and present different types of data using simple software to create information and solve problems.
- Selecting appropriate formats or layout styles to present data as information depending on the type of data and the audience, for example graphs suit data that shows trends or comparisons; lists suit text data that needs to be presented in alphabetical order; animations suit images that show actions and relationships.
- Using different techniques to present data as information, for example creating a column chart in a spreadsheet by colouring cells to represent different items.