Lesson video

Hi, my name's Mr. Hall, and welcome to this Oak Academy lesson, which is called Creating a Paper-Based Database, and it's taken from the unit Flat-File Databases.

Thank you for joining me for this lesson, and I look forward to learning with you all today.

The outcome of today's lesson is that I can use a paper database to record data.

So let's get started.

We've got three keywords in this lesson.

So the first keyword is database.

A database is an organised collection of data stored on a computer.

The second keyword is data, and data is a letter, word, number, et cetera that's been collected for a purpose, but that's stored without context.

And our third keyword is record.

A record is one complete set of data about a single item in a database.

So there's are three keywords: database, data, and record.

And you'll see these words throughout the lesson today.

So we've got two learning cycles in this lesson.

We are going to begin by creating records, and then later in the lesson, you'll actually use a paper-based database.

Let's start on that first learning cycle: Creating records.

Where have you heard the word database? And what do you think it means? Laura's got an idea that "In maths, we use data to make charts and graphs." And Sam said, "A branching database helps you find something by answering yes or no questions." So don't worry if you've never heard of a branching database before.

Some of you may have learned about them, some of you may not.

Whether or not you know what a branching database is, you'll find out more about databases in this lesson.

So what is data? Data is information, like a letter, word or number that's been collected for a purpose.

And you can collect data using forms. So if that's data, then what's a database? Well, a database is an organised collection of data.

Databases are often created on computers.

Today you'll be working with a paper-based database.

So you won't be using your computer today, you'll be making a paper-based database.

The type of database you are creating is a flat-file database.

This has all the data in one table with rows for each record and columns for each field.

So let's have a quick check.

So fill in the blanks.

Data is blank, like a letter, word, number, et cetera, that's been collected for a blank.

A blank is an organised collection of blank.

And the four words you can use at the bottom.

Two of them are our keywords.

So we've got database that's a keyword, purpose, another keyword, data, and information.

So can you put those four words into that sentence? Well done.

Let's go through the answer.

So data is information, like a letter, word, number, et cetera, that's been collected for a purpose.

A database is an organised collection of data.

So I mentioned forms before.

Forms can be used to collect many different types of data.

Data can be words, numbers, images, or even just a box that's ticked.

So in the survey form, you can see on the picture the user ticks a box to show how they're feeling.

That data is collected and can be used as part of a database.

So there's a really straightforward, simple example of a form.

The user would just tick next to the face, which shows whether they're happy, sad, or in the middle.

And that's creating data.

When a form is filled in, it becomes a record, and databases are made up of records.

And here we've got an example of a record.

So in the middle you've got a space for name, and then around the outside there's four boxes.

So one says, can fly, has six legs, and then lives in groups, and is more than one colour.

At the moment, it doesn't make much sense, but when we fill in a bit more information, you're gonna see how this can form the basis of a record.

So you might have guessed already that this is a record card of an animal.

It holds data relating to one animal.

This record has five different fields, and a field is one type of information.

So as I've said before, this record has five different fields and each field is one type of information.

So let's go through in a bit more detail the fields on this record.

So the first one we've got is can fly, and that field includes the can fly box and then also the small white square in the corner of the record.

So the next one is lives in large groups.

That's our second field.

And this field has a white box in the bottom left associated with it.

Our third field is has six legs.

So this one's on the top right and again, next to it you can see a small white square.

Our fourth one is, is more than one colour.

And in the bottom right, that one's got its own square as well.

And then finally in the middle, we've got a field for name.

This is how you can fill in a record card.

So in the name field, you can write the name of an animal.

So we're gonna choose a zebra as our animal.

And in the other four fields, you tick the box if the animal meets that criteria.

So you need to decide if a zebra can fly, if a zebra has six legs, if a zebra lives in large groups and if a zebra has more than one colour.

Let's have a look.

So we can tick that zebras live in large groups, and we can tick that a zebra has more than one colour, so they're black and white.

We can't tick that a zebra can fly and we can't say that a zebra has six legs, because zebras can't fly and they only have four legs.

So there's two fields that aren't ticked there, so can fly and has six legs aren't ticked.

Why are these fields not ticked? Well done.

A zebra can't fly and does not have six legs.

So these fields are not ticked.

So now your task is to create record cards for 10 different animals.

Write the name of the animals in the centre of your record.

Create four other fields in the corners and mark a tick in any fields that are true for each of your animal.

And there's the example we've just been through for a zebra.

Once you've created your records, put your cards into alphabetical order by name.

Which animal is first alphabetically? And which animal is last alphabetically? So here's an example of a zebra and a centipede.

So this one has six legs and it's more than one colour, but can't fly, does not live in large groups.

And we've got a sparrow.

So a sparrow is a bird, so it can fly.

It lives in large groups and it is more than one colour.

But birds only have two legs, so that one's not ticked.

This is what your record cards might look like.

Let's move on to the second learning cycle.

Now you are going to use a paper database.

A database is an organised collection of data.

Your collection of records is a database.

So now you've made your own paper database.

Data can be ordered, sorted and grouped.

How could the animal database records be sorted? They could be sorted by name in alphabetical or reverse alphabetical order.

They could be sorted by whether they can fly or not.

They could be sorted by whether they live in groups or not.

They could be sorted by whether they have six legs or not.

Or they could be sorted in any combination of these groups.

So a physical database can be sorted in different ways.

Jacob says, "I can sort my animal database by the name field, in alphabetical order." And Sofia says, "That would make it easier to find a specific animal based on their name." Time for a check.

True or false? A database is a random list of facts with no order or structure.

Is that true or false? Well done.

That's false.

Now can you explain why? Excellent.

A database is an organised collection of data where each record follows a clear structure.

And time for a question.

A database sorted into has six legs and does not have six leg piles will make it easy to find: A: animals starting with the letter S, B: animals with six legs, or C: animals that cannot fly? Well done, the correct answer is B.

So a database sorted into has six legs and does not have six legs piles would make it easier to find animals with six legs.

Sam asks the question that Sofia can answer using the database.

So Sam asks her "How many animals can fly?" And Sofia says, "Let me search through my database to find the answer." Sofia searches through the records and organises them into two categories: can fly and cannot fly.

Once she's done that, she realises she has three records with the ticks in the can fly field.

So having asked the question, how many animals can fly? Sofia can now answer.

"I've searched through my database and found that three animals can fly." Time for your task.

Right, five questions for someone else to answer using the database.

Try and include two or more data fields in your question.

And here's an example: Which animals can fly and live in groups? The questions will depend on your database.

So here's some questions that you could have had.

Which animals have names in the first half of the alphabet? Which animals can fly and have six legs? Which animals live in groups but cannot fly? Are there any animals that do not have six legs and live alone? Or which animals can fly but do not live in groups? Now, answer these questions using your paper database.

Find a group of animals with something in common.

What do they share? So here is what your answer could look like.

I have a group of animals that can fly.

The ant, bee, butterfly, and wasp all can fly.

They also all have six legs.

Next, sort the records in an order of your choice.

What field did you sort by, and what did you find? So here's how you could have sorted your records.

I sorted animals that do and do not live in large groups.

In my database, there are more animals that live in groups.

Depending on which animals you chose for your database, the answer may be different.

Next, choose two animals that are different.

What makes them different based on your fields? Again, this is just an example and yours will probably be different.

The bee and the polar bear are very different.

The bee has six legs, can fly, lives in groups and is more than one colour.

The polar bear does not have six legs, cannot fly, and usually lives alone.

It's also mostly one colour, which is white.

So let's look at a summary of this lesson: Creating a Paper-Based Database.

Data can be recorded and organised using a paper-based or physical database.

Data can be recorded using forms, helping to collect and organise facts clearly.

A database is an organised collection of data where each record follows the same structure.

And data can be ordered, sorted and grouped to help answer questions and find patterns.

Databases help to manage and use information effectively.

Thank you for joining me for this lesson today, which was Creating a Paper-Based Database from the unit Flat-File Databases.

I hope you enjoyed learning with me today, and I hope to see you again very soon.