Hello and welcome to this Oak National Academy lesson, which is called Databases in Real Life, and it's taken from the unit Flat-File Databases.

I'm delighted you've chosen to join me for this lesson today.

So let's get started.

The outcome of today's lesson is that I can use a real-world database to answer questions.

We have two keywords in this lesson.

The first keyword is sort and sort means to put data values in order, so that's sort.

And the second keyword is filter.

And filter means to narrow down search results using a specific criterion.

So that's filter.

There's our two keywords, sort and filter.

And we have two learning cycles today in this lesson.

So the first learning cycle is to use a real-world database to search and filter, and then the second learning cycle is to refine and present search results.

So let's get started with that first learning cycle, use a real-world database to search and filter.

First a question: what is a computer database? And Sam points out, "A database is an organised collection of data." Sofia adds, "A database is stored on a computer and can be easily used and added to." And we use databases for many things including shopping and searching and lots of other things besides, and we'll look at some examples of those in this lesson today.

So this is a record from a database and databases are made up of records.

A record has many fields and fields are filled out with various data types like numbers or words.

So in this picture, the fields are on the left hand side.

So you have: Mini Beast, Picture, How many legs? Does it have wings? and Does it have a shell? Those are our five fields.

And then we've got various different data types.

So we've got a text data type in Butterfly, image data type in the butterfly picture itself.

We've got a numeric or numeral in the number 6 for How many legs? And there's checked or unchecked.

So that's a true or false for the two at the bottom.

Does it have wings or does it have a shell? So that's fields and data types.

Now imagine that you are trying to book a holiday.

Your holiday will involve travelling by plane.

How would you arrange the tickets for the flight? Well, Laura says, "You could book tickets for flights online by using a special website." So let's have a look at that a bit further.

To find the details of an airline flight, you can access a database through a flight-finding website, and you've probably heard of some of the more famous flight-finding websites.

What data do you think a flight database would store? Here's an image of a search result on a flights website.

What fields do you notice? Well, here's some that you may have picked up.

So we've got the departure city, which in this case is London.

We've got the destination city, which is Paris.

We've got the cost of the flights, that's 144 pounds for this one.

We've got the arrival time.

That's in 24 hour time, 17:35.

And there's many others you may have noticed.

So you could have picked up the departure time, the flight duration, the fare type, the departure date, number of passengers and the airlines.

There's lots and lots of information on this search from a flights database.

The flights website is using a database to store and organise lots of information about flights.

These kind of databases hold millions of records.

Time for a question.

What is a field? Is it a single category of data in a record? Is it a database? Or is it an organised collection of data stored on a computer? So what is a field? A, B, or C? Well done, the correct answer is A, a field is a single category of data in a record.

So what do you understand by the term travel agent? A travel agent is someone who helps people plan and book their holidays.

They can find the best options for flights, hotels, and trips based on what the customer wants.

This could be finding the lowest price, the shortest travel time or specific dates.

There's lots of different things a travel agent could help you with.

In this lesson, you are going to take on the role as a travel agent.

You'll use an online flight search tool that finds flights that meet different needs.

You will use the flight database to compare data in order to select the best flight.

So Sam says, "I want to book some flights and she's given us some details." So here are the details: The outbound flight needs to leave from Manchester, UK and arrive in Paris, France on the 12th of October.

The return flight needs to leave on the 19th of October.

Now open a flights website.

This is an example of a flights website.

The website you are using might look different.

So in this example we've got various different fields that we can fill in.

So we've got a round trip for one person, economy selected at the moment, and there's various different options selected.

So at the moment, London is selected, there's no destination airport, and we've got dates of Friday the 23rd of May and Sunday, the 25th of May.

For the search you are going to do, you're gonna have to change some of that information.

So we'll change the departure city to Manchester, the destination city to Paris, and we need to change the dates as well.

A lot of flight websites will have a calendar menu where you can open up a calendar to choose the dates just by clicking on the dates you want.

So that makes it slightly easier to select the dates.

So once you've done all that, check you've filled in all the fields correctly.

So we've got a round trip for one person in economy class from Manchester to Paris, a return trip, and it's from Sunday, the 12th of October to Sunday, the 19th of October.

Then press Search.

And once you've done that, your search will be compared to the website's flight database which is constantly updated.

Your results page will look something like this.

So you can see there, we've got three options of flights you can see on this screen.

You may be able to see more on yours.

One departing at 13:55, one at 19:50 and one at 19:15.

And we've got two different airlines and various different bits of information there, including the cost, which is different for each flight.

So the results have been displayed in a particular order and you might want to sort them so you get the order you want.

So where it says Sorted by top flights, click there to sort the results.

You can sort by various different criteria.

So you could sort by Top flights, Price, Departure time, Arrival time, Duration or Emissions.

There's various different things you can sort the criteria by.

So we're gonna have a look sorting the results by price.

If you do that, the search will update to put the flight with the lowest price at the top of the search results.

So Sam's got a question: "What if I only want to travel on a flight that will arrive in the morning?" So you can filter your search results.

This will let you be more specific with your requirements.

A filter is used to remove results that do not match what you are looking for.

So let's look at how we would filter for that example where we want to leave by a certain time.

So we click on times.

So once you've selected times, you'll see this box here or something similar.

Select Outbound and change the arrival times to between 6:00am and 11:00am.

And you can see the blue bar on the bottom line has narrowed showing that it's a limited search range for the times.

There.

Once you've completed a search, you may want to reset the search and turn the filters off.

So at the moment you can see we have a filter on Times, and next to Times there's a blue X.

So we can see we're using one filter there at the moment and it's the Times filter.

You can remove that by clicking on that blue X to remove the filter.

So what do we call this search tool? This tool helps narrow down search results in a database by showing only certain options such as direct flights or morning departures.

What do we call that tool? That's right.

We call it the filter.

What's this search tool? This tool arranges the data in order, such as from lowest to highest price or from shortest to longest flight time.

It makes it easier to compare options.

Well done.

That's the Sort search tool.

Now open a flights website, search for a flight from Birmingham, UK to New York, USA on the 1st of December with a return flight on the 15th December.

What's the cheapest flight you can find? List the times, airline, price and duration.

And secondly, what's the quickest, so that's the shortest duration flight you can find? Again, list the times, airline, price and duration.

So flight details change often.

So these answers are given as examples only.

You will probably have different answers, different times, different prices, and you'll certainly have different airlines.

So here's a couple of examples of something like what you might see.

So first of all, the cheapest flight in this example is the 19:10 to 15:50, Pegasus Air for 362 pounds.

And that's a flight duration of 25 hours and 40 minutes.

And the quickest.

So the shortest duration flight in this example is the 8:15 to 13:50.

So that's Dragon Airways at 538 pounds, and that one takes 10 hours and 35 minutes.

Again, your answers will look different to this, but this gives you an indication of the kind of thing you will see.

So some more questions.

Open a flights website.

This time, search for a flight from Birmingham, UK to New York, USA, again from the 1st of December with a return flight on the 15th of December.

And two questions.

So first, is it possible to find a flight with one stop or fewer that departs from Birmingham in the morning? Use the stops and departure times filters.

And then is it cheaper to arrive in New York in the morning before 12:00pm or in the evening after 6:00pm? And once again, remember, your answers will look different to this because the data changes so frequently on flights websites.

So is it possible to find a flight with one stop or fewer that departs from Birmingham in the morning? Use a stops and departure type filters.

There is one, so it's the 10:55-17:10 Phoenix Air, and that's 560 pounds and takes 11 hours and 15 minutes.

And the last question, is it cheaper to arrive in New York in the morning before 12:00pm or the evening after 6:00pm? So if you arrive in the morning, so that's the 18:35 to 10:40 Dragon Airways flight, that's gonna cost you 725 pounds if you arrive in the evening.

So that's the 8:55 to 20:30 Unicorn Flights and that will cost you 512 pounds.

So arriving in the evening is cheaper.

Let's move on to the second learning cycle, which is to refine and present search results.

So as a travel agent, part of the role is to present information to people who are booking flights.

In this part of the lesson, you will gather data from a flights website and use it to create a presentation.

It's your job to compare the flights and recommend the best one.

So Jacob says, "My family are planning on a big reunion in August.

Can you help us?" Jacob's family wants to take a trip to Nairobi in Kenya.

They want to depart from London, UK on the 17th of August and they want to return on the 30th of August.

Jacob's family wants to find out which flights are available.

These are the categories that Jacob's family want you to research.

So first they want you to look for a direct flight with no stops.

Then they want you to look for a flight with two or more stops and they want you to look for a flight that arrives in Nairobi in the morning.

To do this, you'll need to carry out a search and then sort and filter the results.

So open a flights website.

In the search, enter the departure city, which is London, the destination city, which is Nairobi, and the dates, which is the 17th of August to the 30th of August.

So there's our search box.

So we've got the departure city in the destination city in and the correct date.

So that's what it should look like in your flights website.

So first of all, you can use the stops filter.

This is where you can filter for the different numbers of stops.

The filter will remove any results that do not meet your criteria.

So you can search for any numbers of stops, nonstop only, one stop or fewer, or two stops or fewer.

These are the results after applying the nonstop or the direct flight filter.

So we've got two options displayed there, one with Unicorn Flights and one with Dragon Airways.

And you can see there they are both nonstop flights, which is the filter that's been applied.

You can now sort the search results to find the best choice.

Using the flights website, record the price, airline, duration, and any other useful data for one suitable flight that's nonstop or direct.

Then do this for one flight in each other category.

Once you've recorded all the details, remember to reset the search and turn the filters off.

So get rid of your nonstop filter and get rid of everything in these search boxes.

That will make it easier to do the next search and use new filters.

So Jacob's asking "Which flights should we book?" Parts of the travel agent's role is being able to decide on the best travel option.

You will need to look at all of your flights research and decide which flight you would recommend.

You can look at the flight duration, times and prices, and also use your own experiences and opinions.

Open the presentation: Flights search.

On each page of the presentation, fill in the details of your flights research.

You will need to be able to explain how you use the search, sort and filter tools on the flights website to find the best results.

Then create a presentation of your findings by completing the slide template.

Add the three flights to fit the different categories, include your recommended option and explain your reasons.

In your presentation, make sure you describe how sorting and filtering helped you choose the best flights.

Open the example presentation: Flights example.

Here's an example of a completed flight options presentation.

So this is Jun's and he's called his company, Mythic Trips Company.

And we've got the task here, which is in your presentation.

So find a flight from London to Nairobi on the 17th of August and a return flight on the 30th of August.

And you need to name the flight search website you've used.

So Jun has used Top Flight Search.

You'll have used a different website, but make sure you include it in there.

And then he gives options for a direct flight.

So the direct flight is 1,522 pounds with Dragon Airways, a duration of nine hours.

It has the advantage of being fast with no stops.

However, it is expensive.

So that's the disadvantage.

He then looked for a flight with two stops, so he found 637 pounds, that's the price, with Pegasus Air.

So that's a 13 hour and 40 minutes flight.

The advantage is that it's cost less than the direct flight, so much less than the direct flight.

However, the disadvantage is two stops and you have to wait in both Brussels and Kigali.

So it's a much longer flight.

And then the flight which arrives earliest in the morning, that's 1,184 pounds with Unicorn Flights.

That's a duration of seven hours.

The advantage is it's the quickest flight.

The disadvantage is the arrival is very early in the morning, so it's 1:40am, so you're gonna be flying through the night there, travelling through the night, and it could be a disadvantage as shops and businesses might not be open when you arrive.

So it could be a tricky time to arrive.

So based on that, Jun has come up with some recommendations and he's recommending the direct flight with Dragon Airways at 1,522 pounds.

And he says, "Even though it's the most expensive flight, it's a direct flight with no stops.

It is a night flight.

So it arrives at 7:35am and you could sleep on the way.

It's a nice time to arrive in order to enjoy the first day of your holiday." And he explains he "used the filter to search for a direct flight with no stops.

I also used the time filter to find a flight that arrived after 6:00am, and I sorted it for the cheapest flight that matched these criteria." You may come to a different recommendation.

If you think the price is more important and that the most expensive one is too much, then you may well recommend one of the other flights.

As long as you can justify your reasons, that's absolutely fine.

Let's have a look at a summary of this lesson.

A real-world database can be used to search for flight information based on specific criteria.

The filter tool is used to narrow down results, such as showing only direct flights or specific departure times.

The sort function can be applied to arrange results, for example, by price or flight duration.

Information from selected records can be recorded and used to compare options.

Thank you for joining me today for this Oak National Academy lesson, which has been called Databases in Real Life.

I'm delighted you've joined me for this lesson and I look forward to see you again really soon.