New
New
Year 10

Big data and data protection

I can explain what the term 'big data' means and how data can be valuable to both legitimate organisations and for malicious purposes.

New
New
Year 10

Big data and data protection

I can explain what the term 'big data' means and how data can be valuable to both legitimate organisations and for malicious purposes.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Our online reputations are valuable to organisations.
  2. Organisations collect data to streamline services and target advertisements.
  3. Data can even be used to change the content that is shown to us online.
  4. A key tool for harnessing the value of this information is big data.
  5. Big data is the term used to describe large data sets that are analysed in order to identify patterns and trends.

Keywords

  • Big data - data that is too large and complex to be dealt with by traditional processing methods and systems

  • Ethical - morally right

  • Analytics - the analysis of data or statistics

Common misconception

Big data is only for big companies or organisations.

Businesses of all sizes can benefit from data analytics if they understand their goals and data needs.


To help you plan your year 10 computing lesson on: Big data and data protection, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Some data sets are provided for this lesson, but if you want to get pupils to collect their own data sets you could extend this activity to cover data collection and validation.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a person’s online reputation?
Correct answer: the opinion people have about them or their activities
a list of websites visited online
a private profile setting
a digital trail of data left online
Q2.
What is a digital footprint?
a physical mark left on a device
Correct answer: a trail of data left behind when using the internet
a setting for managing online privacy
a reputation management tool
Q3.
Which of the following helps you manage who can see your personal data online?
Correct answer: privacy settings
digital footprint
online reputation
web browser
Q4.
Why is it important to monitor your online reputation?
to increase your internet speed
to delete your digital footprint
to improve your privacy settings
Correct answer: to ensure your professional image is maintained
Q5.
What can affect your online reputation negatively?
using privacy settings
avoiding social media
Correct answer: sharing inappropriate content
having a secure password
Q6.
What is one benefit of maintaining a good online reputation?
increased internet speed
Correct answer: better job opportunities
a smaller digital footprint
Correct answer: more social media followers

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the following terms to their definitions:
Correct Answer:big data,data that is too large and complex for traditional processing methods

data that is too large and complex for traditional processing methods

Correct Answer:analytics,the analysis of data or statistics

the analysis of data or statistics

Correct Answer:ethical,morally right

morally right

Correct Answer:online reputation,how you are regarded online

how you are regarded online

Q2.
Match the following terms to their examples:
Correct Answer:big data,a global database of customer transactions

a global database of customer transactions

Correct Answer:analytics,analysing user behaviour to improve services

analysing user behaviour to improve services

Correct Answer:ethical,protecting privacy when collecting data

protecting privacy when collecting data

Correct Answer:online reputation,a professional image on your accounts

a professional image on your accounts

Q3.
Why is big data valuable to organisations?
it helps them create stronger passwords
it reduces the need for privacy settings
it eliminates the need for advertisements
Correct answer: it allows them to identify patterns and trends
Q4.
What is one ethical concern related to big data?
the cost of storing data
Correct answer: the misuse of personal information
the inability to process large data sets
the complexity of algorithms
Q5.
Is big data only beneficial for large companies or organisations?
yes, only large companies can afford to use big data
yes, because small businesses don’t generate enough data
Correct answer: no, businesses of all sizes can use big data
no, big data is only relevant to individuals
Q6.
What is one outcome of using big data effectively?
increased social media followers
Correct answer: improved decision-making based on insights
reduced internet usage
elimination of ethical concerns

Additional material

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