Who is making data right now?
You wake up. Your watch tracked your sleep. Your smart speaker hears your alarm. You buy a coffee with your card. You fill in a form to join the gym. You watch a video and the app picks the next one.
Before breakfast, five different things made data about you. Where does data come from? Let us find out.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Data source | A place or thing that makes or collects data. | A till in a shop |
| Survey | A set of questions that people answer. | How do you travel to college? |
| Form | A page with boxes where a person types or picks answers. | A sign up form |
| Sensor | A small device that measures something in the real world. | A temperature sensor |
| Internet of things | Everyday objects that connect to the internet and send data. We write IoT for short. | A smart light |
| Transaction | One act of buying or paying. The system records it. | Buying a bus ticket |
| Artificial intelligence | A computer system that does jobs that normally need a person to think. We write AI for short. | A voice assistant |
| Machine learning | A computer finds patterns in data and learns from them. It is a part of artificial intelligence (AI). | A video app that picks your next video |
| Feedback loop | The result of an action goes back in as new input. It can make the same thing happen again and again. | You watch football, so you get more football |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Source 1: people
The oldest source is a person. A person answers a survey or types into a form.
This data is useful because people can say what they think. But people make mistakes. They type the wrong date. They skip a question. Some people do not tell the truth.
Source 2: sensors
A sensor measures the real world and turns it into a number.
A temperature sensor measures heat. An accelerometer measures how fast something speeds up or shakes, so your phone knows when you walk. A vibration sensor feels shaking in a machine. A sound sensor hears noise. A light sensor measures brightness. A pressure sensor measures how hard something pushes.
Sensors and what they measure
| Sensor | It measures | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | How hot or cold | Oven, fridge, weather app |
| Accelerometer | Movement and tilt | Phone screen turns when you turn the phone |
| Vibration | Shaking | A washing machine that checks its own motor |
| Sound | How loud | A voice assistant waiting to hear its name |
| Light | How bright | Phone screen gets darker at night |
| Pressure | How hard something pushes | Tyre pressure warning in a car |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Quick check: which sensor?
Have a go
Quick check: which sensor?
4 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Source 3: the Internet of Things
The Internet of things (IoT) is everyday objects with a sensor and an internet connection.
A smart thermostat sends the room temperature and tells your phone. Smart lights send when they are on. A security camera sends video. A fitness tracker sends your steps. Each is a small computer that makes data all day.
Think about privacy
data-callouts.warning.label
IoT objects live in homes, bedrooms and pockets. The data can show when you are at home and where you go. The company that collects it must keep it safe.