Open Data in Education: Fostering Data Literacy Among High-school Learners

Objective: The aim of this study is to explore how data literacy can influence the research and publications productivity of Kyambogo University academic staff.Methods: The study employed a literature review to collect detailed information. It observed lessons, and studied patterns of the phenomenon to explore data literacy initiatives that can be used by Kyambogo University academic staff to improve their research publications productivity and also to mitigate the accrued challenges. Results: The paper explored eight initiatives through which data literacy skills could enhance the research productivity of Kyambogo University academic staff. These were awareness and promoting freedom of using open data, engaging students in data literacy activities, pedagogical reflection, datafication of single and joint academic staff publications, visualization of data, storytelling, ethical use of data, and preservation of research data. Conclusions: While this paper relies on the context of the Kyambogo University academic staff, the authors posit that these data literacy skills can be embraced by universities in developing economies; especially those struggling with poor research and publications productivity. The paper further identifies areas where universities in developing economies, in conjunction with their libraries, can improve the academic staff pedagogy and compliance to eScience through polishing their data literacies.

The article has specifically sought to discuss university teachers’ data literacy skills that are important for the effective use of learning analytics in the teaching-learning process. Therefore, based on this analysis, teachers must achieve a certain level of data literacy to perform certain pedagogical actions. The main question of the current research is what data literacy skills teachers need to use learning analytics tools and make data-based pedagogical decisions. The article is based on the method of systemic literature analysis. The selected and analysed research papers allow us to present big data in education, highlight the pedagogical value of learning analytics technologies, and provide an overview of learning analytic tools. The results of the theoretical study showed that to use learning analytics tools, it is important for teachers to have skills such as digital literacy, data collection, data analysis and interpretation, etc.

Purpose This study aims to explore the findings related to data literacy skills for students to succeed in the digital age labor market and the role of university-industry collaborations (UICs) in the co-design and co-delivery of curriculum for the development of students’ data literacy. Design/methodology/approach The study uses an interview-based research methodology to gather insights from industry partners and stakeholders. The interviews focus on identifying key data literacy skills, understanding the significance of these skills and exploring the role of UICs in enhancing students’ data literacy. Findings The findings reveal several important data literacy skills for students. The most commonly mentioned skills include data evaluation/analysis, identifying the relevance of data and data protection in a sensitive manner. Participants also emphasized the importance of recognizing the interrelationships among data, adapting data across different contexts and strategically combining diverse data. The study emphasizes the role of universities in providing a well-rounded educational setting that fosters the development of data literacy skills. Additionally, it highlights the value of practical collaborations between universities and industries, enabling students to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world contexts. Originality/value The study highlights the interconnected nature of various data skills and emphasizes the significance of data literacy in navigating the complexities of the digital age labor market. It also sheds light on the role of UICs in codesigning and codelivering curricula to enhance students’ data literacy. The findings provide valuable insights into the practical implications for UICs in preparing students for the data-driven job market.

This research aims to assess students' data literacy skills, focusing on their ability to translate data from one format to another, comprehend data-related problems, analyze strategies for data-driven problem-solving, predict outcomes based on data, draw conclusions, and construct arguments grounded in data. The study employs a survey methodology with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A total of 362 students from various educational levels in Yogyakarta's state junior high schools were surveyed and selected through stratified and proportionate random sampling techniques. Data were collected using a test instrument comprising six questions designed to measure different aspects of data literacy, alongside interview results. The students' data literacy was categorized into high, medium, and low levels. The findings indicate that a significant majority (95%) of students exhibited low data literacy, particularly struggling with drawing conclusions and constructing arguments based on data. Students with high data literacy skills successfully met all the indicators. Those with medium-level skills performed well on most indicators but faced difficulties in choosing strategies for data problem-solving and drawing conclusions, often due to insufficient time for deeper reflection. Conversely, students with low data literacy struggled to meet any of the indicators effectively.

abstract: Recent discourse and research in academic and business settings emphasize the growing importance of improving data and information literacy in both settings. This exploratory study examines the relevance of a set of proposed baseline business data literacy competencies for the workplace, developed by librarians for undergraduates. The authors conducted an online survey of 164 professionals within the supply chain and logistics industry to assess the alignment of these competencies with professional data literacy practices. The survey addresses respondents' self-perception of data literacy skills and asks how the data literacy competencies are reflected in individuals' daily work. The findings suggest that the data literacy skills presented to respondents are highly valued across various job categories and experience levels. Moreover, there is an observed alignment between the data literacy competencies and real-world workplace practices, particularly when considering non-technical skills. The discussion contextualizes these findings within broader librarian work in the data literacy ecosystem.

Data is becoming increasingly ubiquitous today, and data literacy has emerged an essential skill in the workplace. Therefore, it is necessary to equip high school students with data literacy skills in order to prepare them for further learning and future employment. In Indonesia, there is a growing shift towards integrating data literacy in the high school curriculum. As part of a pilot intervention project, academics from two leading Universities organised data literacy boot camps for high school students across various cities in Indonesia. The boot camps aimed at increasing participants’ awareness of the power of analytical and exploration skills, which in turn, would contribute to creating independent and data-literate students. This paper explores student participants’ self-perception of their data literacy as a result of the skills acquired from the boot camps. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through student surveys and a focus group discussion, and were used to analyse student perception post-intervention. The findings indicate that students became more aware of the usefulness of data literacy and its application in future studies and work after participating in the boot camp. Of the materials delivered at the boot camps, students found the greatest benefit in learning basic statistical concepts and applying them through the use of Microsoft Excel as a tool for basic data analysis. These findings provide valuable policy recommendations that educators and policymakers can use as guidelines for effective data literacy teaching in high schools.

Open data has been conceptualised as a strategic form of public knowledge. Tightly connected with the developments in open government and open science, the main claim is that access to open data (OD) might be a catalyser of social innovation and citizen empowerment. Nevertheless, the so-called (open) data divide, as a problem connected to the situation of OD usage and engagement, is a concern. In this chapter, we introduce the OD usage trends, focusing on the role played by (open) data literacy amongst either users or producers: citizens, professionals, and researchers. Indeed, we attempted to cover the problem of OD through a holistic approach including two areas of research and practice: open government data (OGD) and open research data (ORD). After uncovering several factors blocking OD consumption, we point out that more OD is being published (albeit with low usage), and we overview the research on data literacy. While the intentions of stakeholders are driven by many motivations, the abilities that put them in the condition to enhance OD might require further attention. In the end, we focus on several lifelong learning activities supporting open data literacy, uncovering the challenges ahead to unleash the power of OD in society.

Data literacy is essential in our data-driven society. The role of data in education is even more significant. Obtaining data literacy skills is important for both students and educators. Aligning data literacy in computing students’ education will enhance students’ learning experiences and better prepare them for future professional positions. This paper discusses the importance of data literacy in Information Systems undergraduate education, emphasizing the need for students in this field to understand and use data effectively and aims to give specific guidelines for including data literacy in information systems undergraduate education. A specific approach to incorporating data literacy components into one of the major courses in the IS2020 curriculum – the Systems Analysis and Design course is presented. The approach could be applied to other computing disciplines to enrich them with data literacy elements.

This case study presents the results of a data internship and workshop series on data analysis in qualitative biomedical systematic reviews. In a newly developed librarian-led internship program, an intern was trained on data literacy concepts and data analysis tools and, in turn, helped recruit and train other graduate health sciences students. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a flipped classroom model was applied to develop a completely virtual learning experience for both the intern and workshop attendees. Both the data intern and workshop participants reported improved confidence in data literacy competence at the end of the project. Assessment results suggest that while the workshop series improved participants' data literacy skills, participants might still benefit from additional data literacy instruction. This case also presents a model for student-led instruction that could be particularly useful for informing professional development opportunities for library interns, fellows, and student assistants.

The expanding availability of access to data about museum specimens, species occurrences, trait data, genetics, and landscapes is revolutionizing biodiversity research. But mobilizing, evaluating, and synthesizing these data to address research questions requires domain-specific computing skills and knowledge. The Carpentries is a global non-profit organization teaching researchers computational and data science skills for data management and analysis in all domains of research. The Carpentries' teaching practices are based on evidence from the science of learning. Current domain-specific lessons include life, physical, and social sciences. Hands-on exercises build on the existing knowledge of learners, quickly enabling them to apply skills learned to their research. The Carpentries' train-the-trainer model, its globally established community of ~2,000 instructors and its network of regional coordinators have allowed the organization to scale up rapidly, and over 40,000 learners have participated in Carpentries workshops since 2012. The Carpentries assessment program evaluates the impact of attending a workshop on the participants' perception of their skills and confidence. After attending a Carpentries workshop, participants feel more confident in their ability to program and to overcome issues with their analysis. The Carpentries' mentoring program ensures that newly certified instructors receive support and guidance to successfully engage in leading and teaching workshops. Pairing new and experienced instructors, in combination with the development of local communities of instructors, have contributed to the success of The Carpentries workshops. The Carpentries collaboratively seeks to develop new curricula to address the training needs of the biodiversity data community. Establishing training partnerships between The Carpentries and the various organizations involved in building biodiversity data science skills capacity would increase reach and efficacy. We seek to foster institutional and organizational collaborations that can support the establishment and growth of the infrastructure needed to provide the computational and data literacy skills needed to empower our stakeholders. These include those creating and mobilizing data (e.g., collectors, ecologists, conservationists, curators, collection/data managers), for all scientists, policy-makers, educators, and students who want to use biodiversity data.

Data drives today's world; hence, acquiring data literacy is essential for academic and professional success. However, students entering the university possess uncertain levels of data literacy skills. Therefore, this study assesses the perceived data literacy possessed by first-year university students in South Africa. The study adopted the cross-sectional survey research design, with a sample of 872 students across South African universities. A validated questionnaire with a reliability index of 0.96 was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research question, while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 significance level. The results show that the students had basic data literacy skills on graphs and types of data. However, they lack familiarity with the concept of visualization, communicating findings from data analysis, the concept of variables and observations. Overall, the students had a medium level of data literacy. Age and access to data significantly influence students' data literacy ratings. However, no significant differences were found among the different sexes. It was recommended that educational institutions integrate comprehensive data literacy programs for students, ensure equitable internet access, and provide continuous professional development programs for teachers.

The rapid development of technology in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 has made it necessary for students to master technology and have data literacy and technology literacy skills. However, initial studies show that the data and technology literacy of grade XI high school students is still relatively low. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of STEM-integrated light and sound wave interactive multimedia in improving students' concept understanding and literacy skills. The type of research used was a pseudo-experiment with a posttest-only control group design. The subjects of this study were 70 grade XI pupils who were divided into experimental and control classes. The sampling used was cluster random sampling so as to obtain two sample groups with the same ability. The instruments used were written tests for knowledge aspects and performance assessments for data literacy and technology aspects. The collected data were analysed using independent sample t-test and z-test. The results of the analysis showed that the knowledge, data literacy, and technology literacy skills of the experimental class were higher than the control class. This can be proven from the t-test value on knowledge which is 4.696>1.995 respectively, t-test on data literacy which is 9.906>1.995, and z-test on technological literacy z=-7.22>1.96. The results of this study suggest that students' knowledge, data literacy, and technological literacy increase using STEM-integrated Physics interactive multimedia. Following up on the findings of this study, the use of STEM interactive multimedia should be optimized to develop students' data and technological literacy.

Data literacy skills are becoming critical in today’s world as the quantity of data grows exponentially and becomes the ‘currency’ of power. In spring 2020, a team of two librarians piloted a new one-credit course in data literacy and data visualisation. This report explains the rationale behind the project and discusses the place of data literacy within information literacy (IL) instruction. The authors describe the pilot’s learning objectives, topics covered, course design, the structure of assignments and the delivery of the course. They analyse the feedback received on the course and suggest ways to refine their practice. The article calls for a re-envisaging of the library’s role in data literacy instruction. It aims to address how librarians can extend their current practice of teaching IL to data literacy and why it is important. The authors’ experience may inspire other academic librarians to incorporate data literacy and data visualisation into their teaching practice.

This study analyses the charging role of data literacy for general education teachers in the digital age, and highlights the need for educators to be attentive to the feedback data generated by various educational platforms and the emergence of data literacy as a crucial competency. Recognising the importance of data literacy in a variety of domains, it highlights the challenges that teachers face in using data for effective teaching, as teachers play a crucial role in data-driven learning, and make informed pedagogical decisions based on data interpretation and analysis. The study aims to analyse the theoretical foundations, highlighting the implications of data literacy for teaching practice and the quality of education. It concludes that effective and equitable education in the digital era requires the inclusion of teachers’ data literacy skills, and the promotion of a broader public understanding of the interaction between data, education and student outcomes.

To fully leverage the abundance of data and how data enhances decision-making, people must be data literate. Data literacy (DL) encompasses a set of interrelated skills in data management, data analysis, and the ability to interpret and communicate the results. Measuring an individual's DL level is an important first step toward designing and developing educational programs to improve one's DL skills. This paper considers a DL measurement scale referred to as the Global Data Literacy Benchmark survey and then explores the underlying constructs of this instrument. Data gathered from 311 university students across five universities in the United States is analyzed to identify and interpret the underlying factors of this DL scale. Also, the differences in DL scores among various subgroups of the students are investigated. The results show the existence of three DL factors. Also, the DL scores vary considerably among students depending upon the study areas and the comfort levels with data and analytics.