Students in AP Computer Science Principles presented their physical project of the year, the Investigating Big Data project, on Feb. 20 to classmates, teachers and community members. Students chose a topic of their own interests and then applied the data analysis techniques that they had developed in that unit.
In the class, Python programming was introduced first, followed by its applications to data analysis in the weeks leading up to the project. Students become more informed about data and statistics while exploring topics that interest them, according to AP Computer Science, Digital Electronics and Algebra 1 teacher Nick Blackford.
“I’m excited and proud that they were able to choose a topic that they wanted on their own, and they all came up with visualizations that support the hypothesis and their conclusions really well,” Blackford said.
First, students chose a dataset and developed a hypothesis or guiding question. They then went through the data analysis process—cleaning and filtering the data, creating visualizations, calculating statistics and drawing conclusions based on their findings. For example, in junior Kyle Nguyen’s group, they analyzed game file sizes in the Apple App Store to determine whether or not game file sizes are increasing over the years.
“For me, [when] investigating app data, I found it really interesting how game file sizes are increasing over the years. I didn’t know that,” Nguyen said. “[The skills I’ve learned] could be good for the future in case I need to examine data for other situations.”
Last year was the first year the class started the science fair-style project where they created trifold boards to present to an audience. Their projects are typically completed digitally, but Blackford wanted to create a more engaging experience where students could present their work to an outside audience.
“My favorite part of the project was designing the boards. Inside the board, it’s like a science fair style. Designing the presentation was fun because we used some cool light to show the apps,” Nguyen said. “For our project, I think we did really well on it, and I’m grateful for having a good team and teacher to work with so far.”
Besides the technical skills they’ve developed, students now understand how statistics and data visualizations are created, giving them a more informed perspective for when they encounter data in online media.
“I like how many projects we do [in this class],” senior Isabella Ortiz said. “It’s really immersive, and even if you’re getting lost in the class, the projects help guide you back onto the right track.”
