Try your hand at Data Literacy with Space Invaders......

Why Data literacy is a critical skill for the 21st Century.

There has been an explosion of data available for decision making in every industry across the globe. But, so much of the value held within data is not put in the hands of those, that can actually derive meaning and value from it.

Many of us learnt to count, read, and write numbers before we mastered the complexities of the alphabet and the written word. We are surrounded by facts and figures every day, but how well do we understand the meaning behind all those numbers? The ability to derive meaningful information from data is called data literacy. 

By the year 2020, Gartner expects that 80% of organisations will start to roll out internal data literacy initiatives to up-skill their workforce. Improving data literacy hones your decision making skills. You learn to ask the right questions of your data and interpret your findings and take informed actions.

Data literacy is important because it allows us to understand numbers, charts, and graphs created by others. However, that is only part of the story. Just because data is presented in a pretty chart, doesn’t automatically mean that it’s easy to comprehend or that it should be trusted.

Understanding where the data came from, how it was collected, and how it was analysed and visualised are all essential elements of data literacy.

At Tahola we have been working with children in schools on a data literacy project to educate them on the importance of data literacy. Our very own Kabir Rab has developed a game to engage, whilst creating a data set that users can relate to.

The game was initially developed for children in years 3-6 to teach them about data visualisation via game, the workshops that will be run will involve the children playing the game, then analysing their results via a web dashboard and answering some questions. The idea behind the project is to teach them about various chart types and how to interpret them. We thought it would also be interesting and hopefully a bit of fun, to try the idea out at Restaurant & Bar Tech Live on the 19th and 20th November, giving us the ability to put some context around data literacy and what it actually means.

The game developed is called ‘Data Literacy with Space Invaders’ and we would like to encourage as many people as possible to drop by the Tahola stand (F190) and participate. Will you spare a few minutes to give it a go, the more people that play, the more interesting the results will be and what's more the highest score wins a prize:

The idea is that the game is played during Restaurant & Bar Tech Live on the 19th and 20th November at the Tahola stand (F190), we will also share the results via the TaholaCloud dashboard, which will help us to understand the following:

Chart type:

Learn basic chart types and how to read them. Example, bar, donut, pie, line, table chart etc. The difference between them and when it's best to use them – e.g use of a line chart for time-series/trend etc.

Trend:

Allows the user to see the trend on their scores, e.g – have I performed better as I played more games, game by game score and how I improved (if improved at all).

Average/Mean:

How do I compare to the other players, Am I an average player? How many players scoring above average in most games etc

Games Played:

How many games have I played and how much time I have spent on the game?

Compare (Time VS Score):

Am I scoring quicker than the others? How long do I play each game and the score per second - This shows how responsive a player is.

This idea is intended as a bit of fun, but will also hopefully demonstrate that the use of Analytics, bringing in multiple data sources, that can be accessed from a single view when coupled with a Data Literate workforce are key to decision making within an organisation. Tahola can provide you with guidance and experience to understand which of your data really matters and what you should be doing to act upon it.

Through implementing best in breed analytics solutions with consultancy based services and training we will ensure that you are not only maximising on your data, but also creating a data driven culture where your employees can use it, to make better and more informed decisions across the organisation.

Promoting data literacy in any organisation starts with culture. Organisations need to establish data-first cultures that encourage the use of data, with strong support for the use of facts in decision making and a culture that celebrates curiosity and critical thinking. Creating this type of culture requires a combination of the right technology and the right people. And recruitment will be one of the first areas where we see this shift taking place, as companies hire data-driven employees who champion the use of data throughout their organisation.

But, it needs to start at the top, leadership teams need to believe in it, promote it and live by it. Data literacy is a new language, and we all need to be fluent in it. With data everywhere, it will become the means of communication between IT and business, between the citizen data scientists and the domain experts.

Having the right Analytics solution in place in the first place has to be a given, but it is also essential to have the right staff with the appropriate skills to read, analyse, utilise and disperse data throughout your organisation to ensure you are maximising on all your available data.

We can help your business speak the language of data.

When data guides business decisions, you’ll discover connections you didn’t expect to find, outcomes you never knew were possible, and new perspectives that will transform your enterprise. Tahola is ready to champion your digital evolution through data management, next-generation analytics, and data literacy by offering analytics solutions, consulting and support services to help:

* your organisation take full advantage of its data

* implement successful data literacy programs across the enterprise

* help foster a culture of data literacy within the organisation.

If you’d like to find out more please get in touch, or if you are attending Restaurant & Bar Tech Live on the 19th and 20th November, then please drop by to stand F190 and have a chat with us.....and don't forget to give the game a go, for your chance to win a prize.....!

If you'd like to find out more, please get in touch:

Leigh.Baillie@Tahola.com

www.Tahola.co.uk