Data Representation in Computing: Bring Data to Life

Learn how data is represented through media; audio, visual and text.

This online course from the Raspberry Pi Foundation explores how computers do interesting things with data. You’ll discover how to represent and manipulate text, images and sound and compression and other algorithms.

This course is designed at GCSE-Level to A-Level educators and learners. This course has a focus on supporting educators looking for an engaging way of teaching GCSE Computer Science concepts.

We recommend that learners have a basic understanding of Python, for example gained from our Programming 101 course for beginners

An understanding of binary is helpful but not necessary (you may be interested in our How Computers Work course)

Due to its section on the representation of images, this course includes several steps and questions based around visual content.

To complete optional coding challenges in this course you will need to download a Python IDE (Integrated Developer Environment) such as Mu.

• Representing numbers, text and colours
• About this course
• How do computers bring data to life?
• From Binary to Language
• From Binary to Colours
• End of Week 1
• Representing and manipulating Images
• Images as Data
• Exploring and manipulating bitmap images.
• End of Week 2
• Representing sound & compressing files
• Sounds as data
• Compression