When our knowledge was contained in books, learning to read was necessary to understand the world. Today, new information is increasingly generated and communicated in numbers, charts and graphs. That’s why data literacy is emerging as an essential skill for everyone who wants to understand our data-rich world and make it a better place.  

Data literacy is no longer confined to the math or science classroom but is all around us and needs to be pulled into everything we do. That's why SAS is passionate about students seeing themselves in data and finding meaning in data. 

We know that the world is bigger than just the students in one classroom -- and they should understand that as well. That’s why we’re undertaking a month-long initiative that will help show them where they fit in a diverse world – through the lens of data.  

SAS’ International Literacy Day initiative

Just as we celebrate reading literacy, we celebrate data literacy on International Literacy Day, Sept. 8. In recognition of this important day, SAS will be running a month-long International Literacy Day initiative, engaging educators and students through employee outreach.  

SAS employees from our global offices will go into the classroom, either in person or virtually, to talk about the importance of data literacy. They will lead students in a hands-on activity using SAS® DataFly, a free, interactive, real-time data visualization tool for the classroom.

After introducing themselves, their career and why SAS cares so much about data, the employee will engage students with data through quick polls that generate real-time interactive data visualizations.  

They’ll discuss the key strategies for collecting high-quality data, such as having representative samples and asking the right questions. This activity will be part of a larger event where students see their own data in context alongside a broader scale of responses from around the globe – and hopefully inspire important conversations about diversity and inclusion. 

Once all classroom activities have been conducted, everyone involved will have the chance to join our livestream event later in the month where subject matter experts will look at the aggregated data from all participating schools and discuss the topics of sampling bias, the law of large numbers, geographical bias and the importance of a representative sample. Partnering organizations, Arizona State University and the News Literacy Project, will also discuss the application of these topics when it comes to social media and news. 

Your commitment 

We cannot achieve data literacy without you – no matter what discipline(s) or grade(s) you teach. Need a little more detail about the initiative? We have broken it down here: 

Who: You and your students! We need you and your class to be ready and willing participants for 45 minutes! Materials are appropriate for students in grades 3-9 (ages 8-16). 

What: An International Literacy Day initiative that brings foundational data literacy skills into the classroom through employee outreach. Over the course of two weeks in September, SAS employees will partner with an educator to run a 45-minute SAS® DataFly activity, engaging students with real-time, interactive data visualizations. (Students will need access to devices or a shared device – laptop, phone or tablet are all fine.) As students respond to specific poll questions, they instantly see their responses populate in a data chart. On Sept. 28 students can join the global classroom we’ll create via livestream and connect with peers from around the world. 

When:  

• Sept. 8 – International Literacy Day!  
• Sept. 9-24 – A SAS employee conducts one 45-minute in-person or virtual SAS DataFly activity with your class during this time.  
• Sept. 28 – Join a 30-minute livestream event with SAS, Arizona State University and the News Literacy Project to dive into the results and understand a broader message/application of data. This event will be recorded. 

Where: In your classroom for 45 minutes during the weeks of Sept. 9-24 and then via a livestream on Sept 28. 

Why: The primary goal of the session is for students to learn what data looks like in individual classrooms and how it changes when the data includes voices from cultures and locations around the world. In addition to fostering global awareness by showing that the data points represent real people, the session will also encourage students to: 

• Learn about the importance of data. 
• Build foundational data literacy skills. 
• Interpret and understand data visualization. 
• Think critically about how data is created. 

How: If you haven’t already been contacted by SAS to participate and you’re interested in joining in on our initiative, please contact us here. Students will need access to devices or a shared device (laptops, phones and tablets are all fine). All other materials will be provided. Once you’re partnered with a SAS employee, they’ll reach out to you to coordinate an in-person or virtual presentation/SAS DataFly activity between Sept. 9 and Sept. 24. On Sept. 28 you’ll join the culminating event via livestream (link TBD) or view the recording with your students.  

Please note: We will be updating this event page with details as they are solidified. Please refer back to this blog post for updated details about the event!

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