Teaching data representation using real-world applications

Students who are majoring in computer-related disciplines should have a reasonable understanding of data representation. Concepts like encoding, range and precision, overflow, round-off error, and data compression are all vitally important. Unfortunately, students often struggle to recognize the practicality of these concepts. To address this concern, we created a 6-module lesson plan that uses real-world examples to help students connect with this material. When incorporated into our Computer Science I (CS1) course, we found measurable improvements in both student perceptions and associated computational skills.