Page content follows

Transcript of Episode 15
Importing an international random dataset into Fathom

(RTF format)

Hi, I'm Angela McCanny and I'm a resource teacher for Statistics Canada. In this episode, I'll show you how to import a download of international Census at School data into Fathom.

Fathom is a dynamic statistical software program from Key Curriculum Press that is suitable for secondary level students. It is licensed in many school boards across Canada.

So, first, make sure that Fathom is available in your school and that it is on all the lab computers, including the teacher's lead computer.

The data we are importing into Fathom today is a download of the international Census at School data that comes in "comma separated values" (or CSV) format.

I am assuming that you have already downloaded and saved the CSV file to your computer desktop or another folder.

So, let's get started by opening Fathom. Likely, you will find it from the Start menu, but if not, search your program files or ask the IT person for your school where to find it.

What has opened now is a blank Fathom window, with no data in it. Now, we need to import the data.

• At the top of the page, select the File menu, pull down and select Import, then Import from file.
• In the Look in window, select the location for the CSV file that you saved earlier, and select the file. If you cannot find the CSV file, go to the Files of type window at the bottom of the Select Import Files dialog box and pull down on the arrow to select All Files. Your CSV file should appear.
• Click Open. The data will appear as a new collection in the Fathom window. If you wish to rename the collection, double click on the words in the collection window. Type the new name and click OK.
• Now, save the Fathom file to a spot your students can access. From the File menu, select Save As. In the Save In box, select the location to save the Fathom file, rename it if desired and click Save.

Now the data is ready for your students to do one and two variable data analysis in Fathom. Enjoy!