# Data Collection ## ![](/files/DiteqcpU8s1sFZAUY3EO) Intro The **Data Collection** activity allows you to turn your lesson into a **dynamic, student-generated knowledge base**. Instead of delivering content alone, you guide students to **collect, organise, and analyse real data**, creating a shared resource that evolves throughout the lesson. This approach supports **active learning, collaboration, and research-driven thinking**, helping students engage more deeply with the subject while developing practical skills. ### Why you want to use a Data Collection as an educational activity? * **Encourage active participation** by having students contribute their own data rather than passively consuming information * **Build a shared knowledge base** where each student’s input enriches the overall dataset * **Support collaborative learning** through collective data gathering and comparison * **Develop research and analytical skills** such as categorisation, evaluation, and interpretation * **Enable authentic learning experiences** by working with real-world or self-collected data * **Promote student autonomy** by allowing learners to explore and contribute in their own way * **Facilitate evidence-based discussions** using the data generated by the class {% hint style="success" %} **Educational Insight** As students are able to collect data from any topic, this activity is ideal for any lab work where students have to gather information about a subject. Additionally, it gives students autonomy over their own learning experience and allows them to co-create their own knowledge alongside their peers {% endhint %} ### What can you use Data Collection for? As Data Collection is very versatile, it can be use for a ton of purposes but primarily as a content/data bank. Some of its potential use in educational context can include: * **Lab work and experiments** where students record observations, measurements, or results * **Field research** such as environmental studies, surveys, or community data gathering * **Case-based learning** where students collect and compare case information * **Literature reviews** by building a shared database of sources, summaries, and insights * **Clinical or scenario-based data gathering** in disciplines like medicine or nursing * **Comparative analysis activities** where students input and evaluate different variables or perspectives * **Crowdsourced class projects** that require building a large dataset collaboratively * **Reflection and feedback collection** to gather student insights or responses on a topic ### How does it work? You start by **defining the structure of the database**, including the types of data students need to collect, such as **text, images, files, URLs, numbers, or coordinates**. You then provide clear instructions on what students should collect and how they should enter their data. Students **submit records** into the Data Collection activity, gradually building a **shared dataset**. As the database grows: * Students can **view and explore entries** submitted by others * You can **monitor, edit, and manage records** * You can **export the data** for further analysis or external use This creates a **live repository of information** that can be used for follow-up activities such as analysis, discussion, or assessment. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.lamsfoundation.org/lams/tools/data-collection.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.