Lesson Plan

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Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 25/02/2026
Subject: Information Communication Technology ICT
Lesson Topic: Know and understand the need to convert analogue to digital data so it can be processed by a computer
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe why analogue data must be converted to digital for computer processing.
  • Explain the three stages of analogue‑to‑digital conversion: sampling, quantisation, and encoding.
  • Apply the Nyquist theorem to determine an appropriate sampling rate for a given signal.
  • Calculate the number of quantisation levels from a specified bit depth.
  • Evaluate the advantages of digital data over analogue in storage, transmission, and processing.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector or interactive whiteboard
  • Laptop with presentation slides
  • Worksheets containing conversion exercises
  • Audio clips and waveform visualiser software
  • Calculator or spreadsheet for sampling calculations
  • Sample ADC demo kit (optional)
 Introduction:
Begin with a short video of a vinyl record being played, then ask students how a computer could store that sound. Connect this to prior learning about binary numbers and signal representation. Explain that today’s success criteria are to describe why conversion is needed, outline the three conversion stages, and solve a simple sampling problem.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5'): Students answer a quick question on how music is stored digitally on a worksheet.
  2. Teacher input (10'): Present analogue vs. digital concepts and the need for conversion using slides.
  3. Demonstration (10'): Live demo of sampling, quantisation, and encoding with an audio‑to‑binary tool.
  4. Guided practice (15'): Pairs calculate sampling interval and quantisation levels for given audio parameters.
  5. Check for understanding (5'): Mini‑quiz via clickers or show of hands.
  6. Consolidation (5'): Class discussion of digital‑data benefits and real‑world applications.
Conclusion:
Recap that converting analogue signals involves sampling, quantising and encoding to produce binary data computers can manipulate. Ask each student to write one benefit of digital data on an exit ticket. For homework, assign a short research task on how smartphones convert voice to digital signals.