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Writing binary as text using ASCII
This Computing video supports teachers in showing the children how binary can be used to represent text using the ASCII code system.
The video explains the historical need for a universal computer language in the 1960s and how the American Standard Code for Information Exchange (ASCII) was developed. It shows how each of the first 128 binary combinations represents a character, number or control symbol, allowing computers to communicate using a shared language. The video also introduces hexadecimal as a more compact way to represent binary, breaking complex eight-bit codes into manageable pairs. The lesson builds understanding of data encoding, supporting the children in converting text to binary and preparing them for the next stage, which is applying binary knowledge to real-world messages from the Mars Rover.
This video is part of the Year 5 Data handling: Mars Rover 1 unit, supporting the children to develop their understanding of text encoding in computing.
See more of our Year 5 Computing scheme of work.
