Tearing Up the COR: A Lesson in Data, Information, and Mild Panic

Photo courtesy: Rombutan

At our last meeting on August 8, our facilitator hit us with an unexpected task: bring our Certificate of Registration (COR) for the next activity. Now, at first, I thought, “Ah, okay, standard enrollment check. Paminaw ko ani, testingan mi kung enrolled ba gyud ta. Lisud kaayo ug na-ghost student ta, no?" But it turns out, there was more to it. The COR wasn’t just for him to check if we exist—it was the star of our lesson on the difference between data and information. Plot twist, di ba?

For the uninitiated, the Certificate of Registration, or COR, is basically that sacred document that says, “Yes, you’re a real student this semester—congratulations!” It’s packed with all sorts of personal details like your ID number, subjects enrolled, billing info, and those ever-confusing data privacy agreements. “Daghan kaayo ug nakasulat” I thought it was just another boring form, but apparently, it’s a goldmine for our class activity.

Then, on this fine September 5, we had an activity called "Tearing our COR/Cedula," and let me tell you, the name alone had me lowkey nervous. I had visions of us literally shredding our CORs. "Goodbye, school life!" Luckily, no actual tearing happened—"hinumdum lang, dili mag-panic, guys!"—instead, we were divided into five groups and told to dig deep into the data in our CORs. The goal was to find trends, patterns, and outliers. We shared our findings with the class, and suddenly, the humble COR became the blueprint for understanding data and information.

Now, here’s what we figured out. Data is just random facts—like your student ID, fullname, and address (e.g., '2022-00164,' 'Vincent B. Dialing,' 'Nabunturan, Davao De Oro'). It’s basically "ang mga bagay nga walay klaro pa nga mga tumong ug para asa jud." Like when your friend texts, "Naa ko'y surprise!" without giving any details—data pa na, guys. No meaning yet, just suspense and possible heart palpitations.

But once you organize all that data into something like the COR, it turns into information. This is where it gets juicy. Your professor can now check if you’re actually registered in their class or if you’ve just been showing up for free. Information is "data nga naay direction—di lang puro random chika." It’s like when you find out what the surprise is: "Ay, burger diay, dili surprise quiz—thank you, Lord!"

The activity was an eye-opener. Watching videos on UVE gave us the theory, but this hands-on exercise was where it clicked—data and information, boom, real-life examples! Unfortunately, we ran out of time. Next week, we’ll dig deeper into knowledge. I’m excited to see how this will all tie together! “Basin naay another surprise, pero this time, di nako hadlok. Bring it on!”

So, that’s it for today’s class. “Nalingaw ko pero murag gikapoy ko og analyze sa data! ‘Til the next blog, guys! Stay tuned for more KM adventures!” wink