Navajo Technical University http://navajotech.edu P.O. Box 849, Crownpoint, NM 87313-0849 Telephone: (505) 786-4100 FAX: (505) 786-5644 IT 230 Data Visualization 3 credit hours Section 01 T/R @ 02:00PM to 03:20PM Spring 2016 Instructor: Ramsey Seweingyawma Location: Navajo Technical University Main Campus (Crownpoint, NM) Email: rsewein@navajotech.edu Office Phone: (505) 786 4395 Course Website: webwork.navajotech.edu (alternate: 74.112.229.60) Communication The instructor s office is located in the Science and Technology Building in room 325. I have open office hours Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at any time in which I do not have a class scheduled. PLEASE OBTAIN YOUR NAVAJO TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY EMAIL AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS COURSE. E-mails sent to the instructor must have the subject line of the email to read: 2016A Spring IT 230 LastName_FirstName_Month#_Day# Email is the best mode of communication for the instructor. Please allow 12 to 48 hours for a response. If there are any urgent messages, students can access Google s Chat Room option or Hangout option and add me through the school s email provided by NTU to instant message me. If there is another communication option that is preferred, please inform the instructor at least 2 days prior to trying to connect. Students are to maintain an open line of communication for weekly updates and to ensure student progression with the course work. Updates on the course will be posted on the course website. Course Scope and Purpose Learn the fundamentals of data visualization and practice communicating with data. This course covers how to apply design principles, human perception, color theory, and effective storytelling to data visualization. If you present data to others, aspire to be an analyst or data scientist, or if you d like to become more technical with visualization tools, then you can grow your skills with this course. The course does not cover exploratory approaches to discover insights about data. Instead, the course focuses on how to visually encode and present data to an audience once an insight has been found. IT 230 Data Visualization Spring 2016
Learning Outcomes Learn by doing! You will analyze existing data visualization and create new ones to learn about the field. At it s core, data visualization is a form of communication. Learn how to be a great communicator and how to enable readers to walk away from your graphics with insight and understanding. This course also make use of open web standards (HTML, CSS, and SVG) to create data visualizations. You can also learn how to... communicate clearly with the best visual representation of your data tell stories, spark discussion, and create calls to actions for readers design graphics like ones from the NY Times and other media companies how to use open web technologies to create an online portfolio of your work use visualization libraries (dimple.js and D3.js) to create graphics Course Structure The course will be presented via the course website. There will be a number of assigned readings, short papers, handson tutorials, discussion postings, and exams. The course will generally unfold on a weekly or bi-weekly basis through a posted Assignment document that provides instructions on readings and work to be completed within the given time period. When possible, assignments will be posted in advance, but usually they will be posted on or just before the relevant Monday. Textbooks Beautiful Visualization: Looking at Data through the Eyes of Experts (Theory in Practice) Single Edition Julie Steele (Editor), Noah Iliinsky (Editor) O Reilly Media ISBN-10: 1449379869 Assessment I. Homework [20% of Total] Homework is designed to be a tool that will help you understand the concepts covered in class. All students are required to complete homework and manage a digital portfolio on a cloud service. The homework are worksheets that need be filled out and completed, then submitted digitally. Students are encouraged to work together but each student is required to submit their own work through the digital portfolio. II. Quiz [30% of Total] Quizzes are designed for application of a student s immediate knowledge and to prepare for tests. All quizzes are assessed online through a class website. The quizzes are timed events due at noon every Friday. Suggestion to work alone would be best to simulate the course final. Students are encouraged to work independently and apply their knowledge to the subject matter. III. Test [50% of Total] Tests are designed to measure a student s comprehensive knowledge. There are only two tests during the semester; (1) the Mid-term, and (2) the Final. The exams dates are set for a whole day and students are allowed to come in during that day to take the test. Exams will be hand written and submitted physically to the instructor. No books, no notes, no talking, all bags on the ground, and no cell phones. Further discussion of tests must be done by the students through email. The course website will inform students of information on the dates. IV. Extra Credit [+20% Quiz] Will be given for extraordinary effort in homework, quizzes, and tests at the discretion of the instructor. Page 2 of 6
Student Learning Resources The primary resources are the textbook and the associated reading notes. These materials are supplemented by a mixture of readings from academic journals, professional reports and authoritative websites. Very rarely, there are tutors available for this course. In many cases, students must seek the advice of the instructor. Any questions can be submitted through email. Please use the subject line information provided in the Communications section. For the tutorials and the final project, we will use MySQL, CartoDB, Excel, Word, and Inkscape plus some other tools. These will be accessible over on computer stations located in the Science and Technology Building room 325. Instructions on accessing the Server will be provided at the appropriate time in the course. Requirements Here is quick list of items that would make the semester progress smoothly (not all are required); Personal computer Personal printer Scanner or photo device PDF Reader/Editor o Adobe Acrobat (Free) o Foxit PDF Reader (Free) Word processor Flash drive Cloud service (*required) o Google Drive o Dropbox (tell the website that Ramsey Seweingyawma referred you). o icloud Access to the internet at home would be optimal for the semester. This will require a personal computer with a web browser and a portable document file (PDF) reader installed. A personal printer would be helpful as well, but a scanner or photo device would be needed to digitize the completed documents. If the above requirements are not available, the Science and Technology building has multiple places to print and access the material. The STEM lab in Mod 10 also has computers and printers. The campus has a printing location near the Multi-Purpose room, which can print of scan. An easier way to submit documents would be to type out the items and print to a pdf. Cell phone and Head Phone Use Please turn cell phones off or place them on silence or vibrate mode BEFORE coming to class. Also, answer cell phones OUTSIDE OF CLASS (not in the classroom). Exercising cell phone use courtesy is appreciated by both the instructor and classmates. Headphones are to be removed before coming to class. Headphones may be worn in quizzes not tests. Page 3 of 6
Academic Integrity Integrity (honesty) is expected of every student in all academic work. The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student s submitted work must be the student s own. Students who engage in academic dishonesty diminish their education and bring discredit to the college community. Avoid situations likely to compromise academic integrity such as: cheating, facilitating academic dishonesty, and plagiarism; modifying academic work to obtain additional credit in the same class unless approved in advance by the instructor, failure to observe rules of academic integrity established by the instructor. Cheating and Plagiarism are strictly forbidden. Cheating includes but is not limited to: plagiarism, submission of work that is not the student s own, submission or use of falsified data, unauthorized access to exam, quiz, or assignments, use of unauthorized material during an exam, supplying or communicating unauthorized information for an assignment or exam. Attendance Students are expected to regularly attend all classes for which they are registered. A percentage of the student s grade will be based on class attendance and participation. Absence from class, regardless of the reason, does not relieve the student of his/her responsibility to complete all course work by the required deadlines. Furthermore, it is the student s responsibility to obtain notes, handouts, and any other information covered when absent from class and to arrange to make up any in-class assignments or tests if permitted by the instructor. Incomplete or missing assignments will necessarily affect the student's grades. Instructors will report excessive and/or unexplained absences to the academic counselor for investigation and potential intervention. If you miss more than 3 consecutive days of class, you will automatically be dropped from the class and reported to Registrar. Diné Philosophy of Learning Nitsáhákees critical thinking/imagination/challenge Accomplished through the homework and assessed by the percent completion of the worksheet. Nahátáh preparation/motivation/strategizing Time management is required when classes are not scheduled and the student must manage their portfolio. Íína living/valuing/collaborating Students are encouraged to work with other students and seek the advice of their peers and faculty. Sihasin reflection/accomplishment/self actualization Progress reports will be available online for students to preview and check for any errors or miscalculations. Student with Disabilities The Navajo Technical College and the General Science program are committed to serving all enrolled students in a non-discriminatory and accommodating manner. Any student who feels he/she may need an accommodation based on the impact of disability, or needs special accommodations should inform the instructor privately of such so that accommodations arrangement can be made. Students who need an accommodation should also contact the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Angie Perry, whose phone number is (505) 786-4138. Page 4 of 6
Important Administration Dates Spring Semester 2016 On-Site Pre-Registration October 26 *New Year's Day Faculty Return New Student Orientation On-Site Registration January 01 January 11 January 14 January 15 *Martin Luther King Day Instruction Begins January 18 January 19 Late Registration w/fee January 20 - January 21 Last Day Add/Drop Classes w/out "W" January 22 *President's Day Spring Graduation Petitions Due February 15 February 26 Mid-Term Exams March 7 - March 11 Break *Spring Break March 14 - March 18 Last Day to Withdraw with a "W" March 31 *Navajo Sovereignty Day Final Exams April 25 May 9 - May 11 Final Grades Due Spring Graduation May 12 May 13 *Memorial Day May 30 * - indicates days where class is not in session Page 5 of 6
Tentative Course-Schedule Lesson 1a Visualization Fundamentals (2 hour)- Learn about the elements of great data visualization. In this lesson, you will meet data visualization experts, learn about data visualization in the context of data science, and learn how to represent data values in visual form. Lesson 1b D3 Building Blocks (4 hours) Learn how to use the open standards of the web to create graphical elements. You ll learn how to select elements on the page, add SVG elements, and how to style SVG elements. Make use of all the Instructor Notes throughout this lesson if you have little to no experience with HTML and CSS. Mini-Project 1: RAW Visualization (2 hour) Create a data visualization using a software of your choice. We will provide recommendations for visualization software as well as data sets. We want you to get right into making data visualization so here s your first chance! Lesson 2a Design Principles (2 hours) Which chart type should I use for my data? Which colors should I avoid when making graphics? How do I know if my graphic is effective? Investigate these questions, and learn about the World Cup data set which will be use throughout the rest of the course. Lesson 2b Dimple.js (4 hours) Learn how to create graphics using the Dimple JavaScript library. You will learn about this library as a gentle coding introduction before learning about D3.js. You will be able to produce great graphics with minimal code, and all of your graphics will come with interactivity without any extra effort on your part. Dimple, it's simple! Mini-Project 2: Take Two (2-5 hours) Find an existing data visualization, critique it for what it does well and what it doesn t do well, and finally, recreate the graphic using a software tool of your choice. We recommend using Dimple.js, which is covered in Lesson 2b, but we don t want you to feel constrained by the choice of tools. Use any tool that works for you. Special Note At this point in the course, you can start the final project. The remaining content of the course covers narrative structures, types of bias, and maps. All of the code in Lesson 3 and Lesson 4 pertains to d3.js. If you'd like to learn d3.js and complete the final project using d3.js, then please continue. If you prefer to stop, you can complete the final project using dimple.js. Lesson 3 Narratives (5 hours) Learn how to incorporate different narrative structures into your visualizations and code along with Jonathan as you create a graphic for the World Cup data set. You ll learn about different types of bias in the data visualization process and learn how to add context to your data visualizations. By the end of this lesson, you ll have a solid foundation in D3.js. Lesson 4 Animation and Interaction (5 hours) Static graphics are great, but interactive graphics can be even better. Learn how to leverage animation and interaction to bring more data insights to your audience. Code along with Jonathan once again as you learn how to create a bubble map for the World Cup data set. Final Project: Making an Effective Data Visualization (2 hours or more) You will create a data visualization that conveys a clear message about a data set. You will use dimple.js or d3.js and collect feedback along the way to arrive at a polished product. Page 6 of 6