The Spring 2017 edition of the Data Visualization Course is the 4th time I’ve taught it. At some point, I will have to stop saying it’s an experimental class – but not this time.
The class will be pretty much based on the 2015 edition. I think overall, the class worked well for most people. I want to keep the things that worked, and fix the things that didn’t.
What will be different this time?
- You (the students). A cool thing about this class is it gets a broad range of students. Each time, we get students from all over campus. Each time it’s a different mix. Each time there are people with different ideas, interests and abilities – and the class gets pulled in all kinds of directions by this.
- It has a real number. It’s not a special topics class anymore. This is mainly symbolic, except that it leads to #3.
- It is a graduate level course. In the past, it was a mixed level course (grads and undergrads). This is less that grad students are different than undergrads, but rather that all students in the class will be treated the same – no different assignments and policies. This should simplify things. Also, as a graduate level class, we can have high expectations for everyone.
- Simplify the assignment structure. Last time, there were discussions and readings twice a week for each lecture, seek and finds, other assignments, other discussions, challenge assignments, 838 only assignments, … It was hard to keep track of it all! This time, we’ll organize things by week, rather than by lecture – so there will be one reading assignment each week (potentially with multiple parts), and one discussion.
- More in-class exercises. Last time we did a few. People got a lot out of it. It was less boring than me lecturing. While we’ll still be a long way from a “flipped class” I want to keep moving in that direction. The room that the class is scheduled for may contribute. We’ll also see about me replacing lectures with videos or something.
- More practical aspects (implementation). In the past, I’ve avoided spending time on how to make visualizations – it was about how to design, critique, and understand them, and to appreciate the range of methods. The problem is that once I taught people what pictures to make, they wanted to make them! So we’ll have a bit more “practice” as part of the class. It still won’t be a lot. And it’s hard because we have a range of skills in the class. Implementation might mean different things if you’re a CS student who likes to program, or a humanities student who doesn’t want to learn how. I want to make this class work for both kinds of students.
- More emphasis on critique. It’s an incredibly valuable skill – not just for becoming a visualization designer, but in general. We’ll use critique as a way to be more example-based in learning about visualization.
- More emphasis on learning by doing (and critiquing). This kindof goes with 5&6&7, but I want to find ways to let people try things more.
- Improve the readings that people didn’t like. I think I got rid of the really bad ones from 2012.
A lot will stay the same. We’ll have the same basic schedule and list of topics. A lot of the readings from last time were good. Many of the assignments worked well.
At a high level, the emphasis on foundations (understanding the basics of tasks, design and perception) will remain. I think this is the right place to start – whether you are going to be a vis practitioner, research, or even just a vis reader.
The seek and finds will continue – these worked great. For a while, people thought they were silly. But after you’ve done them a bit, you realize that it does force you to see how the ideas do get used in practice. You’ll have to trust me.
The readings and discussions will continue – these also (generally) worked well. It depends on the students – some groups have more interesting discussions than others. I believe that if people participate in the conversations around the topics, they can’t help but learn them.