Internship – Treasure Beach Smart Community

Welcome to the CSOD Internship Course “Treasure Beach Smart Community”. This is a special internship program for students from the TBWG cohort that have completed the CSOD LEVEL I program and have acquired practical and value-creating data skills for today’s Digital economy, including the use of digital productivity tools for data collection, analysis and visualization. This internship program provides an opportunity for students to reinforce and apply the knowledge and skills gained from the Level I courses to participate in, and support the Treasure Beach “Smart Community” project.

Data Literacy and the ability to collect, organize, manage, evaluate and apply data, especially geospatial data, to various business scenarios and activities is rapidly becoming an essential in demand employability and entrepreneurial skill.  However Data skills provides many more opportunities for creating social and/or economic value. This Internship program provides an opportunity for students to reinforce and apply the knowledge and skills gained from the Level I courses to support the Treasure Beach “Smart Community” project, and to become a key part of the local support community for this ongoing initiative. Students will also be able to identify potential value creating opportunities from working with geospatial data.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  1. Use digital tools and technologies to conceptualize and work virtually on data-enabled initiatives
  2. Identify and assess a real-world problem situation that could be addressed using geospatial data and/or location-based services
  3. Familiarize with the Treasure Beach Smart Community initiative and use of the Treasure Beach Mobile App 
  4. Support Place (Business) owners in Treasure Beach to create and edit geospatial data using digital tools
  5. Support the official Launch of the Treasure Beach Digital App

Who is this course for?

The internship program is designed for students from the TBWG cohort that have completed the CSOD LEVEL I program, or have otherwise acquired digital competencies

Estimated time to complete the internship program is six (6) weeks. Students should expect to allocate 8 – 10 hours per week to complete the related activities.

This Internship is organized over a six-week period and is structured as follows:

  1. Week 1: Introduction to Geospatial Data and Mapping concepts – select modules from the CSOD Level II Program
  2. Week 2: Familiarize with the Treasure Beach Smart Community initiative and the Treasure Beach Mobile App | Assigned 10 business places for engagement
  3. Week 3: Work with Place owners to familiarize with the Mobile App and identify data to be cleaned, added
  4. Week 4: Data Cleaning: Edit map data / Field mapping: collect new data using the KoboCollect App
  5. Week 5: Train business owners to use the Mobile App / Update their place and event data
  6. Week 6: Launch Treasure Beach Digital App

Art and Science of Data Visualization

Welcome to the Course “Data Visualization”. This is the 2nd in the CSOD LEVEL II program that seeks to empower young adults with the practical skills for today’s Digital economy. These courses are designed to address competency profiles in Digital literacy and Data skills that have become essential for the job markets of today and the future. Participants in this course “The Art and Science of Data Visualization”, will acquire the essential practical skills that will equip them with advanced data competencies for understanding how visual representations can help in the analysis and understanding of large data sets, how to design effective visualizations, and how to create interactive visualizations, as an effective tool for sense-making, analysis, insight and communications. Finally, they will be prepared to recommend and develop visualizations for a given real world problem.

In the Digital economy, Data has become a critical and valuable business resource. Data literacy and the ability to collect, organise, manage, evaluate and apply Data to various business scenarios and activities is rapidly becoming an essential 21st century skill. Given the volume of data that is now available, representing this data in a form that can be easily interpreted and digested is the issue faced by many decision makers and the required skills to do this are in short supply. This course will prepare students to fill this void by introducing them to the fundamentals of Data Visualization, describing the techniques used for Data Visualization and demonstrating how these Data Visualizations can be combined into effective Dashboards. This will be a “hands-on” course where the students will build, justify and evaluate the design of visualizations for real word scenarios. 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of data visualization in data driven decision making
  2. Describe the Data Visualization Lifecycle 
  3. Critically evaluate Data Visualizations, based on their design and use for telling stories using the data
  4. Create the most effective graphs, charts and maps by using the principles of Data Visualization
  5. Evaluate the opportunities for data visualization in real world scenarios
  6. Apply the effective use of data and visualizations to support improved insight, communications and productivity 
  7. Apply the principles of dashboard design using Data Visualization techniques
  8. Apply the appropriate Data Visualization techniques to a given real world scenario

Who is the course for ?

This course was developed for the participants in the CSOD LEVEL II program and is designed for persons who have completed the CSOD Basic Program , or have otherwise acquired basic digital competencies or skills in using the Internet and other digital tools.

The course will provide a virtual community to work in, that includes other participants like yourself, your course facilitator, and potential mentors that will be an invaluable source of information, knowledge sharing, and creative ideas. We encourage you to participate in the discussions and activities which will be one of the most valuable things this course has to offer.

Participants should have completed the CSOD Basic digital skills Program, should have successfully completed all modules and assessment quizzes in the “Data Preparation courses in this Level II program:

The overall CSOD LEVEL II program is organized over 8 weeks and 4 courses. The courses are self-contained, but together they create a learning journey focused on skills for working with, and creating value from Data. We’ve designed the courses to be as interactive as possible. Each self-directed course will take approximately 1.5 – 3 hours per module to complete, and you should be able to complete each course within 2 weeks.

You can study the course at your own pace and we’ve designed each course to be flexible so it fits with your schedule, and you can move ahead if you have time or catch up when you need to. You should expect to spend approximately 5 – 8 hours per week for best results.

The four modules in this course “The Art and Science of Data Visualization” are outlined below:

Module 1: Overview of Data Visualization – introduces the essentials of Data Visualization and seeks to provide an increased awareness of the importance of Data Visualization in the digital economy.

Module 2: Data Visualization Techniques – is the first of two hands-on modules designed to expand the learner’s knowledge of data and promote an understanding the various techniques that can be used for Data Visualization.

Module 3: More Data Visualization Techniques – is designed to expand the learner’s knowledge and further understanding of the various techniques that can be used for Data Visualization, with a focus on three specific techniques: bar charts, line graphs and area charts.

Module 4: Dashboards – covers the important issue of how large data sets can be summarized and presented to the end user through Pivot Tables. This module also introduces the learner to the design of dashboards – essential tools for story telling

You will complete the modules in sequence as you work through the course. Please note that all modules are locked, until the previous one is completed, so you have to completely finish each module and the related assessments in order to progress through the course.

Data Preparation

Welcome to the Course “Data Preparation”. This is the 1st  in the CSOD LEVEL II program that seeks to empower young adults with the practical skills for today’s Digital economy. These courses are designed to address competency profiles in Digital literacy and Data skills that have become essential for the job markets of today and the future.

Participants in this course “Data Preparation”, will acquire the essential practical skills that will equip them with foundational data competencies for Data Preparation and Data Governance, some of which were first introduced in the “Data Fundamentals” course. 

In the Digital economy, Data has become a critical and valuable business resource. Data literacy and the ability to collect, organise, manage, evaluate and apply Data to various business scenarios and activities is rapidly becoming an essential 21st century skill. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Data Preparation, and basic toolkits (including spreadsheets) for collecting, organizing and applying data effectively.

Practical techniques are learned to process, manipulate and visualize data using spreadsheets. Students also learn about important data issues such as data quality, security, and privacy and are introduced to good practices for working with Data.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Explain the importance of Data Governance 
  2. Explain the importance of Data Quality
  3. Distinguish between the various Data Quality dimensions
  4. Compare and contrast the various measurement levels in data
  5. Explain critical data issues such as security and privacy and the role they play in data management
  6. Describe the tasks involved in Data Preparation
  7. Demonstrate techniques for Data Preparation 
  8. Apply the techniques for Data Preparation using appropriate tools

This course was developed for the participants in the CSOD LEVEL II program and is designed for persons who have completed the CSOD Basic Program , or have otherwise acquired basic digital competencies or skills in using the Internet and other digital tools.

The course will provide a virtual community to work in, that includes other participants like yourself, your course facilitator, and potential mentors that will be an invaluable source of information, knowledge sharing, and creative ideas. We encourage you to participate in the discussions and activities which will be one of the most valuable things this course has to offer.

Participants should have completed the CSOD Basic digital skills Program

The overall CSOD LEVEL II program is organized over 8 weeks and 4 courses. The courses are self-contained, but together they create a learning journey focused on skills for working with, and creating value from Data. We’ve designed the courses to be as interactive as possible. Each self-directed course will take approximately 1.5 – 3 hours per module to complete, and you should be able to complete each course within 2 weeks.

You can study the course at your own pace and we’ve designed each course to be flexible so it fits with your schedule, and you can move ahead if you have time or catch up when you need to. You should expect to spend approximately 5 – 8 hours per week for best results.

The four modules in this course “Data Preparation” are outlined below:

Module 1: Data Quality – introduces the data value chain and concepts of data governance/quality, while seeking to provide an increased awareness of the importance of data quality in the digital economy

Module 2: Data Pre-Processing – seeks to expand the learners knowledge of data and promotes the importance of understanding and preparing the data before analysing it

Module 3: Data Cleaning – is designed to provide learners with knowledge on the tools and techniques for ensuring that the data is in a form suited for analysis by removing or modifying data that is incorrect, incomplete, inaccurate, irrelevant, replicated or in the wrong format for analysis

Module 4: Data Preparation Tools – Emphasis is placed on the use of readily available Data Preparation tools, and providing students with the hands-on exposure to these tools and how they can be applied to various data sets.

You will complete the modules in sequence as you work through the course. Please note that all modules are locked, until the previous one is completed, so you have to completely finish each module and the related assessments in order to progress through the course.

Each module is presented as a combination of topics and lessons, and the main method of progressing through the module is to click to move to the next piece to information.

Once you have covered all lessons (i.e. all the information and completed all activities) within a topic, you will be presented with a “Mark Complete” button. This will trigger your advancement to the next topic. When you activate the “Mark Complete” button on the final topic within a module, you will be taken to the “Final Quiz” for that module.

  • Next (>) will take you to the next topic/lesson in the course
  • Prev (<) will take you back to the previous topic/lesson
  • Home takes you back to the main course menu.

Assessments / Questions

Each module in the course has an Assessment section at the end with a series of questions that enable you to test and validate your learning on the topics covered.

Geospatial Data Analysis: Tools and Techniques

Welcome to the Course “Geospatial Data Analysis: Tools and Techniques”. This is the 3rd course in the CSOD LEVEL II program that seeks to empower young adults with the practical skills for today’s Digital economy. These courses are designed to address competency profiles in Digital literacy and Data skills that have become essential for the job markets of today and the future.

Participants in this course on “Geospatial Data Analysis”, will acquire the essential practical skills that will equip them with foundational data competencies for collecting, working with and visualizing location-based data, and applying these techniques to Interactive Community Mapping.

In the Digital economy, Data has become a critical and valuable business resource. In particular, there is a lot of economic value in geospatial data i.e. data that contains geographical co-ordinates that can be plotted on a map. As a result of the ubiquity of mobile devices such as smartphones, a lot of today’s business data from social media posts to transactional data are collected with location coordinates.

This course introduces students to the fundamentals of geospatial data, mapping concepts and applications. Practical techniques are learned to collect, process and visualize geodata using low-cost devices and free tools such as Openstreetmap

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  1. Explain the business value of Geospatial Data
  2. Understand Mapping concepts
  3. Collect Geospatial data using mobile devices
  4. Upload and Edit Geospatial data in Openstreetmap
  5. Demonstrate techniques for visualizing Geospatial Data
  6. Apply the learned techniques to Interactive Community Mapping

The course is targeted to young adults who have reached the end of high school and/or are beginning to engage in tertiary education, and who have completed the CSOD basic program, or have otherwise acquired digital competencies.

The course will provide a virtual community to work in, that includes other participants like yourself, your course facilitator, and potential mentors that will be an invaluable source of information, knowledge sharing, and creative ideas. We encourage you to participate in the discussions and activities which will be one of the most valuable things this course has to offer

Participants should have completed the CSOD Basic digital skills Program, should have successfully completed all modules and assessment quizzes in the 1st two courses of this Level II program:

  • Data Preparation
  • Art & Science of Data Visualization

This course is broken down into four (4) modules, namely:

  • Module 1 – Understanding the Business value of Geospatial data: introduces the concepts of geospatial data (i.e. Geospatial data is data that contains geographical co-ordinates that can be plotted on a map) and GPS devices
  • Module 2 – Geospatial data and Mapping Concepts: orients learners in the foundational concepts and principles of maps, mapping and geospatial data and introduces the various elements and attributes that go into constructing a digital map
  • Module 3 – Interactive Community Mapping – Tools & Techniques: provides learners with knowledge on the tools and techniques for mapping a local community, such as the use of mobile devices (smartphone or tablet) to collect Geospatial data and attributes, and a practical hands-on introduction to the Openstreetmap platform
  • Module 4 – Visualizing Geospatial Data: applies data visualization tools and techniques learned from the preceding Data Visualization course, to display geospatial data on Maps

CAPSTONE: Becoming a Data Entrepreneur

Welcome to the Capstone Course “Becoming a Data Entrepreneur”. This is the final course in the program Caribbean School of Data (CSOD) LEVEL II program that seeks to empower young adults with the practical and value-creating data skills for today’s Digital economy. The courses delivered throughout this Program were designed to address specific competences considered relevant to the Data value chain, including data collection, preparation, analysis and visualization. This Capstone course provides an opportunity for students to reinforce and apply the knowledge and skills gained from the previous three courses to real-word business prospects for creating social and/or economic value from Geospatial Data

Data Literacy and the ability to collect, organise, manage, evaluate and apply data to various business scenarios and activities is rapidly becoming an essential in-demand employability skill.  However Data skills provides many more opportunities for creating social and/or economic value. This Capstone course encourages students to apply the knowledge and skills gained from the previous three courses to real-world business scenarios, as well as to identify potential value-creating opportunities from working with geospatial data.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  1. Organize collaborative teams using digital tools and technologies to conceptualize and work virtually on data-enabled initiatives
  2. Identify and assess a real-world problem situation that could be addressed using geospatial data and/or location-based services
  3. Plan the activities for a real-world Interactive Community Mapping Project to address your identified problem situation
  4. Create and edit geospatial data using OpenStreetMap and related digital tools
  5. Use the Business Model Canvas to conceptualize your Geospatial Data entrepreneurial venture

Who is this course for?

The course is targeted to young adults who have reached the end of high school and/or are beginning to engage in tertiary education, and who have completed the CSOD basic program, or have otherwise acquired digital competencies. 

You should have completed the three (3) previous courses in this CSOD Level II program. In particular, you should be familiar with using Google Data Studio for map-based visualizations, as well as working with Geospatial data.

Estimated time to complete each module ranges from 45 – 90 minutes. Additional learning resources are provided to enable students to explore more information on the topics covered.

Module 1 – Organizing your WorkGroup – Extend your Mapping Dashboard

Module 2 – Planning an Interactive Community Mapping Project

Module 3 – Preparing your GeoData – Update OpenStreetMap

Module 4 – Becoming a Data Entrepreneur – Develop your Business Model

Caribbean School of Data (CSOD)