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:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the role of data visualization in data driven decision making
- Describe the Data Visualization Lifecycle
- Critically evaluate Data Visualizations, based on their design and use for telling stories using the data
- Create the most effective graphs, charts and maps by using the principles of Data Visualization
- Evaluate the opportunities for data visualization in real world scenarios
- Apply the effective use of data and visualizations to support improved insight, communications and productivity
- Apply the principles of dashboard design using Data Visualization techniques
- 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.
What do I need to Know ?
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:
How long is this course ?
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.
Structure of this course
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.
