The Week in Vis: Week 01: Getting Started

in Weeks in Vis

This is the first of a weekly posting called The Week in Vis that explains what is going on in class during the week. It also should give you context for why we are doing things, and how it all fits together (so it is part of the “content” for the course).

Usually, I make this posting on Friday (before the week), but this is not a normal week. And this isn’t a normal week-in-vis posting.

If you haven’t already done so, please go through the course web, and specifically the Getting Started (Start Here!) posting. Be sure to understand how we communicate with you: the course web, Canvas, Piazza, and (infrequently) email.

The class is organized by week. Each week there is a key question that sums up the learning goals (often there is a related secondary question), and the “activities” of the week support that. In most weeks, these activities follow The Weekly Rhythm, but because the first week is short, it will be a bit different.

This week’s key questions are:

  1. What is Visualization?
  2. How are we going to learn about it? (How does class work? How do we work together to learn it?)

Hopefully, by the end of the week you’ll know the answers to those questions.

In order to understand how the class works, please make sure you’ve gone through everything on the Getting Started (Start Here!) page.

This week is like other weeks in that it has the usual Parts of Class, but the timing is adjusted because of the short week. This week we will have:

  1. Wednesday class “lecture” - as of right now, lectures are “in person” in Room 312 Wendt Commons, Monday and Wednesday at 11am. Normally, you need to bring “art supplies” - this week, you might not know in advance, so its OK if you start next week.
  2. Readings 01: What is Visualization? - each week we have Readings. Usually, these should be done before lectures or concurrently with lectures. This week, they may come afterwards.
  3. Online Discussion 01 : What is Visualization (due Fri, Sep 10): normally, “initial” postings are due on Wednesdays. For this week, things can be later (due Friday). We expect students to continue the discussion beyond the initial posts.
  4. Seek and Find 01 : What is Visualization? (due Fri, Sep 10) - this will be a weekly event, so the first one is good practice. See the Seek and Finds instructions for more info.
  5. End of Week Survey 01 (due Fri, Sep 10). Surveys are important because its the main way I get feedback from students. It’s also a tool for me to get you to think about the material.

Hidden in those are some “getting started” things - like setting up your Canvas notifications, and having a sense of the class policies. (those are explicitly part of the readings and discussion)