Parts of Class

This class has a bunch of different components - each serves a different role in how we try to teach visualization.

  1. Class Meetings (Monday and Wednesdays, 11am, Room 312 Wendt) - these will be a mix of traditional lecture, discussions, and in-class exercises (ICEs).
  2. Readings and Other Materials - each week there will be a “reading” assignment that might include videos or web resources to look at.
  3. End of Week Surveys - each week, there will be a survey (like a quiz, except we won’t always grade it) that will give you an opportunity to reflect on the material of the week.
  4. Online Discussions - each week, there will be a structured online discussion (in small groups) that everyone must participate in.
  5. Weekly Seek-and-Finds - each week, each student will identify a visualization that relates to the topic of the week.
  6. Design Exercises - each week, there will be some component that asks you to do some visualization practice (create, critique, …). These will be more varied than the other components.

This class is a continuous stream of small pieces, rather than a single big project at the end. This is atypical for CS grad classes, but I think it works better for this class. If you don’t like this style, you might not like this class.

I am aware that this is lots of small pieces to keep track of, but to make it easier, we (1) will stick to a regular rhythm, and (2) provide a weekly “Week in Vis” announcement to remind you of what is happening during the week. This information will also be on the schedule, calendar, and the “Week in Vis” sidebar at the top right corner of the web page.

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The Weekly Rhythm

Each week will follow the same weekly pattern:

  • On Monday, there will be a class meeting (remember, attendance is required!)
  • On Tuesday, an initial posting for the online discussion is due
  • On Wednesday, there will be a class meeting
  • On Friday, the weekly seek and find is due, and the end of week survey is due.

In most weeks, there will also be a design exercise due - these will be announced.

Class Meetings (Attendance)

in Parts of Class
Class meets Monday and Wednesday, 11:00am-12:15 in Room 312 Wendt Commons. Class attendance is required. If you know that you will miss a lot of classes, or do not intend to come to class “nearly all of the time”, please do not take the class. This class requires you to show up. If you know that you cannot (for example, if you know you will be traveling extensively to interview), you should not take this class. Read more…

Online Discussions

in Parts of Class
  1. Each week there will be on online discussion, with an initial posting required by Tuesday.
  2. Students are required to make an initial posting by the deadline, and encouraged to participate in a conversation online with their group.
  3. The discussions will stay open for a week beyond the initial postings so that students can continue the discussions.
  4. Initial postings and subsequent discussions will be evaluated separately.
Read more…

Seek and Finds

in Parts of Class

Each week, there will be a “seek and find” assignment where you must find a visualization that connects to the class topic of the week (we will provide a prompt of what you must find). The idea is that we want you to identify real examples of where the concepts occur in practice. You must find and post an appropriate visualization, and answer a prompt.

Seek and finds are turned in as part of Canvas discussions. They are due on the Friday of each week. The discussions remain open, so that you can see what other people have found (and discuss them, if you like).

Read more…

End of Week Surveys

in Parts of Class

Each week there will be a Canvas “graded survey” that prompts you with questions about the week’s material.

As a graded survey, Canvas will give you full credit for completing the survey - without regard to the quality of your answers. We may check your answers to make sure you made a legitimate attempt (and will take away credit if you did not).

Read more…