Name of the Tool
Visualizing
URL of the Tool
Please select the one, primary category for this tool: Communication Tool, Collaboration Tool, Productivity Tool, Creativity Tool, Critical Thinking/Problem Solving Tool, Reflection Tool, Feedback Tool, Networking/Social Tool, Presentation Tool
Creativity Tool
Please describe this tool in your own words in about 150-250 words.
As mentioned in the mission statement of the website, this site was created to make data visualization more accessible to the public. Data visualization is a necessary component of conveying complex processes or large amounts of information for comparison to others that may not be familiar with the material, process or subject matter. Making this more accessible to the public does a great service since our world has become so information rich. Big Data is something that can overwhelm if it is not communicated in such a way that is not only organized, but also interesting and intelligible to others. The addition of a social media component to this website is par for the course. THe sense of community that people have come to know and expect is no different for this website. Being able to view so many different examples of so many different types of data visualization in one place is a nice concept. One thing for this site to be wary of is that others may be wary of so many of these sites popping up everywhere that it can just get lost in the shuffle.
What do you need to know before using this tool? (What skills do you need to have?)
You will need to be pretty good at Data Visualization.
What do you need to have before using this tool? (Resources)
Artistic ability. Spacial/Visual capabilities, Gimp or an Adobe Photoshop-type tool to create your visualizations with.
How do you use this tool? (Write the basic steps using a numbered list)
1) Create your own visualizations (on your computer) using your image manipulation skills and software and post it to this site.
2) In order to post your dataviz to the site, you must register by creating a new account. Fille out your name and preferred username. If your username has already been chosen by someone else, you will need to select another one. Here is what the new account form looks like:
3) Finish filling out the short registration form and click the "Create new account" button. Remember to check BOTH "agree" boxes AND to put your answer in the "Math question" at the bottom of the form.
4) After you are finished with the registration form, you will receive a notice that you will need to check your email account in order to confirm registration.
5) In your email, you should receive an email like the one below. Clicking the confirm link will take you back to your account.
6) Here is your account. Now all you have to do is update it if you want or upload some of your dataviz projects for the world to see.
7) By clicking the "Update your profile" button, you may update your profile information.
If applicable, please create an example with this tool and either embed in your blog or submit the URL.
I chose not to create a data visualization to post to the web site via my account because creating one is quite time consuming and is a very involved process…even for a basic data visualization.
Please describe a scenario of how you might use this tool in a teaching environment (150-250 words).
You would probably want to surf the site and curate different visualizations that are great examples of what it is that you are trying to help your students learn. Based on what they goal of the project or assignment, there are several ways to create a "dataviz." Please see the site below for a more detailed breakdown of many different types of data visualizations. My assignment might be for the students to classify different data visualizations that they find on the site and align them with the different "periodic table elements" shown on this site:
A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods
What are the advantages of using this tool in a teaching environment?
That great visualizations are available to you on one site.
What are the disadvantages of using this tool in a teaching environment?
The "creativity" aspect of the site is limited because that is something that you would have to do on your own. It would be great if they had some type of visualization templates that you could use to start you off on a visualization project of your own.
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