# Assignments

This page describes each of the homework assignments, listed by the session in which they are due. It also provides some suggested datasets for each sketch, and selected examples of student work from the 2017 and 2016 classes on some assignments and the final project. (While the 2016 version of the class wasn't specifically focused on climate change, the sample works are good illustrations of overall goals of the assignments.)

See the syllabus Course Requirements section for more details on these assignments and grading criteria.

SES # | HOMEWORK DESCRIPTIONS | SUGGESTED DATASETS & SAMPLE STUDENT WORK
--- | --- | ---
Finding and telling stories with data
1 | No homework due |
2 | Homework 1: Visualization blog Write a post on the class blog about a data presentation you saw recently (250ish words). Include a link and a picture/screenshot of the presentation. Make sure to address: what data is being shown who you think the audience is what you think the goals of the data presentation are whether you think it is effective or not and why |
3 | Homework 2: Data log Create an activity log of all the types of data you create and are captured in digital form during the course of one day, and enter it on the class blog. |
4 | Homework 3: Software installations Download and install the following: Sublime Text (or any text editor capable of running regular expressions) OpenRefine Trifacta Wrangler (free with registration) Microsoft Excel, or free LibreOffice Still if you prefer Import.io (open it to sign up) Jupyter (if you know how to program in Python) |
5 | Homework 4: Tableau installation Download the most recent version of Tableau Desktop for students |
6 | No homework due |
Sketch 1: Charts and creative charts
7 | No homework due | Suggested datasets: Hubway data challenges: 2011-2013 / 2017 NYC tree census data: 2015 / 2005 / 1995 World Bank CO2 emissions: global or per country (ZIP) (This file contains: 2 .csv files.) Or any other climate change-related dataset you are really excited about
8 | Homework 5: Start Sketch 1 Come to class knowing what dataset you are working on, an outline of the story, and a sketch of what you want to make. |
9 | Homework 6: Sketch 1 finished, blog post Finish your sketch. Write up your project on the class blog. Start with a summary sentence in the form: "The data say ________. We want to tell this story because _____." Include a 300ish word summary of your data sources and why what you made is an appropriate and effective way to tell the data story. |
Sketch 2: Data sculptures
10 | No homework due | Suggested datasets: IPCC global temperature projections (2007) from various models (using these emissions scenarios, global average temperature in Kelvin) Unofficial unverified air quality readings in Beijing from US State Department (judged via this standard scale) Or the Hubway, NYC Tree, or CO2 emissions data from Sketch 1
11 | Homework 7: Start Sketch 2 Start working on your idea for this sketch. Come to class with with: The data you are going to use (remember to go data shopping!) The audience you want to make something for (remember "general public" is an unacceptable audience!) Good but not required: one abstract word in your data story that you need help representing in concrete ways ("inequality", "hate", "asylum", etc.) |
12 | Homework 8: Sketch 2 finished, blog post Finish your sketch. Write up your project on the class blog. Start with a summary sentence in the form: "The data say ________. We want to tell this story because _____." Include a sentence saying "Our audience is _______." Include a 300ish word summary of your data sources and why what you made is an appropriate and effective way to tell the data story. | Sample student work: Data sculptures Fireworks: Fun and Dangerous (2016)
Sketch 3: Personal stories
13 | Homework 9: How to tell a story (The Moth) Read Paige Williams, “How to tell a story: The Moth.” Nieman Storyboard (Harvard), August 2012. Choose and listen to one Moth Story. Write down and bring to class your analysis, as Paige Williams lists in her article’s item #3. Fill in the class midterm survey. | Suggested datasets: Pew Research Center. "Global Concern about Climate Change, Broad Support for Limiting Emissions.” 2015. Compiled public input to the GoBoston2030 campaign [data not available for OCW] Food for Free data on food scarcity and food rescue around Boston [data not available for OCW] Or any dataset from a previous sketch
14 | Homework 10: Start Sketch 3 Start working on your idea for this sketch, and bring into class: data, audience AND goals! |
15 | Homework 11: Sketch 3 finished, blog post Finish your sketch. Write up your project on the class blog. Include a short title for your project, and all your team member names. Start with a summary sentence in the form: "The data say ________. We want to tell this story because _____." Include sentences saying "Our audience is _______." and "Our goals are _______." Include a 300ish word summary of your data sources and why what you made is an appropriate and effective way to tell the data story. |
Sketch 4: Participatory data games
16 | No homework due | Suggested datasets: Hubway data: 2011-2013 Kyoto cherry blossom flowering dates: data and background NSIDC Arctic sea ice coverage (CSV or GeoTIFF files) Somerville MA tree data [data not available for OCW] NYC tree data US Fuel Economy measurements
17 | Homework 12: Start Sketch 4 Start working on your idea for this sketch, and bring into class: data, audience AND goals! |
18 | Homework 13: Sketch 4 finished, blog post Finish your sketch. Write up your project on the class blog. Include a short title for your project, and all your team member names. Start with a summary sentence in the form: "The data say ________. We want to tell this story because _____." Include sentences saying "Our audience is _______." and "Our goals are _______." Include a 300ish word summary of your data sources and why what you made is an appropriate and effective way to tell the data story. | Sample student work: Participatory data games Donate by Playing: A Fundraising Board Game for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2016) How Much Do You Actually Know About Commuting In Boston? [Hubway experience quiz] (2016)
Sketch 5: Maps and creative maps
19 | Homework 15: Map Somerville tree data Use Tableau or CartoDB to make a map of the Somerville MA tree data Watch the Tableau Basic Mapping Tutorial [9 min video] (requires Tableau registration) Online Mapping for Beginners tutorials from CartoDb | Suggested datasets: NSIDC Arctic sea ice coverage (CSV or GeoTIFF files) Somerville MA tree data [data not available for OCW] NYC tree data 2017 USDA bee colony data (PDF) by state (historical data too) 2015 NStar (now Eversource) gas leaks data, from HEET-MA Leak definitions: Grade 1 is in a contained space and so considered potentially explosive. Grade 2 is near a foundation and so must be watched. Grade 3 is everything else, no matter how big the total volume of emissions.
20 | Homework 16: Start Sketch 5 Start working on your idea for this sketch, and bring into class: data, audience, goals, and question. |
21 | Homework 17: Sketch 5 finished, blog post Finish your sketch. Write up your project on the class blog. Include a short title for your project, and all your team member names. Start with a summary sentence in the form: "The data say ________. We want to tell this story because _____." Include sentences saying "Our audience is _______." and "Our goals are _______." Include a 300ish word summary of your data sources and why what you made is an appropriate and effective way to tell the data story. |
Final project studio
22 | Homework 18: Start final project Read the final project requirements. Think about what topic, datasets, and output technique you want to explore for your final project. This could be building on one of the sketches you did before, or starting something new. |
23 | Homework 19: Begin group work Meet with your group to better define your final project. Come to class ready to tell me: the datasets you're using, the audience(s) on which you are focused, the goals you have for that audience, and the main technique you want to use. |
24 | Homework 20: Testing and check-in Continue working on your final project. Be prepared to present what you've got so far to me. Remember that you need to try it out with a few people in your target audience to test if you are accomplishing your goals. |
25 | Final project completed and presentation Finish your final project. Post your methodology, impact, and presentation slides (if any) as a post on the class blog. Fill in the team-member assessment survey, one for each teammate. Prepare a 5 minute presentation of your final project. This could be us playing the thing you made, a video of it in action, photos from using/showing it somewhere else, or something else. Include an introduction with short descriptions of your datasets, goals, audience. Be sure to summarize your impact findings. | Sample student work: Final projects BeeSmart (2017) Save the Bees (2017) Affluent White Bostonians Unfairly Targeted by Stop and Frisk Practices…Mostly While Leaving SoulCycle (2016)