Data Visualization MOOC - Week I in Review

   After a first week in my MOOC, I thought it would be worthwhile to share some observations.  But first, I'd like to recap the week's work as outlined in the course syllabus.
   To get introduced to the field of data visualization, the instructor taped a video that was required watching. There was nothing fancy about the production values of the video.  Much of the video was the instructor's voice shedding light on screen shots that offered insights into infographics. History, the evolution of design and technologies and current practices were emphasized. For convenience, the video was broken up into seven component parts; total viewing time was about 40 minutes.
   There was required reading as well. Chapters 1 and 2 from The Functional Art (authored by our professor) were well illustrated readings that picked up on the themes introduced in the video. Not surprisingly, the text readings allowed for far greater depth of understanding.
   A distinctly online part of the week's requirement was an analysis of an infographic and participation in a chat about the selected infographic.  There were five infographics to choose from.  The first dealt with comparative defense statistics, the second social media demographics, the third the state of graphic design, the fourth was about traveling like a president and the fifth on the best times to post to various social media platforms.  I chose the third - the state of graphic design -  and offered some thoughts about what i liked and did not like about this graphic representation of information.  I commented on other people's observations, and people commented on my comments. this is what a chat room is all about.
   A last requirement was to take a quiz.  Initially, I wondered about the format of the quiz. No information was provided other than we had 30 minutes to complete it. But when I clicked open the quiz and saw only multiple choice questions, it dawned on me that any MOOC that includes quiz/test assessments will always steer clear of essay style answers.  With thousands of enrollees, there is no way essays can be read and graded.
   Above are listed the basic requirements for week I. The professor supplied quite a few supplementary materials from videos to blog links to web sites to infographics. In other words, the ambitious student had plenty of directed instruction to dig deeper into the topics introduced in week I. 

A highly regarded infographic that appeared in the NY Times. It sheds light on voting patterns from our last presidential election.

   More tomorrow on being a student in this MOOC.....