This is our proposal to SXSW Interactive 2015! Please vote for us at http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote Summary: As the demand for producing high-quality data visualizations grow, so does the demand for high-quality instruction. How can students combine statistics, design, and programming to understand and visualize data? Courses in data visualization are now being offered in a wide array of fields: journalism, computer science, art, and public policy, to name a few. And in addition to traditional learning settings such as universities, online courses are allowing more people to learn these skills, but also create new questions about the most effective ways to teach these skills. In this panel, we propose to discuss the challenges surrounding teaching data visualization, a topic that is receiving increased attention and scrutiny (see, for example, this recent Data Stories podcast: http://datastori.es/ds37-teaching-visualization-w-scott-murray-and-andy-kirk/).

1. I’m not a teacher; only a
fellow traveler of whom
you asked the way.
I pointed ahead – ahead of
myself as well as you.
- George Bernard Shaw

2. In April 2015, 4 experts will
convene at SXSW to discuss
the challenges & issues of
teaching data visualization

3. Kaiser Fung
Junkcharts.com, Vimeo,
& New York University

4. Cole Nussbaumer
Storytellingwithdata.com &
Maryland Institute
College of Art

5. Jonathan Schwabish
PolicyViz.com,
Urban Institute,
& Georgetown University

6. Ben Shneiderman
University of Maryland-College Park

7. ?
What skills should
students expect to have
upon completing a course
in data visualization?

8. ?
Are there specific
resources, websites,
tools, or methods that
can be used to improve
instruction?

9. ?
Should data visualization
courses focus on a single
tool, multiple tools, or no
tools at all?

10. ?
To what extent should a
data visualization course
touch upon statistics and
working with data?

11. ?
What are the best types
of exercises, examples,
homeworks, and exams?

12. Vote for us!
http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote
The Challenge of Teaching
Data Visualization
SXSW Interactive
Austin, TX, March 2015