CS 5/631, Spring 2020

Assignments

How is this year’s session of CS 631 different from all other years? In two ways:

1. In all other years, we have met in person, but this year, we meet via video call;
2. In all other years, we were a smaller group; this year, we have more than twenty students!

These changes mean we have to make a few changes from how we have handled assignments, but also open up some exciting possibilities. We will have several

Labs

After each lab, you will submit your completed writeup on Sakai. The labs themselves typically follow a general pattern of “follow along, and then extend on your own”. It is entirely possible just to blindly run the code in the lab notebook files; I strongly suggest that you do not do this. Instead, treat the lab instructions as a suggested path, but do make sure to explore on your own. Is one of the parts using an R function or technique that is new to you? Try changing it, and see if you can figure out how it works. The plots in the lab are meant to be starting points: change axes, labels, colors, etc.

Lab submissions will be graded pass/fail- as long as you upload something showing evidence of having worked through the lab (including completing any challenges, extra questions, etc.), you’ll pass, even if you weren’t able to get everything to work. That said, in this world of distance learning, I expect all of you to be proactive in seeking help either directly by asking about it during our lab sessions, or via the Sakai forums.

Assignments

We will have several small- to medium-sized assignments through the term, which will be posted on the relevant day’s schedule page.

KWLA Essay

As we progress through the term, you will be working on a “KWLA” paper:

• At the beginning of the term, you will write the first section (~1 page) about what you already know about data visualization…
• … and a second section (~1 page) about what you want to learn during the class.
• At the end of the term, you will write a longer summary (~2 pages) of what you learned …
• … as well as how you plan to apply it in your future studies, research, and work (~2 pages).

You will keep notes for the “L” and “A” sections throughout the class.

Due dates:

• “K”, “W” essays: Apr. 6
• “L”, “A” (appended ot the “K”/”W” sections): Jun. 19

Note that these are not intended to be research papers. They are meant to be personal essays. If you are unclear about the difference, the Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab has a useful set of resources about different types of writing assignments. Also, please feel free to come to office hours to discuss or anything else relating to the class.

Final Project: Portfolio Site & Final Visualization

You will prepare a professional portfolio site containing the various end products of the assignments. Additionally, you will assemble an additional final visualization on the dataset of your choice, which you will include in the portfolio and present (briefly) in class during the last week.

Due date: Jun. 12, plus a short in-class presentation during the last week.