We use visualization for a lot of different things, and its purpose varies person-to-person. Some use it to report the news. Others use it purely for analysis and decision-making. Some even use it for artistic expression. What do you use visualization for? Select the answer that best fits you below. If you select “other,” let us know what that means in the comments.
{democracy:13}
Analysis, reporting data, and reporting models.
I use visualization for teaching. I teach in a 1:1 laptop environment where students are pretty savvy with all things digital. Data viz has really increased the speed with which students can parse trends, flow, patterns and then analyze for connections, meaning and prediction. I have been evangelizing dataviz for teaching for the better part of a decade and truly enjoy the work of the dataviz producers/creators/magicians ;). Well done and thanks, you make the learning more relevant.
We have incredible sets of data in my field, astronomy. I use data-viz for teaching it. Professional astronomers are “experts” at interpreting graphics (graphs, in particular). We immediately distinguish the important from the mundane. To our students, however, ever part of a graph(ic) has equal importance, or make that, unimportance. A critical part of teaching this is first getting students to find at the important parts and second, figuring out the concept or conclusion that evidence supports. And a great way to teach the first step is getting the students to create the graphic themselves. 100 data pts are a helluva lot more meaningful than 10 when you have to plot them yourself!
…to accentuate and reinforce the strength of my visual learning style. Gives me the confidence that I’m making more educated and informed decisions.