Using Big Data Sources in the Classroom

Description

This workshop is designed for art and design educators to learn how to leverage Big Data sources in their classroom environment. While many Big Data sets are free and available for public use, the technical barrier to sourcing and then distilling Big Data sets into a useful form can be daunting to artists, designers or educators who may want to use the data for their own art. This demonstration will cover how to locate Big Data sources, parse the data, and use the data in an artistic visualization that can then be brought into the classroom.

Timetable

10-minute overview of Big Data 10-minute review of artists/designers using Big Data 15-minute demonstration of Processing 15-minute allowing participates to engage with Processing 20-minute demonstration of accessing Big Data and displaying with Processing 10-minutes allowing participates to engage with Big Data sources 10-minute Q and A

Interaction

The participants will be directly using Processing and Big Data sources to create their own visualizations on their laptops.

Takeaway

All participants will be exposed to Processing, will know where to find Big Data sources, will be able to identify usable data sources, and will learn how to create visuals based on the data sources.

Outcomes

I will monitor how participants use the Big Data sources in order to better assess my own teaching methods.

Abstract

From algorithmic financial software that is driving the perceived value of human owned assets to personal medical data which is used to make national policy decisions, Big Data is beginning to effect more of human lives than ever before. However, Big Data and algorithms are not neutral. They shape behavior primarily through their ability to conceal or reveal and subsequently, they shape how the world is perceived. Why are certain pieces of data collected, parsed, isolated, visualized and then distributed? Who gets to make decisions about how Big Data is used?

This demonstration explores the relationship between Big Data, the visual arts, and education. While many Big Data sets are free and available for public use, the technical barrier to sourcing and then distilling Big Data sets into a useful form can be daunting to visual artists, designers, and educators who may want to use the data for their own art, design or in the classroom. This demonstration will cover how to locate Big Data sources, parse the data, and use the data in an artistic visualization. Specifically, the demonstration will use live astronomical data provided by NASA which will be accessed through NASA’s API. The demonstration will also show how to use a flexible programming language designed for visual arts, Processing, to parse and visualize the data. The demonstration does not require any experience with either Big Data or programming.