Welcome to ENVS 298: Big Data, Graphical Literacy, Environmental Accountability
This is a self contained web site. Imbecilic Blackboard only exists as a front end to this website.
For more information about the course, click on the About this Course link above.
Navigation of this web site is as
follows:
- The Syllabus Link takes you to the course syllabus that might contain some useful information. More information
can also be found in the About This Course link
- The Modules Link contains the table of contents for all of the course content. If at any time you get lost, simply click on the Modules to find your self again.
- The Course Assignments Link will take you to where the assignments are posted. Homework assignments can be done collaboratively.
- The Resources page has links to various products and tools that we will use through out the term.
The links under that page will be frequently updated so visit it often.
- Grading of assignment and tests will still make use of the grade center in Blackboard
A brief course Introduction:
Or maybe this one
Over the last 10 years, partly as a result of "there's an app for that", I have observed that the graphical literacy and quantitative reasoning skills of students are quickly eroding at precisely the time they need to be increasing as the world is becoming more complex. Simply put, college graduates that lack quantitative reasoning skills are going to be non-competitive in the job market. In today's data driven world that requires critical thinking to make informed decisions, no individual can afford to be lacking in quantitative reasoning/data analysis skills. At the very least, college graduate should never be confused by graphical representation of data. Despite this need, we are only tangentially exposing most of our students to these critical areas. The motivation for this new course therefore stems from the need to more formally teach students these skills as they are becoming pervasive in all fields.
Indeed, Quantitative Reasoning (QR)/Quantitative Literacy (QL) skills are essential for social justice: Quoting from Wiest et al (2007):
"Without quantitative understanding . . . laypersons may be relatively powerless compared with a small number of individuals with specialized knowledge. . . . Informed political decision-making, and the vast majority of choices we make in our personal, occupational, and civic lives can be better served by improved [QR] skills"
Moreover, Paulos (2001) argues that innumerate people characteristically have a strong tendency to personalize--to be misled by their own experiences, or by the media's focus on individuals and drama He then further elucidates that one consequence of innumeracy is increased belief in pseudoscience, a situation which has historically plagued many cultures.
Indeed, some time ago Murnane etal (1995) demonstrated that basic cognitive skills, including the ability to follow directions, understand fractions, and interpret line graphs, have become increasingly needed in the labor market. Clearly QR/QL is critical for success in today's technologically-oriented and data-driven world. At least one institution, Skidmore College now has a QR requirement for graduation (see: http://www.skidmore.edu/qr/qr_help.htm). Their rationale for this requirement is succinctly put:
We cannot avoid numerical information as we carry on our lives in the new millennium
|