Data Visualization & Creative Reporting met my original expectations in nearly every sense. Â Â I have gained experience in explaining complex systems and presenting complex results to diverse audiences. Â I have learned to develop effective visualizations and infographics. Â More importantly, I have learned that telling a story with visualizations can be the most effective way to tell a story. Â My perceptions have expanded to understand how numbers can in fact tell a story. Â Likewise, I have learned that doing so effectively is a skill that takes much practice. Â I have also learned to develop dashboards.
I did not feel my skill set was up to par when entering this course. Therefore, I have completed three (3) Lynda training courses and obtained certifications for Tableau, Visio, and R in Excel. Â This has proved very helpful. Â I am very enthralled by creative reporting and visual information design. Â This course has initiated discovery into career possibilities in this realm. Â I have always had a pent up creative side, that my left (logical) brain tends to get in the way of professionally. Â Being able to connect and manifest both sides of my brain in creatively storytelling of complex, logical concepts is perfect for me.
I did have unrealistic expectations of user interface/experience design, web-based reporting, and software applications. Â I now understand how this is outside the scope of this course. Â I will be furthering my R education on Lynda as well as learning Python programming to aid in visual reporting. Â Moreover, I am registered for several free Tableau webinars that I highly recommend. The Tableau website offers a plethora of learning opportunities. Â
This course has been beyond valuable already! I have leveraged my experience and education in the classroom, I have been of greater value to my consulting clients, and I have leveraged my freelance business using visual reporting methods. Â The possibilities are truly endless and my application for the skillset is compounding daily in thought and practice. Â I am excited to delve into expanding possibilities and am grateful I have this presentation capability to apply to my capstone and job search after graduation. Â