The Advanced Learning Certificate in Data Visualization & Communication leverages tools like Excel and PowerPoint that are already on your computer to build your skills at visualizing data and communicating it to various audiences.
Applications for Spring 2024 closed on January 28, 2024.
Schedule
Fridays, February 9 & 23, March 8, April 5 & 19, 2024
Online Program: The 5 session online program includes live meetings via Zoom with asynchronous work in between the meetings. Class meets by Zoom on alternate Fridays, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (CST).
Program Description
In a fast-paced world with ever more information surrounding us, the ability to share information succinctly and use data to tell compelling stories has become a vital skill. This certificate program will be helpful to professionals in a range of settings who create reports, presentations, and other communications using data.
Class meetings provide students with opportunities to learn and apply data visualization best practices for developing charts in Excel and other visuals for dissemination products, such as presentations, dashboards, reports, and one-pagers. During the session, the participants will learn the importance of creating a dissemination plan to tailor products to specific audiences, learn strategies to engage stakeholders with data findings, and strategies for telling stories with data. The certificate program offers a variety of hands-on activities so the participants have opportunities to practice their new skills.
By the end of the program, participants will:
- Understand data visualization best practices and principles, as well as why these best practices support comprehension of data
- Be able to identify best practices for communicating and presenting both quantitative and qualitative data
- Have a fundamental understanding of how to apply best practices to creating charts in Excel and layouts/visuals in PowerPoint
- Develop a dissemination plan that includes identification of tailored products for different audiences
The instructors encourage participants to bring their own dataset or projects to the class and used for class assignments and activities to create products that will be useful for their own agency setting or interests.
Instructors
Nikole is the director at the Evaluation Center. She has over 18 years of experience in program and systems-level evaluation, project management, evaluation capacity-building, data visualization, and innovative and effective dissemination and reporting. One of the things Nikole loves most about being an evaluator is the diverse set of responsibilities – from designing meaningful evaluations, to analyzing data, to effectively communicating findings into actionable recommendations, and supporting stakeholders as they build their capacity to better understand, document, and communicate their impact. She leads evaluation activities for a number of Center projects, co-facilitates the development and implementation of the Center’s strategic plan, provides operational guidance for Center staff, and identifies and implements new opportunities and partnerships.
Meihsi is the assistant director of evaluation and dissemination manager at the Brown School’s Evaluation Center. She manages projects with a focus on process and outcome evaluation, evaluation capacity, survey design, and quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. She offers an extensive background in project management and visual communications. Meihsi brings her creativity and passion for data visualization together to develop products and approaches that communicate research data and evaluation findings in meaningful and understandable ways. Before joining the Evaluation Center, Meihsi was a child protection service social worker in Taiwan and has over 7 years of front-line experience working with disadvantaged children and youth in urban areas and indigenous tribes in Taiwan.
Is This Program for Me?
The program is appropriate for professionals who have not been trained as graphic artists but who have an interest in more skillfully accessing widely available software programs (such as Excel and PowerPoint) to improve the effectiveness of their presentation of data. Participants should have a basic working knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint, as well as comfort manipulating descriptive statistics. The class content does not include computer coding or advanced statistical methods.
Learn More & Apply
Learn more and register online through Brown School Professional Development.
This course will be conducted via a virtual Zoom meeting online format and Canvas. Access to a computer/laptop with internet access is required. Please contact Professional Development with any questions.
Price & CEU/CPH
$1995
Continuing Education Information:
- 45 Missouri/Illinois social work CEUs
- 45 public health CPH units