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Data visualization chart

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Journalism Needs Data in 21st Century Journalism has always been about reporting facts and assertions and making sense of world affairs. No news there. But as we move further into the 21st century, we will have to increasingly rely on "data" to feed our stories, to the point that "data-driven reporting" becomes second nature to journalists. The shift from facts to data is subtle and makes perfect sense. With this mindset, finding mainstream data-driven stories doesn't take long at all. There is nothing new about pointing out the importance of public data being made available. Thus far, this has made a lot of sense to me, and I have been tracking the publication of linked data and increasing access to public knowledge as emerging trends over at Talis. First, there was data.gov and President Obama's call for more access to government data. Then about a month ago, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown made it part of his digital strategy to prioritize the publication of government information.

Data science We’ve all heard it: according to Hal Varian, statistics is the next sexy job. Five years ago, in What is Web 2.0, Tim O’Reilly said that “data is the next Intel Inside.” But what does that statement mean? Why do we suddenly care about statistics and about data? In this post, I examine the many sides of data science — the technologies, the companies and the unique skill sets. The web is full of “data-driven apps.” One of the earlier data products on the Web was the CDDB database. Google is a master at creating data products. Google’s breakthrough was realizing that a search engine could use input other than the text on the page. Flu trends Google was able to spot trends in the Swine Flu epidemic roughly two weeks before the Center for Disease Control by analyzing searches that people were making in different regions of the country. Google isn’t the only company that knows how to use data. In the last few years, there has been an explosion in the amount of data that’s available.

How to be a data journalist Data journalism is huge. I don't mean 'huge' as in fashionable - although it has become that in recent months - but 'huge' as in 'incomprehensibly enormous'. It represents the convergence of a number of fields which are significant in their own right - from investigative research and statistics to design and programming. The idea of combining those skills to tell important stories is powerful - but also intimidating. Who can do all that? The reality is that almost no one is doing all of that, but there are enough different parts of the puzzle for people to easily get involved in, and go from there. 1. 'Finding data' can involve anything from having expert knowledge and contacts to being able to use computer assisted reporting skills or, for some, specific technical skills such as MySQL or Python to gather the data for you. 2. 3. 4. Tools such as ManyEyes for visualisation, and Yahoo! How to begin? So where does a budding data journalist start? Play around. And you know what?

Immersive games beats classroom in maths Well designed studyThe tested a hypothesis; that interactive maths games are more effective than classroom instruction. This was a well constructed study; The Effects of Modern Math Computer Games on Learners' Math Achievement and Math Course Motivation in a Public High School Setting, MansurehKebritchi, Ph.D., AtsusiHirumi, Ph.D. and HaiyanBai, Ph.D. They took 193 algebra students, control groups and then did evaluation through pre- and post-study assessments, surveys, classroom observations and interviews. They used an immersive video game world that engages students in the instruction and learning of mathematics. Gamers do better at mathsStudents who played the math video games scored significantly higher on the district-wide math benchmark exam, F (1, 188) = 6.93, p < .05, and on the math performance test generated by the publisher, F (1, 188) = 8.37, p <.05, than students who did not play the games.

Education Eye - Mapping Innovations About Education Eye Futurelab's Education Eye brings you a wide range of exciting, relevant and useful innovations which are selected from the best of the web and updated daily. The Eye provides a way to discover, explore and share new ideas. It maps hundreds of the top educational websites, blogs, forums and practitioner case studies. Visit the links below to find out more about Education Eye: Many thanks to Becta and Futurelab's design and development team for supporting and working hard on the Eye. Tour of features The Education Eye key features include A searchable, browsable space which leads you to discover new and exciting innovations tailored to the education industry and brought together in one easy-to-use location. Try the 'More like this' suggestions to discover similar innovations that you will likely find interesting. View Futurelab's favourites to see what we like, or see what other people are interested in using the 'most shared' search feature. Back to Top Back to top Terms of use

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