By: Hailey Temple
Students from the New Explorations in Information and Science (NEXIS) lab will host the first NEXIS-X event of the semester – the topic is data visualization. The seminar will be held February 6 from 1:30 – 2:30 PM at the ICE Box, located on the second floor of Hinds Hall.
The NEXIS-X events encourage proactive peer-to-peer education by connecting students involved in NEXIS, a lab at the School of Information Studies (iSchool) focused on project-based learning. The monthly seminars provide a quick overview of the topic and methods to explore through hands-on projects and tools. Braden Croy, Director of NEXIS and Manager of Entrepreneurial Programs at the iSchool, sees mutual benefits for attendees and NEXIS members from peer-to-peer events.
“NEXIS-X gives attendees a special forum to learn from friends or someone they know from class and to find a community working together to grow and succeed. For NEXIS members, it provides the challenge to synthesize information from their projects and share work with others,” said Croy.
The data visualization seminar will provide attendees insights into the evolution of data visualization and design techniques to enhance visualization displays. Billy Ceskavich, a NEXIS member and Syracuse University Engagement Fellow, will lead the event and share his experiences using data visualization through iSchool courses and personal interest.
“Data visualization is something students at Syracuse University can use in data-based projects, and many already have a background in design and technology. I want them to see there are students out there with these interests and give them ways to keep studying this field,” said Ceskavich.
The NEXIS team hopes to make data visualization more accessible to NEXIS-X attendees. With its interdisciplinary approach and the amount of data people use on a daily basis, data visualization is a valuable way to help users understand massive quantities of data.
“What makes data useful is the power harness and display the information for the common user so they can interpret and understand that data,” said Croy. “ At NEXIS-X, we want to show how beautiful data can be and give attendees resources to go out and do it themselves.”
Learn more about NEXIS and events on Twitter.