DATA 301 Introduction to Data Analytics

Fall (Winter Term 1) 2016 - University of British Columbia Okanagan

Overview

DATA 301 provides an introduction to data analytics to train students with practical industrial techniques for data manipulation, analysis, reporting, and visualization. This was the second course offering. Industrial skills covered include Excel, Excel VBA, databases and SQL, Linux command line, programming/scripting with Python, data analysis with R, GIS, and data visualization including using Tableau.

On-line Resources

• Syllabus

Student Performance

Of the 92 registered students who started the course, 86 got a D or above. The average GPA was 3.64. Charts showing the mark breakdown are below.

Comments

This class was very well received (instructor rating: 4.91). The labs are very practical hands-on, and many students found Excel valuable. Class time is spent doing clicker questions and practice questions on the computer as much as possible. Students in many disciplines (business, arts, science) were able to learn the content even with highly variable backgrounds in computers. More graduate students taking the course with some very good projects.

Strengths of the Course

• "This was the single greatest course I have ever taken in my entire life. I can't think of a better course. I literally love this course. The professor made everything seem so fun! He developed my interest a lot, and made me feel and believe in myself! I wish I could have taken more courses with this professor. The labs were so well designed, and they were challenging enough to get me thinking, but they did not go to the level of becoming frustrating. If I was ever stuck, there was always someone there to help me. I learnt so much from this course that I actually want to write the professor a thank you letter. For some classes, it becomes a challenge to get through the 80 minutes of lecture time, but I honestly can say that I wish the lecture was longer. I would attend Dr. Ramon's classes if they were 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. The professor even hands out candies for class participation which was such a nice thing to do!"
  


• "It was practical knowledge, and more so, the course was formatted so that you were always aware of how the tools being learnt would indeed be practical now, and in the future."
  

Weakness of the Course

• "Feels very frustrating having the comp sci majors in there. I have to legitimately learn and work for this and it's a joke for them. Doesn't create a good environment at all."
  


• "Not particularly challenging for the most part, especially for computer science majors."
  

Most Enjoyable Part of the Course

• "Distributing candies in class just to encourage class participation and fostering their interest is really awesome. It's just a candy but this candy is priceless."
  


• "The material genuinely fostered my interest in the topic. I found myself helping peers by saying things like "you should write a macro" or "you need an if statement", which really signals to me that the prof did a good job of communicating the topic and getting me excited about it. Awesome course 10/10 would recommend."
  


• "The lectures and the labs. The lectures felt like they were labs. Everyone had their computers out, programming, reading, coding, LOVED IT!!!!!!"