All our data literacy and data culture work is grounded in real workshops with community groups, non-profits, governments and businesses. However, I am an academic working at a university, so I also publish papers and go to conferences and such. For any others in that vein, below is information about a Data Literacy workshop I’m planning with Catherine D’Ignazio and Firaz Peer at the Participatory Design Conference this August. This is part of larger our efforts to build a larger group of peers working on these topics, and translate our collective learnings for use with a non-academic audience!
Learn more at http://firazpeer.lmc.gatech.edu/pdcworkshop/
Data Literacy Workshops as Participatory Design
A workshop at the Participatory Design Conference, Belgium, Aug 21, 2018.
About the workshop
Big Data analysis and data-driven decision-making are buzzwords that are quickly becoming aspirational goals within industry and government settings. This so called data revolution has resulted in what some have called a data divide, where those with privileged access and knowledge about such data are given a seat at the bargaining table, while the voices of those who lack such skills, continue to be ignored. The data literacy workshop we are proposing is designed to work with the data newcomers within our communities, to give them a chance to use publically available data as a resource to advocate for change. Grounded within the Participatory Design goals of equalizing power relations through democratic practices, the workshop activities allow data newcomers to engage constructively with issues that they care about. Our goal in proposing these sets of activities as a workshop is to generate discussions around data literacy, engagement, empowerment, access, power and privilege that are typically associated with data and cities, and build connections between the PDC audience and the data literacy practitioners so they can take this research forward in innovative ways
Our goal in proposing this interactive data literacy workshop to the PDC audience is to offer it as a method that they can use to engage with those who are new to data and analysis. We hope to create connections between the PD discipline and practitioners within the data literacy space to learn from each other and inform this emerging field, to try to move the needle away from boring spreadsheet trainings conducted in dry online settings. We are interested in learning how our attendees define the term ‘data literacy’ within their own research and practice, and the tools, methods and techniques they use to operationalize it. In addition to demonstration of our methods, our workshop schedule also sets aside time for discussions and brainstorming of additional activities/techniques within this pedagogical realm. We would like to get a sense of what empowerment through data means to our participants and the communities they collaborate with. How can designers negotiate power and privilege differentials in relation to access and skills of working with data?
To participate
We invite researchers, practitioners, activists, educators and designers who are interested in furthering the state of data literacy within their communities to submit short position papers (upto 1500 words). We invite researchers, practitioners, activists, educators and designers who are interested in furthering the state of data literacy within their communities to submit short position papers (up to 1500 words). We are open to a range of paper topics. For example, your paper might discuss how you conceive of data literacy or your research methods of choice. Your paper might discuss examples of data literacy and raise questions over what constitutes ethical engagement and empowerment. Your paper might outline uncharted territory in relation to identity, power and data literacy – including challenging the concept and emerging norms of data literacy. Or, finally, the paper might talk about interesting approaches to data literacy and how they might be made part of the workshop activities.
Papers should be in the ACM format as suggested by the PDC organizers and should be submitted to the organizers before May 10, 2018. Final decision on acceptance will be communicated to the applicants by May 25th, 2018.
Please email your position papers to firazpeer@gatech.edu. We expect to select a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 participants to take part in this workshop. Accepted participants will need to register for the workshop through the conference website.
Conference website: https://pdc2018.org/
Workshop website: http://firazpeer.lmc.gatech.edu/pdcworkshop/
Organizers
- Firaz Peer, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Rahul Bhargava, MIT Media Lab
- Catherine D’Ignazio, Emerson College
Data Therapy 