Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
ITEC200 Data and Information Management
Incompatible
DATA201 Data Analytics and Visualisation , ITEC300 - Data Visualisation
Teaching organisation
150 hours over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period
Unit rationale, description and aim
The increasing use of digital technologies has resulted in generation and storage of vast amount of data. Data needs to be processed to provide valuable insights that enable improved decisions, processes, products or services. Hence, increasingly, organisations need people with the ability to extract, consolidate, analyse data from diverse sources and present information generated from data in an insightful manner, such as visualisations.
In this unit you will learn the skills in data management and visualisation to capture, store, model, transform, analyse and visualise data to extract ‘meaning’ (i.e., comprehensible and useable information) from raw datasets. Also, you will learn how to apply data visualisation methods and tools that enable presentation of large volumes of data including geodata for decision makers to easily identify underlining patterns. This unit is designed in alignment with Microsoft’s curriculum and provides a pathway to the Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals certification.
The primary aim of this unit is to equip students with the data management and data visualisation knowledge and skills required to solve the real-world data problems, including data-driven solutions to support our responsibility to the common good, the environment and society.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description |
|---|---|
| LO1 | Describe business value and various tools for data management, analytics & visualisation, and their applications |
| LO2 | Integrate existing data from multiple sources into a single store using a scalable data service and build no-code apps for data entry |
| LO3 | Apply data management and visualisation tools and techniques to derive useful insights from raw data |
| LO4 | Create intelligible and insightful data visualisation artefacts such as charts and dashboards to support our responsibility to the common good, the environment and society |
Content
Topics will include:
- Data visualisation concepts and principles
- Introduction to Microsoft Power Platform Creating data-driven apps in Microsoft Power Apps for capturing data
- Managing data using Microsoft Dataverse
- Prepare Data for Analysis
- Model Data in Power BI
- Visualise data in Power BI
- Data Analysis in Power BI
- Connecting and merging multiple data sources
- Different types of data visualisations and their purpose
- Reports and dashboards
- Visualising geodata
- Microsoft Power Automate
- Microsoft Power Virtual Agents
- Social and environmental applications of Data Analytics and Visualisation
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is offered in two different modes (“Multi” mode and “Online” mode) to cater to the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants and maximise effective participation for isolated and/or marginalised groups.
Multi-Mode
In a multi-mode, students will require face-to-face attendance in blocks of time determined by the School. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for students to prepare and revise.
Online Mode
This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.
Students should anticipate undertaking 150 hours of study for this unit, including class attendance, readings, online forum participation and assessment preparation.
Assessment strategy and rationale
To pass this unit, students are required to achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure the level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment.
Assessment methods incorporate problem-based tasks, case studies and practical/hands-on tasks that are relevant to the real-world needs. The first assessment provides students with an opportunity to perform various data analytics and visualisations tasks in the lab. In assessment task 2, students will apply the knowledge and practical skills they have gained in the unit to implement data visualisation for a given case study to satisfy the needs of different stakeholders. The aim of this assignment is to equipment students with the skills of creating novel data visualisations to effectively reveal the narratives behind the data. Assessment 3 allows students to demonstrate the depth of their knowledge and understanding of database technology concepts and tools through Microsoft Certification Exam.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment 1: Developmental Exercises This assessment consists of a series of exercises, including data analytics and visualisation using the Microsoft PowerBI & other Power Platform tools. The feedback from this assessment will help students to be ready to apply the concepts in the next assessments. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Practical task Artefact: Program Files | 25% | LO1, LO2, LO3 |
Assessment Task 2: Certification Exam This assessment task requires student to undertake PL-900: Microsoft Power Platform Fundamental Certification Exam. The exam assesses students’ foundational knowledge of core concepts of data visualisation and how they are implemented using Microsoft Power Platform. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Exam Artefact: Certification | 35% | LO1, LO2 |
Assessment Task 3: Online Engagement & Data Visualisation Project Part A: Online Engagement This assessment consists of a series of online activities such as participation in online discussion forums and completing exercises. The activities in part A, will develop students’ skills required for completing Part B. Part B: Data Visualisation Project This assignment is designed to implement data visualisation for a given case study. Students will analyse data and create a number of charts/dashboards to provide insight into the problems outlined in the case study and demonstrate the application of data visualisation for preservation of the common good, environment and society. To ensure academic integrity student are required to present their work in class or record and submit a video presentation. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Practical task Artefact: Written report + Program file + presentation
| 40% (10% online engagement + 30% Final Project Submission) | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Representative texts and references
Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/paths/power-plat-fundamentals/)
Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/data-analyst-associate/ )
Mitchell Pearson, Brian Knight, Devin Knight, Manuel Quintana, 2020, Pro Microsoft Power Platform: Solution Building for the Citizen Developer, O'Reilly Media, Inc, USA.
Deckler, G. & Powell, B. 2021, Microsoft Power BI Cookbook: Gain expertise in Power BI with over 90 hands-on recipes, tips, and use cases, 2nd Edition, Packet Publishing.
O'Connor, E 2019, Microsoft Power BI Dashboards Step by Step, 1st edition. Microsoft Press.
Albright, SC & Winston, WL 2020, Business analytics: data analysis and decision making, 7th edn, Cengage Learning Inc.