To create a submission, click on the link, and then click on “Accept
this assignment”. After going through the process, GitHub will create
a repository for you called assignment-1-${USERNAME}, where
${USERNAME} is your GitHub username. This is the GitHub repository
you will use for the submission.
Submission deadlines are entirely strict except for extraordinary reasons. Good work is iterative, and so getting in the habit of working on submissions well ahead of the deadline will mean you are doing better work. Quality of work is part of what we are assessing you on.
Your first assignment is to fill out this questionnaire and submit it via GitHub. This is mostly so that I have a chance to learn somthing about you, but it’s also to ensure you know how GitHub works, to ensure I know how GitHub classroom works, and to ensure that I can see your submissions.
You will turn in a single plain-text file called answers.txt.
This file should contain the answers to the questions below, formatted
roughly like this.
1. I want to take this course because I want to learn about
d3; I hear it will land me a great job.
2. Java, Javascript, C#, PHP.
3. Java.
4. no answer.
You are not required to answer any of the questions if you don’t want to, but non-submission does not count: please write “no answer” if that’s the case.
I am going to use the answers to calibrate the remainder of the course, so this is an opportunity for you to influence where the course goes. There are no right or wrong answers in this questionnaire. All I ask is you answer honestly, without trying to figure out what I might want to read. The more you write, the more I’ll know about your expectations and what you are interested in.
Do not submit zip files. Git allows you to submit many files for one assignment with no trouble.
Do not submit files all under a subdirectory in your
repository. Each homework assignment will be a different
repository. So if you’re working on (say) assignment 3 in a folder,
your git repository will be itself in a folder called
assignment-3-..., and you do not need an additional subdirectory.
We’re not going to deduct any points for these mistakes right now, but having to handle different cases separately makes our grading scripts much harder.
Why are you taking this course?
What do you think you’ll learn in this course?
What programming languages are you comfortable with?
Which programming language are you most comfortable with?
Have you ever created a data visualization? What was it?
During the course of your studies, what’s the largest dataset you’ve had to deal with? What tools did you use?
What’s the best visualization you’ve ever seen? Why do you like it?
What’s the worst visualization you’ve ever seen? Why do you not like it?
How would you assess your own programming skills, compared to what you would imagine the class composition to be? Please give an estimate in terms of percentiles.
How would you assess your own mathematical skills, compared to what you would imagine the class composition to be? Please give an estimate in terms of percentiles.
Version control. Do you use it regularly/have you used it before?
How much experience do you have with Git?
How much experience do you have with GitHub?
Tell me about something interesting you learned recently. This can really be anything. For example, if you were meeting with a friend, what would you chat about? Possible answers: books, ideas, films, art, TV shows, blogs, podcasts, etc. This answer really does not have to be about data visualization.
By far, the best place to learn about GitHub is the GitHub Guides page. My favorite reference and learning material for Git itself is Pro Git, a book which is freely available online.