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This website features work from the completion of Phase 1 of the SCALES Project.

We are currently seeking partnerships for Phase 2.

Graduate

  • Homework 10 & 11: Sketch 3

    Start working on your idea for this sketch, and bring into class: data, audience AND goals!

    Finish your sketch.

    Read more: Homework 10 & 11: Sketch 3

  • Homework 9: How to tell a story

    Read Paige Williams, “How to tell a story: The Moth.” Nieman Storyboard (Harvard), August 2012. Choose and listen to one Moth Story. Write down and bring to class your analysis, as Paige Williams lists in her article’s item #3.

    Read more: Homework 9: How to tell a story

  • Homework 7 & 8: Sketch 2

    Start working on your idea for this sketch. Come to class with with:

    • The data you are going to use (remember to go data shopping!)
    • The audience you want to make something for (remember "general public" is an unacceptable audience!)
    • Good but not required: one abstract word in your data story that you need help representing in concrete ways ("inequality", "hate", "asylum", etc.)

    Finish your sketch.

    Read more: Homework 7 & 8: Sketch 2

  • Homework 5 & 6: Sketch 1

    Come to class knowing what dataset you are working on, an outline of the story, and a sketch of what you want to make.

    Finish your sketch.

    Write up your project on the class blog. Start with a summary sentence in the form: "The data say ________. We want to tell this story because _____." Include a 300ish word summary of your data sources and why what you made is an appropriate and effective way to tell the data story.

    Read more: Homework 5 & 6: Sketch 1

  • Homework 2: Data Log

    Create an activity log of all the types of data you create and are captured in digital form during the course of one day, and enter it on the class blog.

    Read more: Homework 2: Data Log

  • Homework 1: Visualization Blog

    Write a post on the class blog about a data presentation you saw recently (250ish words). Include a link and a picture/screenshot of the presentation. Make sure to address:

    • what data is being shown
    • who you think the audience is
    • what you think the goals of the data presentation are
    • whether you think it is effective or not and why
    Read more: Homework 1: Visualization Blog

  • Reaction Papers

    Students are responsible for writing a 1–2 page reaction paper based on the readings (or another assigned topic) for each week's class for a total of eight reaction papers. Papers are due in the class for which the reading is assigned. Reaction papers are your personal response to the week's readings. These papers should offer an overview of the main points of the book or articles under consideration. It should also include your own assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of these readings and, if possible, should link the reading at hand to other readings from the course or topics discussed in class.

    Read more: Reaction Papers

  • Project of Change or Research Paper

    Beginning in week four, students should form groups of not more than four students to work collaboratively on either 1) a final research paper or 2) a proposal for a project that responds to a contemporary issue in environmental justice. The project of change or research paper may be designed in collaboration with a local public agency or community-based organization, or by the team without outside consultation.

    Read more: Project of Change or Research Paper

  • Current Event Facilitation

    On the first day of class, each student will sign up for one week of the course’s readings that are of interest, to relate the day’s readings to a current event and to facilitate a 20-minute discussion about the assigned material.

    Read more: Current Event Facilitation

  • Weekly Response Papers

    Each student will write brief weekly response papers of not more than 500 words each (35%). These should present a critical assessment of the assigned material and not a mere restatement of content (link to class readings). The responses give you an opportunity to analyze key ideas that cut across readings, identify questions the readings prompt you to ask, suggest critiques of the data, methodology, or conclusions, or raise concepts you want to clarify.

    Read more: Weekly Response Papers

Notice something that doesn’t seem right? Want to make a suggestion or provide feedback about how something is classified? 
Please reach out to esi [at] mit.edu and include SCALES Website in the subject of your email.
Feedback and any actions taken with regards to the feedback, will be shared as they are addressed.