New hands-on classes added today

In response to high demand, we’re adding six hands-on classes today from 4:45-5:45 p.m. Originally, we had no labs scheduled during this time slot due to Lightning Talks. However, we want to be as responsive as possible to the number of attendees seeking hands-on training.

Here are additional hands-on sessions offered today, beginning at 4:45 p.m.:

Python 1: The fundamentals

Location: Lincolnshire

Trainer: Cody Winchester, IRE & NICAR

Description: An introduction to the Python programming language for absolute beginners. This class will cover basic fundamentals and syntax to prepare you for more advanced classes with a focus on data processing and analysis. This session is good for: People who are comfortable working with data in spreadsheets or database managers and want to make the leap to programming.

CARwash: Data cleaning in Excel

Location: Purdue

Trainer: Megan Luther, RayCom Media

Description: Dirty data lurk everywhere: in text files, spreadsheets, databases and PDFs. We'll walk you through some examples of the most common types of dirty data, point out telltale signs of data illness and explain how you can whip data into shape using some simple tools and methods. This session is good for: People with some experience working with data in columns and rows, in spreadsheets or database managers.

R 1: Intro to R and R Studio

Location: Northwestern / Ohio State

Trainer: Charles Minshew, IRE & NICAR

Description: Get a hands-on look at R, the powerful open-source programming language specifically designed to analyze data. In this class we'll explore Chicago municipal salary data, plus get a sneak peek at a couple of other cool things R can do in just a few lines of code. This session is good for: People who are comfortable working with data in a spreadsheet or database, and won't be afraid of typing into a command line.

Excel 1: Getting started with spreadsheets

Location: Great America

Trainer: Sarah Hutchins

Description: In this introduction to spreadsheets, you'll begin analyzing data with Excel, a simple but powerful tool. You'll learn how to enter data, sort it, filter it and conduct simple calculations like sum, average and median. This session is good for: Data beginners.

Excel 3: Pivot tables

Location: Michigan / Michigan State

Trainer: Mark Walker, IRE & NICAR

Description: A look at the awesome power of pivot — and how to use it to analyze your dataset in minutes rather than hours. This session is good for: Anyone familiar with formulas, sorting and filtering in Excel or another spreadsheet program.

SQL 1: Exploring data

Location: Indiana

Trainer: Denise Malan, IRE & NICAR

Description: Learning to manipulate data is a bit like learning a new language. Actually, it is a language, called structured query language (SQL). This session is an introduction to using SQL to zero in on your data by viewing slices and chunks of it and putting it into a useful order so you can spot the stuff you need to get started toward a story. We'll use SQLite and DB Browser, a free database manager. This session is good for: People with some experience working with data in columns and rows, in spreadsheets or database managers.