The document summarizes a presentation about using Google Charts to visualize data from Degree Works. It discusses the benefits of Google Charts, including being free and easy to use. Several types of Google Charts are demonstrated, such as geo charts, word trees, word clouds, and bubble charts. Examples show how they can be used to visualize advising issues, curriculum reviews, and other insights from student data in Degree Works. Caveats of each chart type are also provided. The presentation aims to help decide if and how Google Charts can be effectively used to communicate important trends in institutional data.

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Degree Works, Business Intelligence
& Google Charts
Josh Whitlock
East Tennessee State University
April 10, 2015
Session ID: 12298

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Session rules of etiquette
• Please turn off your cell phone/pager
• If you must leave the session early, please do so as discreetly as possible
• Please avoid side conversation during the session
Thank you for your cooperation!

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1 Introduction
2 Why Use Google Charts?
3 Selected Google Charts
4 Final Details
5 Summary
Agenda

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Introduction
• Purpose of this Presentation
• Examine the use of Google Charts as a low-cost method of presenting
data in context-rich ways
• Benefits of Attending this Session
• Learn more about Google Charts and if they’re right for you

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Why Use Google Charts?

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Google Charts
• Google Charts API (Application Program
Interface)
– Bubble Chart
– Word Trees
– Word Clouds
– Geo Charts

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Google Charts
• Why use Google Charts?
– Business Intelligence
• Identify and communicate importance of trends in data
– Cost
• Numerous alternatives to Google Charts
– Argos, SAP, iDashboards, Excel
• Google Charts are free

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Google Charts
• Why use Google Charts?
– Ease of use
• Well documented
• You do have to know how to write some code
– Cost
• There is still a lot of work to do with the API
• It is not as robust as more robust alternatives
• It is free though

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Argos
• ETSU uses Argos for functional user reporting
• Argos allows you to create graphics and
dashboards
– Difficult / time consuming to build complex
dashboards
• Better to build queries in the Report Query window first, so
you can test it, but this is time consuming if you have multiple
graphics on your dashboard

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Argos Chart
• Degree Works Notes by Program

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Google Chart
• Same report data with a Google Pie Chart

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Excel Chart
• Same report data with an Excel Chart

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Google Charts
• Google Charts is on a spectrum of tools that you can use
to present data
• You must decide:
– What do you need to present?
• Data ≠ Information
– Who needs to see it?
• Excel is fine for interoffice communication, but perhaps not for
displaying on the web?
– How much are you willing to spend?

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Possible Uses
• Advisement
– What are the problems most students encounter?
– Are there geographic differences in student groups?
• Management / Control
– Which advisors / colleges are using notes?
– Why are there so many exceptions in a given
program?

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Selected Google Charts

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More Advanced Google Charts
• Geo Chart
• Word Tree
• Word Cloud
• Bubble Chart

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Geo Chart

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Geo Chart

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Geo Chart - Code

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Geo Chart Notes
• Possibilities:
– Map Other Institutions that Have Degree Works
• Transfer Students that are used to Degree Works
– Where do students with most substitutions come
from?
• Caveats:
– Large result sets = long load times
– Outliers can skew the presentation

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Word Tree

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Word Tree – Second Try

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Word Tree – Third Try

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Word Tree – Code

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Word Tree Notes
• Possibilities:
– Department review of curriculum
• Courses that have to be articulated
– Should we offer them?
– Identify common advisement issues
• Commonly substituted department “requirements”

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Word Tree Notes
• Caveats:
– Use implicit words to narrow your focus
– Strip out punctuation and any filler words that
you may not care about
• Be careful you do not change the underlying
meaning of the text

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Word Cloud

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Word Cloud – Code

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Word Cloud Notes
• Possibilities:
– Similar to the Word Tree
• Caveats:
– Clunky data table format
• The number of cells has to be consistent, even if
you have no data for a cell

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Bubble Chart

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Bubble Chart – Second Try

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Bubble Chart - Code

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Bubble Chart - Notes
• Possibilities:
– Correlation between:
• Notes & Plans per department / college
• Notes & GPA per department / college
• Caveats
– Make sure you think through your x & y axis

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Final Details

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Pulling it all together

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FAQ
• Where does the data come from?
• How long does this take to build?
• What should be displayed / avoided?

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Summary
• Google Charts are one tool out of many
• Degree Works collects unique data points that could provide
insight on students
• You have to decide what information is relevant

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Questions & Answers

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Thank you!
Josh Whitlock
whitlocj@etsu.edu
Evelyn Roach
roache@etsu.edu
Please complete the online session evaluation form.
Session ID 12298