Instructor: Dr. Shyamal Mitra
Office Hours: TTh 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Location: GDC 6.320
E-mail: mitra@cs.utexas.edu

Student Assistant: Muhammad Muaz
Office Hours: T: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm, F: 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Location: Zoom on Canvas

Student Assistant: Saina Rezvani
Office Hours: M: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, W: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Zoom on Canvas

Required Textbook:

• Interactive Data Visualization: Foundations, Techniques, and Applications by Matthew Ward, Georges Grinstein, and Daniel Keim. Online version available through My Textbooks link on Canvas.

Optional Reference Material:

• Visualization Analysis and Design by Tamara Munzer. Available for free download via UT library.
• Data Points Visualizations that Means Something by Nathan Yau. Available for free download via UT library.

Recommended Books:
Edward Tufte is regarded as a seminal author in this field, and several of the concepts that we learn in this course have been distilled from his works. His books are expensive and are recommended but not required.

• The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte.
• Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte.

Prerequisites

It is assumed that all students will have access to a computer where they can install Python packages, access course materials on Canvas, submit assignments on Canvas, and participate in Zoom meetings. Please get a CS computer account as a backup.

Lectures and Office Hours

When we meet online the lectures and office hours will be on Zoom on Canvas. When we meet in-person we will be meeting in the classrooms listed above.

For online meetings, be sure that you have Zoom 5.12 or higher and Duo. Login to Zoom using your ut_eid@eid.utexas.edu. The lectures will be recorded. These recordings are confidential and are only for educational purposes. The recordings must not be shared in any form. Any dissemination of the recordings is a violation of the University policies and will be subject to Student Misconduct proceedings through the Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity. The office hours will not be recorded.

Classroom Safety

• Adhere to the university masking guidance.
• Vacinations are widely available, free and not billed to the health insurance. The vaccine will help protect against the transmission of the virus to others and reduce serious symptoms in those who are vaccinated.
• Proactive Community Testing remains an important part of the university's efforts to protect our community. Tests are fast and free.

Scope of the Course

Learning Objectives

In this course we will study techniques and algorithms for creating effective visualizations based on principles from graphic design, visual art, perceptual psychology, and cognitive science. The course is targeted both towards students interested in using visualization in their own work, as well as students interested in building better visualization tools and systems.

You should expect to:

• Evaluate and critique visualization designs
• Design and implement interactive data visualations
• Gain an overview of techniques and grammar
• Develop a substantial visualization project

Homework Assignments
There will be regular homework assignments. These assignments will be due on Wednesdays at 11:59 pm central time. These are not group assignments. You will work on these assignments by yourself.

The assignments will require a substantial time commitment over several days (an average of 10 to 12 hours per week should be expected). Be sure to budget sufficient time to complete assignments before the deadline.

Turn in your assignments on time. This permits grading to start promptly after the submission deadline so that assignments maybe returned promptly. If you do not finish an assignment by the deadline you have a maximum of two days to turn your assignment in. However, there is a penalty of 10 points (out of a 100 points) per day. Your assignment is one day late until the midnight of the day after it is due, two days late from then until midnight of the second day. We will accept your assignment after two days if there is a compelling reason with a late penalty of 30 points.

Grade Dispute: Scores for assignments will be posted on Canvas. You have one week from the date the assignment grade is posted to dispute your grade. The student assistants will be grading the assignments. Visit the TAs and see if you can resolve your differences. If you cannot resolve your differences, you may visit me to explain the situation. We will not entertain any grade disputes three days after the grades are returned. You may resubmit your assignment for regrading after grades are returned. But the maximum that you can get is 70 points out of 100 points.

Assignment Identification: All assignments must be submitted with the proper header, containing your name (as registered), your unique section number, and the assignment number at the top of the assignment. The format for the header will be specified in the assignment. That specification will over ride any other header specification.

Quizzes

There will be a quiz on Mondays and Wednesdays. The questions will be from the reading assignments for that week or material discussed in class the previous day. The quizzes will be hosted on Canvas and are open book and open notes. The quizzes are multiple choice questions. There are no makeup quizzes. I will drop the lowest of your two quiz grades. This number (two quizzes) is non-negotiable. This drop will take care of any extenuating circumstances that you may have.

Class Participation

You are expected to be in class and participate in class activites like coding. There is a grade associated in being engaged. I will drop the lowest of your two class participation scores.

Labs

On Fridays you will have labs. These will be programming exercises that you will work in groups of three or four. You may change groups during the semester. Labs are due at 11:59 pm central time on Fridays. You may turn in your lab one day late with a 10 point late penalty. If you submit your lab two days late there is a 20 point late penalty. We will not accept labs that are more than two days late.

Tests

There will be three tests and no final examination. The tests are short computing problems similar to the homework problems. You will have to write the solution to those problems in Python. All three tests will be in the evening starting at 6:00 pm.

Test Schedule

Test	Date	Time
Test 1	Fri, 22 Sep	6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Makeup 1	Sun, 24 Sep	10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Test 2	Fri, 27 Oct	6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Makeup 2	Sun, 29 Oct	10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Test 3	Mon, 04 Dec	6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Makeup 3	Tue, 05 Dec	10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Make-up tests will be given only for the following reasons. In all cases you must provide some form of documentation.

• Ill health
• Family emergency
• Official UT conflict

Think of the tests as being timed take home tests. You may use your notes and books but you may not communicate in any way with another human being regarding the test (other than asking the TAs questions for clarification) as private notes on Ed Discussion. We will ask you to electroncially sign an honor code that the work that you submitted was solely your own.

Questions concerning test grades should be given to me in writing along with your test within the next class day that the test is handed back. We will not entertain any disputes after that time.

Final Project

How to Succeed

1. Practice. Practice is essential to developing the skills you are learning in this class. It also actually helps you learn, because some things which seem murky clarify when you actually do them, and sometime trying to do something shows that you only thought you understood it.
2. Participate. By seeing what you can and cannot do, and what comes easily and what you struggle with, we can help you learn better, by giving advice and, if need be, adjusting the course. Ask questions in discussion forums, and if you see a peer asking a question that you might be able to help with, participate by helping your fellow student.
3. Present.
   The university is, in the end, going to stake its reputation (and that of its faculty) on assuring the world that you have mastered the skills and learned the material that goes with your degree. With this in mind, treat each homework assignment and project like a presentation that will be judged by its cohesiveness, and ability to stand alone as a piece of data visualization.

Classroom Expectations

Attending class: The class benefits from the attendance and participation of all students. This class is listed as hybrid, which means we can meet in the classroom or on-line via zoom. Class attendance is mandatory, and we will give you at least one week notice of when we are meeting on-line vs in person in the classroom. When meeting via zoom please plan to have your video on during class and be certain that your display name is your actual name (the one listed in Canvas).

Arriving on time: Please do not hesitate to come to class, even if you are arriving late. We would rather you attend some of class, than miss out altogether. However, if you must arrive late or leave early, please be considerate of others.

Minimizing disruptions: You are invited to participate in class synchronously regardless of the noise-level of your location or the number of people in your background (or foreground). However, please do keep yourself on mute during lecture so as to make sure all can hear. Note that the spacebar can be used to temporarily unmute yourself during Zoom meetings (press to unmute, release to re-mute) on most operating systems.

During drop-in hours and discussion section, please keep mute turned off to allow for a more natural conversation - unless noise levels are high in your location.

Respect: You should act respectfully toward all class participants.

Classroom Policies

Statement on Learning Success: Your success in this class is important to us. We will all need accommodations because we all learn differently. If there are aspects of this course that prevent you from learning or exclude you, please let us know as soon as possible. Together we will develop strategies to meet both your needs and the requirements of the course. We also encourage you to reach out to the student resources available through UT. Many are listed on this syllabus, but we are happy to connect you with a person or Center if you would like.

Grades

• Class Participation: 10%
• Quizzes: 5%
• Homework Assignments: 10%
• Lab Exercises: 10%
• Tests (15% each): 45%
• Final Project: 20%

All scores will be entered on Canvas. Check your scores regularly on Canvas to make sure that we have entered them correctly. Remember the average score as shown on Canvas is not correct. It does not weigh the average with weights as shown above. Your final grade will be assigned after we obtain the weighted average according to the weights as given above. We reserve the right to assign grades on a curve, but the grades assigned will not be less than the scheme given below:

• A: 94
• A-: 90
• B+: 87
• B: 84
• B-: 80
• C+: 77
• C: 74
• C-: 70
• D: 65
• F: 0 - 64

Late Policy: In an effort to accommodate any unexpected and unfortunate personal crisis, this is our late policy. Homework assignments and labs are due at midnight. If you are one day late, there is a late penalty of 10 points. If you are two days late, there is a late penalty of 20 points. You do not have to give us reasons if you are two days or less late.

Homework will not be accepted more than two days late without speaking to me regarding the extenuating circumstances. You maybe granted an extension beyond two days with a late penalty of 30 points.

Regrading Policy: It is very important to us that all assignments are properly graded. If you believe there is an error in your assignment grading, please submit an explanation via email to TAs within 7 days of receiving the grade. No regrade requests will be accepted orally, and no regrade requests will be accepted more than 7 days after you receive the grade for the assignment.

Absences: You are responsible for all participation activities assigned during the class, even if you cannot attend the class synchronously. Please check Canvas. Contact us as soon as possible after missing a class.

Student Rights and Responsibilities

• You have a right to a learning environment that supports mental and physical wellness.
• You have a right to respect.
• You have a right to be assessed and graded fairly.
• You have a right to freedom of opinion and expression.
• You have a right to privacy and confidentiality.
• You have a right to meaningful and equal participation, to self-organize groups to improve your learning environment.
• You have a right to learn in an environment that is welcoming to all people. No student shall be isolated, excluded or diminished in any way.

With these rights come responsibilities:

• You are responsible for taking care of yourself, managing your time, and communicating with the teaching team and with others if things start to feel out of control or overwhelming.
• You are responsible for acting in a way that is worthy of respect and always respectful of others.
• Your experience with this course is directly related to the quality of the energy that you bring to it, and your energy shapes the quality of the the experiences of your peers.
• You are responsible for creating an inclusive environment and for speaking up when someone is excluded.
• You are responsible for holding yourself accountable to these standards, holding each other to these standards, and holding the teaching team accountable as well.

University Resources for Students

Keep Learning Resources: This course may be offered in a format to which you are unaccustomed. If you are looking for ideas and strategies to help you feel more comfortable participating in our class, please explore the resources available here:
https://onestop.utexas.edu/keep-learning/

Services for Students with Disabilities: This class respects and welcomes students of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities. If there are circumstances that make our learning environment and activities difficult, if you have medical information that you need to share with us, or if you need specific arrangements in case the building needs to be evacuated, please let us know. We are committed to creating an effective learning environment for all students, but we can only do so if you discuss your needs with us as early as possible. We promise to maintain the confidentiality of these discussions. Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations should contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or 512-410-6644 (Video Phone) as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations. For more information, visit
http://ddce.utexas.edu/disability/about/.

Counseling and Mental Health Center: Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, getting enough sleep and taking some time to relax. This will help you achieve your goals and cope with stress.

All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. There are many helpful resources available on campus and an important part of the college experience is learning how to ask for help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is often helpful.

If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety or depression, we strongly encourage you to seek support.
http://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/individualcounseling.html

The Sanger Learning Center: More than one-third of UT undergraduate students use the Sanger Learning Center each year to improve their academic performance. All students are welcome to take advantage of Sanger Center's i classes and workshops, private learning specialist appointments, peer academic coaching, and tutoring for more than 70 courses in 15 different subject areas. For more information, please visit:
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/slc or call 512-471-3614 (JES A332).

Other Resources:

• Undergraduate Writing Center: http://uwc.utexas.edu/
• Libraries: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/
• ITS: http://www.utexas.edu/its/
• Student Emergency Services: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/emergency/

BeVocal: BeVocal is a university-wide initiative to promote the idea that individual Longhorns have the power to prevent high-risk behavior and harm. At UT Austin all Longhorns have the power to intervene and reduce harm. To learn more about BeVocal and how you can help to build a culture of care on campus, go to:
https://wellnessnetwork.utexas.edu/BeVocal.

Important Safety Information: If you have concerns about the safety or behavior of fellow students, TAs or Professors, call BCAL (the Behavior Concerns Advice Line): 512-232-5050. Your call can be anonymous. If something does not feel right then probably it is not. Trust your instincts and share your concerns.

The following recommendations regarding emergency evacuation from the Office of Campus Safety and Security, 512-471-5767, http://www.utexas.edu/safety/

Occupants of buildings on The University of Texas at Austin campus are required to evacuate buildings when a fire alarm is activated. Alarm activation or announcement requires exiting and assembling outside.

• Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of each classroom and building you may occupy. Remember that the nearest exit door may not be the one you used when entering the building.
• Students requiring assistance in evacuation shall inform their instructor in writing during the first week of class.
• In the event of an evacuation, follow the instruction of faculty or class instructors. Do not re-enter a building unless given instructions by the following: Austin Fire Department, The University of Texas at Austin Police Department, or Fire Prevention Services office.
• Link to information regarding emergency evacuation routes and emergency procedures can be found at:
  https://www.utexas.edu/emergency

Title IX Reporting: Title IX is a federal law that protects against sex and gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, dating/domestic violence and stalking at federally funded educational institutions. UT Austin is committed to fostering a learning and working environment free from discrimination in all its forms. When sexual misconduct occurs in our community, the university can:

1. Intervene to prevent harmful behavior from continuing or escalating.
2. Provide support and remedies to students and employees who have experienced harm or have become involved in a Title IX investigation.
3. Investigate and discipline violations of the university's relevant policies (https://titleix.utexas.edu/relevant-polices/).

Beginning January 1, 2020, Texas Senate Bill 212 requires all employees of Texas universities, including faculty, report any information to the Title IX Office regarding sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking that is disclosed to them. Texas law requires that all employees who witness or receive any information of this type (including, but not limited to, writing assignments, class discussions, or one-on-one conversations) must be reported. I am a Responsible Employee and must report any Title IX related incidents that are disclosed in writing, discussion, or one-on-one. Before talking with me, or with any faculty or staff member about a Title IX related incident, be sure to ask whether they are a responsible employee. If you would like to speak with someone who can provide support or remedies without making an official report to the university, please email advocate@austin.utexas.edu. For more information about reporting options and resources, visit http://www.titleix.utexas.edu/, contact the Title IX Office via email at titleix@austin.utexas.edu, or call 512-471-0419.

Although graduate teaching and research assistants are not subject to Texas Senate Bill 212, they are still mandatory reporters under Federal Title IX laws and are required to report a wide range of behaviors we refer to as sexual misconduct, including the types of sexual misconduct covered under Texas Senate Bill 212. The Title IX office has developed supportive ways to respond to a survivor and compiled campus resources to support survivors.

Emergency Evacuation Procedures: The following recommendations regarding emergency evacuation from the Office of Campus Safety and Security, 512-471-5767, http://www.utexas.edu/safety/

University Policies

Q Drop Policy: If you want to drop a class after the 12th class day, you will need to execute a Q drop before the Q-drop deadline, which typically occurs near the middle of the semester. Under Texas law, you are only allowed six Q drops while you are in college at any public Texas institution. For more information, see:
http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/csacc/academic/adddrop/qdrop

University Time Table

• 21 Aug 2023: Classes begin
• 24 Aug 2023: Last day of official add / drop
• 06 Sep 2023: 12^th class day, official enrollment count is taken
• 23 Oct 2023: Last day to drop (with dean's approval) except for urgent and substantiated, non-academic reasons or to change to or from pass/fail basis.
• 20-25 Nov 2023: Thanksgiving Holidays
• 04 Dec 2023: Classes end

General Policies

Students with disabilities who need special accommodations should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) Office (471-6259 or 471-4641 TTY).