Module 2: My Geographic Map of Volusia County Public, Private and Charter School Locations


(Please click the image for better clarity)

The link to the data set: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JVH7sUdoyhdIds7FE16uhZyU0vv-7rbC2fZlCgr-wug/edit?usp=sharing. 

This data set is about Volusia County Public (high and middle), Private and Charter School Locations.

I haven’t used Tableau in many years, so getting used to the newer features and user interface was slightly challenging. Some of the menus and options were in different places than I remembered, and I had to relearn how to assign geographic roles, adjust marks, and customize legends. It also took some trial and error to figure out why my data was aggregating into a single point instead of showing all schools, and how to clean up the map so it displayed clearly. Once I re-familiarized myself with the workflow, it became easier to build and customize the visualization. 

When thinking about visual grammar, I see opportunities to apply Gestalt principles to make the map more intuitive. For example, something I did apply already was using color similarity helps group schools by type, allowing viewers to quickly distinguish between public (middle and high), charter, and private institutions. In order to improve clarity and insight, I could also apply size encoding for variables like enrollment or capacity, which would add another layer of insight by showing not just where schools are, but also their relative scale. Gestalt principles of proximity already emerge naturally, as clusters of points reveal areas with higher concentrations of schools, which makes regional patterns easy to spot. Together, these visual elements strengthen clarity and help viewers draw meaningful insights from the data! 



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