ISAC’s Data literacy workshop 2021
Following curriculum development and localization, ODC’s team taught a Data Literacy Workshop in February in coordination with Internews for the Innovations in Social Accountability Project (ISAC). The Workshop aimed to boost Cambodia’s growing Open Data ‘ecosystem’ by strengthening the skills of civil society organizations and journalists.
Preparation for the training continued from late 2020 with planning, discussion and refinement of a teaching curriculum fully localized using examples of Cambodian data. For this ODC’s team coordinated closely with Open Data Specialist John Weeks and Data Journalism Advisor Eva Constantaras.
In collaboration with ODC, Internews recruited a class of 18 civil society members (both from ISAC implementing partners and the broader CSO community) and journalists for a socially distanced three-day training. Four ODC staff undertook teaching: ODC Executive Director Thy Try, Senior Web Developer Sam An Mardy, Program and Partnership Officer Ourn Vimoil, Data Research and GIS Specialist Loch Kalyan, and Senior Data Research and GIS Officer Vong Pisith.
The Workshop was delivered on three days in Phnom Penh, from February 23rd to the 25th in three full-day sessions. Due to growing concerns of Coronavirus community transmission the course was delivered using socially distanced teaching methods. The first day also saw the presentation and launch of Internews’ recent Open Data Survey, linking larger theoretical concerns with practical capacity-building to address local needs.
The first module explored the fundamentals of what data is; how data, narratives about data and policy interact, and practical concerns of navigating local and international data portals. For practical exercises, participants data sets to understand individual characteristics, and reviewed Cambodian educational data through a variety of sources.
Mr. Vong Pisith, ODC Senior Data Research & GIS Officer, was instructing about the Interviewing Your Data.
The second module had two components, ‘Interviewing Your Data’ and ‘Data Story Recipe Lab’. For the first, attendees reviewed youth educational data to analyze student performance, focusing on identifying key queries that clarify raw information. For the second, students worked together to conduct spreadsheet analysis of statistical indicators for local student retention.
The third module focused on clarifying and ‘humanizing’ data outputs for clarity of expression. For a final exercise, participants were coached on how to bring together their knowledge from the class to construct a narrative (again using local examples) out of raw information, a ‘data story’.
Knowledge of attendees was measured via a pre-test and post-test, which indicated a general increase in understanding. Participants were also queried on the course’s perceived effectiveness and the team’s teaching capabilities via a brief survey. The ODC team will continue to work with Internews to strengthen their teaching capabilities for the next Data Literacy course, to be offered in June.
