Are Cary Institute educators available to help in teachers’ classrooms?
Depending on our availability, we may be able to visit your classroom virtually or in-person to help with projects, either virtually or in person depending on locality. Please contact Angie (hooda@caryinstitute.org) to find out more about classroom visits.
We will also be offering a short webinar series for teachers/advisors to help them support their students as they embark on their Data Jam journey. If you are unable to attend a scheduled webinar, a recorded version will be linked below. Additionally, you may find recorded webinars from our sister Data Jam–the Hudson Data Jam–useful.
- UCZ Webinar #1: Working with data & intro to CODAP (Recording available March 10)
- UCZ Webinar #2: Data analysis & visualization (Recording available March 17)
- UCZ Webinar #3: Effective communication of a data story (Recording available March 24)
Finally, we can offer help for any other questions students (or advisors!) have via email (hooda@caryinstitute.org), including questions about the data. In many cases we are able to send specific questions about the data directly to the researchers who collected the data.
We also recommend checking out the following videos as a way to learn about Data Jam and get inspiration:
A great example of a project that is creative and fun and effectively frames the story of the data in an engaging short film: River Wars.
Finally, check out the Hudson Data Jam–our sister Data Jam–2014-2024 Project Gallery for ideas about how to display projects digitally.
Can a student register and participate independently of their teacher or class?
Yes. Any middle or high school student or student individual or team is eligible to participate. A student does not have to register through their teacher. They do, however, need to have an adult represent them or their team as an advisor. This can be a parent, guardian, or another trusted adult.
Why do projects need to be submitted online?
All projects must be submitted online because judging will take place online. This means that all of the files submitted online must clearly show the project in its entirety because that is how the judges will see it. If you create a 3-D object, send us lots of photos so we can see it from all angles (or even submit a video with it!).
How should a team present their creative data display digitally so they can submit it online?
It's up to students to determine the best way to present their project for online viewing. Most participants choose to either photograph or video record their work. Participants usually take photographs of their comic strips, dioramas, sculptures, and paintings, or record a YouTube video with a quick narration describing their project. Students also record YouTube videos of their choreographed dances, puppet shows, movies, original songs, and stop-motion videos.
Remember, the judges will be judging your projects based on what you upload online, so be sure that they include a narrative description of pieces as needed. Take a look at the Hudson Data Jam–our sister Data Jam–2014-2024 Project Gallery for ideas about how to display projects digitally.