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Course Description

Business intelligence and data visualization skills are becoming more high demand in the workforce. Microsoft’s Power BI is one of the leading tools for data visualization with a huge market share for corporations and business institutions today. In this class, we will learn how to use Power BI to analyze data and deliver actionable information that helps executives, managers and employees make informed business decisions. Using real cases as examples, we will work through challenges step-by-step to learn methods applicable to a variety of data needs. We will discuss best practices for communicating data and techniques for improving dashboards.

This course aims to give exposure to data visualization from design to best practices with hands on exercises where participants will learn to use the tool to build a dashboard.

Course Outline

Introduction to Power BI – fundamentals and terminology

• Dashboard design and best practices
• Data sources and semantic model – intro to power query
• Report with visuals – Power BI layout and orientation

Deeper dive – build a report (hands on or watch)

• New data set and data prep 
• Create visuals, interactions, adding measures and columns, DAX statements, adding data and relationships, formatting

More advanced features and build more advanced report (hands on or watch)

• Conditional formatting, combination charts, custom visuals, buttons, bookmarks, drill-thrus, record level security, hierarchies, spark lines, sync slicers, etc.

Publishing and sharing reports/dashboards

• Report to dashboard
• Access - record level security, object level security
• Publishing – workspaces
• Sharing reports
• License info and resources

Learning Outcomes

• Have exposure to and familiarity with Microsoft’s Power BI Data Visualization tool
• Develop skills also transferrable to other data visualization tools such as Tableau, etc.
• Understand best practices for design and security of data visualizations
• Understand data structures used in visualizations
• Visualize data using Microsoft Power BI desktop
• Understand how to mitigate risks with security measures to consider when visualizing data

Instructor Information

Dr. Rhonda Belton
Associate Director, Institutional Research

Dr. Rhonda Belton is the Associate Director of Institutional Research where she has served since March 2013.  Rhonda earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teaching with a concentration in Higher Education Administration from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro where her research focus was on the impacts of experiential learning on leadership in female college students. Rhonda developed Elon’s original ‘Elon Experiences’ system; her interest and passion is in the learning and growth that experiential learning gives to our students and how that positions them to make a difference in the world.

Rhonda has years of experience in technology, with her most recent role as the Director of Application Systems. She is currently in Institutional Effectiveness working with data in official reporting, student success studies, data analysis requests, and in building university dashboards.