Through workshops held throughout the summer and fall, Giraldo worked with first-generation Latine students to create individual working prototype sensors designed to collect air samples. In collaboration with Bottom Line students George Acostalemus, Marvin Baez, & Jailene Guzman learned how to build Arduino-based electronics, including soldering and programming them. In the end, students created working sensors that collect, analyze and visualize air quality data. The cohort then learned how to clean the data and visualize it using industry standards tools such as Excel and tableau. This hands-on involvement in every stage allows students to understand the data’s values and implications and thereby claim ownership. Ultimately the project is designed to enable students to utilize data to tell stories from their perspectives. The exhibition at Cyberarts is the culmination of this process – together with Giraldo, students use the gallery space to realize their own data stories.
This project is partly funded by grants from the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, the Babson Foundation, and Emerson College.