This text reports on the impact of a training course offered by a multiplier trainer from the School of Data network.
In 3 days, from June 10th to 13th, a capacity building training on data editing was organised in Buakavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, to strengthen and introduce young students and climate activists to open data and the use of very practical tools and design of very substantial Excel and PDF sheets.
The training was based on the Quality and Consistent Data with Open Data Editor course, offered by the OKFN through the School of Data network.
Goals
The main goal of the training was to facilitate knowledge of open data and its easy handling.
- How to organize Excel spreadsheets
- How to insert data into ranges and cells
- How to convert XLS files to XXL or CSV
- Manage PDF files and access edits
Event
Sessions last a maximum of 2 hours, from 2-4 pm Central Africa Time, over the 3 days with 10 minutes of snack and coffee breaks. Twenty young students were present at the session.
Outcomes
We had as a result:
- Young students acquired knowledge on data manipulation and editing
- Creation of Excel files, spreadsheets and modification and conversion of PDF, XLS, XXL files, linking much more with climatic and environmental data
About the Open Data Editor
The Open Data Editor (ODE) is Open Knowledge’s new open source desktop application for nonprofits, data journalists, activists, and public servants, aiming at helping them detect errors in their datasets. It’s a free, open-source tool designed for people working with tabular data (Excel, Google Sheets, CSV) who don’t know how to code or don’t have the programming skills to automatise the data exploration process.
Simple, lightweight, privacy-friendly, and built for real-world challenges like offline work and low-resource settings, ODE is part of Open Knowledge’s initiative The Tech We Want — our ambitious effort to reimagine how technology is built and used.
And there’s more! ODE comes with a free online course that can help you improve the quality of your datasets, therefore making your life/work easier.
↪ Take the course: Learn how to use ODE
All of Open Knowledge’s work with the Open Data Editor is made possible thanks to a charitable grant from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Learn more about its funding programmes here.
