CAR Conference Hands-On Class Schedule

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CAR Conference: Hands-On Class Schedule
Back to IRE Conferences: Cleveland

Sign up for classes online. Each registrant can choose up to four sessions, or take advantage of the Mini-Boot Camp (a special package of eight sessions that cover the same training as IRE's five-day Boot Camps, including hands-on spreadsheet and database classes). If you've already registered for the conference, we'll send an e-mail notifying you when online sign-ups are available. Seats are limited, so sign up right away to make sure you get a spot in your choice of classes.

Choose to see the schedule for a particular day or scroll down to see the whole schedule:

Friday Saturday Sunday

Guide to Hands-On CAR Classes: B=Basic; I=Intermediate; A=Advanced
Classes designated as "MINI-BOOT CAMP" are reserved for participants who have previously registered for the Mini-Boot Camp.

Friday

Time

Class

Room

9-10:10 a.m.

I: Downloading and analysis using American Community Survey data
• Paul Overberg, USA Today

Carnegie

B: Access 1: The purifying experience of filtering your data;. Learn to select and sort data items you choose
• Aaron Kessler, The (Charlottesville, Va.) Daily Progress

Stouffer

B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting
• William Hartnett, The Palm Beach Post

Rockefeller

A: Mapping 1: Displaying data geographically
with ArcView9.2
• Sarah Okeson, Florida Today

Garfield

A: When desktops aren't enough: SQL Server introduction on how to import, view and query the data
• Janet Roberts, The New York Times

Halle

10:20-11:30 a.m.
B: Web sites and search techniques for reporters
• Beth Kopine, IRE and NICAR

Carnegie

I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing
• John Maines, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Stouffer

B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates in Excel
• Robert Gebeloff, The Star-Ledger

Rockefeller

A: Mapping 2: Importing and selecting data by attribute (ArcView9.2)
• Chris Schnaars, The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call

Garfield

A: When desktops aren't enough: Introducing the basics of MySQL, an open source database server
• Daniel Lathrop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Halle

11:40 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
B: Backgrounding people on the Internet
• Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times

Carnegie

A: Access 3: How to join tables, matching information from one file to another
• Jeremy Milarsky, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Stouffer

B: Excel 3: Learn pivot tables, filtering and more
• Doug Haddix,The Columbus Dispatch

Rockefeller

A: Mapping 3: Geocoding to merge databases with street addresses into maps (ArcView9.2)
• Andrew Lehren, The New York Times

Garfield

A: SQL Server: Using views, from basic to advanced
• Tom Torok, The New York Times

Halle

Lunch on your own

2-3:10 p.m.
B: Backgrounding businesses on the Internet
• Neil Reisner, Florida International University

Carnegie

B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Larry Gillick, American University

Stouffer

B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Jennie Coughlin, The News Leader

Rockefeller

A: Mapping 4: How Spatial Analyst can pinpoint places and improve stories (ArcView9.2)
• MaryJo Webster, St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press

Garfield

A: SQL Server: Aggregating and manipulating data, including string functions
• James Wilkerson, The Des Moines Register

Halle

3:20-4:30 p.m.
B: Excel and Internet: Importing data from the Web into spreadsheets
• Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times

Carnegie

B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Steve Doig, Arizona State University

Stouffer

B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Debbie Wolfe, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times

Rockefeller

A: Mapping 5: Nailing down the details－dealing with projections
• Jennifer LaFleur, The Dallas Morning News

Garfield

A: MySQL and PHP: Sharing data in your newsroom and on the Web
• Brian Hamman, Columbia Missourian

Halle

4:40-5:50 p.m.
B: Excel and Internet: Importing PDFs from the Web into spreadsheets
• Debbie Wolfe, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times

Carnegie

B: Importing data into Excel
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Ryan McNeill, The Oklahoman

Stouffer

B: Importing data into Excel
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Agustin Armendariz, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Rockefeller

A: Connecting the dots and statistics with Social Network Analysis
• Jaimi Dowdell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Garfield

Programming skills: Moving data into your newsroom with ASP.NET
• Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times

Halle

6-7:20 p.m.

N/A

N/A

Saturday

Time

Class

Room

9-10:10 a.m.
B: Web sites and search techniques for reporters
• Neil Reisner, Florida International University

Carnegie

I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing
• Robert Benincasa, Gannett News Service

Stouffer

A: Beyond basics: Using advanced Excel functions
• MaryJo Webster, St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press

Rockefeller

A: SPSS 1: Navigate SPSS, using descriptive statistics and frequencies. Create basic counts and percentages to help you understand your data
• Doug Haddix, The Columbus Dispatch

Garfield

A: Programming skills: An introduction to Perl and regular expressions
• John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity

Halle

10:20-11:30 a.m.
A: Web Scraping 1: Programming techniques to mine the Web
• Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times
• John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity

Carnegie

A: Beyond basics: Access string functions for data cleaning and more
•David Milliron, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Stouffer

B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting
• Andrew Lehren, The New York Times

Rockefeller

A: SPSS 2: Doing crosstabs to show the data in different ways, and statistical tests
• Jason Method, The Asbury Park (N.J.) Press

Garfield

A: Programming skills: Using ASP to share data in your newsroom
• Robert Gebeloff, The Star-Ledger

Halle

11:40 a.m.-12:50 p.m.
A: Web Scraping 2: More programming techniques to mine the Web (attendance from Web Scraping 1 required)
• Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times
• John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity

Carnegie

A: Beyond basics: Building a database using Access forms to ease the process
• Paul Overberg , USA Today
• Jodi Upton, USA Today

Stouffer

B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates in Excel
• Tisha Thompson, WMAR-Baltimore

Rockefeller

A: SPSS 3: Basic linear regression techniques and diagnostics
• David Donald, IRE and NICAR

Garfield

A: Programming skills: Python － the programming language for the rest of us
• Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com

Halle

Lunch on your own

2-3:10 p.m.
A: Google Maps 101: How to build dynamic maps
• Maurice Tamman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Carnegie

B: Moving into Access: An introduction to filtering
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Chase Davis, Houston Chronicle

Stouffer

B: Moving into Access: An introduction to filtering
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Megan Clarke, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rockefeller

A: SPSS 4: Using SPSS syntax to automate time-consuming tasks
• David Donald, IRE and NICAR

Garfield

A: Taming data: Turning reports into tables with Monarch
• Paula Lavigne, The Des Moines Register

Halle

3:20-4:30 p.m.
A: Advanced Google Mapping: How to create dynamic maps overlaying thematic polygons
• Maurice Tamman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Carnegie

I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Ted Mellnik, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer

Stouffer

I: I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing
• Griff Palmer, The New York Times

Rockefeller

A: Mapping 2: Importing and selecting data by attribute (ArcView9.2)
• Mark Greenblatt, KHOU-Houston

Garfield

A: Taming data: Using text editors to clean your data and text manipulation
• James Wilkerson, The Des Moines Register

Halle

4:40-5:50 p.m.
A: Wiki for your thoughts: Setting up and creating this free-wheeling database
• Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com

Carnegie

A: Access 3: How to join tables, matching information from one file to another
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Tom Gaumer, Freelancer

Stouffer

A: Access 3: How to join tables, matching information from one file to another
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Dave Sheingold, The Record

Rockefeller

A: Mapping 3: Geocoding to merge databases with street addresses into maps (ArcView9.2)
• Dan Keating, The Washington Post

Garfield

A: Taming data: Perl and VBScript as tools to format, clean and organize data for use in any database software
• Tom Torok, The New York Times

Halle

6-7:20 p.m.

OPEN LAB for MINI-BOOT CAMP: A session on finding, downloading and importing data (limited seating available; students might have to share computer time)
• IRE and NICAR staff

Carnegie

If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.

Stouffer

If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.
Rockefeller

If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.

Garfield

If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.

Halle

Sunday

Time

Class

Room

9-10:10 a.m.
B: Backgrounding people on the Internet
• Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times

Carnegie

B: Build your own database: The in's and out's of how to structure and maintain a database you create
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• Ken McCall, Dayton Daily News

Stouffer

B: Build your own database: The in's and out's of how to structure and maintain a database you create
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• David Knox, Akron Beacon Journal

Rockefeller

10:20-11:30 a.m.
B: Backgrounding businesses on the Internet
• Todd Wallack, Boston Business Journal

Carnegie

A final Q&A session, exercise and how to take it all home
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• IRE and NICAR staff

Stouffer

A final Q&A session, exercise and how to take it all home
(MINI-BOOT CAMP)
• IRE and NICAR staff

Rockefeller


Choose to see the schedule for a particular day or scroll down to see the whole schedule:
Friday	Saturday	Sunday

Guide to Hands-On CAR Classes: B=Basic; I=Intermediate; A=Advanced Classes designated as "MINI-BOOT CAMP" are reserved for participants who have previously registered for the Mini-Boot Camp.
Friday
Time	Class	Room
9-10:10 a.m.	I: Downloading and analysis using American Community Survey data • Paul Overberg, USA Today	Carnegie
	B: Access 1: The purifying experience of filtering your data;. Learn to select and sort data items you choose • Aaron Kessler, The (Charlottesville, Va.) Daily Progress	Stouffer
	B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting • William Hartnett, The Palm Beach Post	Rockefeller
	A: Mapping 1: Displaying data geographically with ArcView9.2 • Sarah Okeson, Florida Today	Garfield
	A: When desktops aren't enough: SQL Server introduction on how to import, view and query the data • Janet Roberts, The New York Times	Halle
10:20-11:30 a.m.	B: Web sites and search techniques for reporters • Beth Kopine, IRE and NICAR	Carnegie
	I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing • John Maines, South Florida Sun-Sentinel	Stouffer
	B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates in Excel • Robert Gebeloff, The Star-Ledger	Rockefeller
	A: Mapping 2: Importing and selecting data by attribute (ArcView9.2) • Chris Schnaars, The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call	Garfield
	A: When desktops aren't enough: Introducing the basics of MySQL, an open source database server • Daniel Lathrop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer	Halle
11:40 a.m.-12:50 p.m.	B: Backgrounding people on the Internet • Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Carnegie
	A: Access 3: How to join tables, matching information from one file to another • Jeremy Milarsky, South Florida Sun-Sentinel	Stouffer
	B: Excel 3: Learn pivot tables, filtering and more • Doug Haddix,The Columbus Dispatch	Rockefeller
	A: Mapping 3: Geocoding to merge databases with street addresses into maps (ArcView9.2) • Andrew Lehren, The New York Times	Garfield
	A: SQL Server: Using views, from basic to advanced • Tom Torok, The New York Times	Halle
Lunch on your own
2-3:10 p.m.	B: Backgrounding businesses on the Internet • Neil Reisner, Florida International University	Carnegie
	B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Larry Gillick, American University	Stouffer
	B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Jennie Coughlin, The News Leader	Rockefeller
	A: Mapping 4: How Spatial Analyst can pinpoint places and improve stories (ArcView9.2) • MaryJo Webster, St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press	Garfield
	A: SQL Server: Aggregating and manipulating data, including string functions • James Wilkerson, The Des Moines Register	Halle
3:20-4:30 p.m.	B: Excel and Internet: Importing data from the Web into spreadsheets • Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Carnegie
	B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Steve Doig, Arizona State University	Stouffer
	B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Debbie Wolfe, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Rockefeller
	A: Mapping 5: Nailing down the details－dealing with projections • Jennifer LaFleur, The Dallas Morning News	Garfield
	A: MySQL and PHP: Sharing data in your newsroom and on the Web • Brian Hamman, Columbia Missourian	Halle
4:40-5:50 p.m.	B: Excel and Internet: Importing PDFs from the Web into spreadsheets • Debbie Wolfe, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Carnegie
	B: Importing data into Excel (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Ryan McNeill, The Oklahoman	Stouffer
	B: Importing data into Excel (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Agustin Armendariz, The San Diego Union-Tribune	Rockefeller
	A: Connecting the dots and statistics with Social Network Analysis • Jaimi Dowdell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch	Garfield
	Programming skills: Moving data into your newsroom with ASP.NET • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times	Halle
6-7:20 p.m.	N/A	N/A
Saturday
Time	Class	Room
9-10:10 a.m.	B: Web sites and search techniques for reporters • Neil Reisner, Florida International University	Carnegie
	I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing • Robert Benincasa, Gannett News Service	Stouffer
	A: Beyond basics: Using advanced Excel functions • MaryJo Webster, St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press	Rockefeller
	A: SPSS 1: Navigate SPSS, using descriptive statistics and frequencies. Create basic counts and percentages to help you understand your data • Doug Haddix, The Columbus Dispatch	Garfield
	A: Programming skills: An introduction to Perl and regular expressions • John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity	Halle
10:20-11:30 a.m.	A: Web Scraping 1: Programming techniques to mine the Web • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times • John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity	Carnegie
	A: Beyond basics: Access string functions for data cleaning and more •David Milliron, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	Stouffer
	B: Excel 1: Performing simple calculations and sorting • Andrew Lehren, The New York Times	Rockefeller
	A: SPSS 2: Doing crosstabs to show the data in different ways, and statistical tests • Jason Method, The Asbury Park (N.J.) Press	Garfield
	A: Programming skills: Using ASP to share data in your newsroom • Robert Gebeloff, The Star-Ledger	Halle
11:40 a.m.-12:50 p.m.	A: Web Scraping 2: More programming techniques to mine the Web (attendance from Web Scraping 1 required) • Aron Pilhofer, The New York Times • John Perry, The Center for Public Integrity	Carnegie
	A: Beyond basics: Building a database using Access forms to ease the process • Paul Overberg , USA Today • Jodi Upton, USA Today	Stouffer
	B: Excel 2: Calculating ratios and rates in Excel • Tisha Thompson, WMAR-Baltimore	Rockefeller
	A: SPSS 3: Basic linear regression techniques and diagnostics • David Donald, IRE and NICAR	Garfield
	A: Programming skills: Python － the programming language for the rest of us • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Halle
Lunch on your own
2-3:10 p.m.	A: Google Maps 101: How to build dynamic maps • Maurice Tamman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune	Carnegie
	B: Moving into Access: An introduction to filtering (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Chase Davis, Houston Chronicle	Stouffer
	B: Moving into Access: An introduction to filtering (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Megan Clarke, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution	Rockefeller
	A: SPSS 4: Using SPSS syntax to automate time-consuming tasks • David Donald, IRE and NICAR	Garfield
	A: Taming data: Turning reports into tables with Monarch • Paula Lavigne, The Des Moines Register	Halle
3:20-4:30 p.m.	A: Advanced Google Mapping: How to create dynamic maps overlaying thematic polygons • Maurice Tamman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune	Carnegie
	I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Ted Mellnik, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer	Stouffer
	I: I: Access 2: Summarizing databases with counting and summing • Griff Palmer, The New York Times	Rockefeller
	A: Mapping 2: Importing and selecting data by attribute (ArcView9.2) • Mark Greenblatt, KHOU-Houston	Garfield
	A: Taming data: Using text editors to clean your data and text manipulation • James Wilkerson, The Des Moines Register	Halle
4:40-5:50 p.m.	A: Wiki for your thoughts: Setting up and creating this free-wheeling database • Derek Willis, Washingtonpost.com	Carnegie
	A: Access 3: How to join tables, matching information from one file to another (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Tom Gaumer, Freelancer	Stouffer
	A: Access 3: How to join tables, matching information from one file to another (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Dave Sheingold, The Record	Rockefeller
	A: Mapping 3: Geocoding to merge databases with street addresses into maps (ArcView9.2) • Dan Keating, The Washington Post	Garfield
	A: Taming data: Perl and VBScript as tools to format, clean and organize data for use in any database software • Tom Torok, The New York Times	Halle
6-7:20 p.m.	OPEN LAB for MINI-BOOT CAMP: A session on finding, downloading and importing data (limited seating available; students might have to share computer time) • IRE and NICAR staff	Carnegie
	If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.	Stouffer
	If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.	Rockefeller
	If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.	Garfield
	If you have a willing teacher and students, we can add a session in this time slot! Come see us in the Demo Room for scheduling.	Halle
Sunday
Time	Class	Room
9-10:10 a.m.	B: Backgrounding people on the Internet • Carolyn Edds, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times	Carnegie
	B: Build your own database: The in's and out's of how to structure and maintain a database you create (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • Ken McCall, Dayton Daily News	Stouffer
	B: Build your own database: The in's and out's of how to structure and maintain a database you create (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • David Knox, Akron Beacon Journal	Rockefeller
10:20-11:30 a.m.	B: Backgrounding businesses on the Internet • Todd Wallack, Boston Business Journal	Carnegie
	A final Q&A session, exercise and how to take it all home (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • IRE and NICAR staff	Stouffer
	A final Q&A session, exercise and how to take it all home (MINI-BOOT CAMP) • IRE and NICAR staff	Rockefeller