If you search #MakeoverMonday on Tableau Public, you’ll find over 10,000 visualizations, also known as “vizzes,” submitted by data analysts worldwide. This global Tableau community initiative, hosted on Tableau Public, provides a free platform for data storytellers to experiment, get feedback, and refine their visualization skills.
In today’s digital age, data visualization has become an in-demand skill. Simplifying complex information into clear, actionable insights is essential to any business operation. Professor Lindy Ryan, Assistant Teaching Professor, teaches two Master of Business and Science Courses, Business Intelligence with Visual Analytics and Data Storytelling, which provide students with foundational data visualization and storytelling best practices. In these two courses, Professor Ryan has integrated the Makeover Monday data challenge to support experiential learning in the classroom.
What is Makeover Monday?
Makeover Monday is a weekly challenge that inspires data enthusiasts at all skill levels to build better visualizations. Participants work with free, public-access datasets taken from real-world news, surveys, and other journalistic reporting, and are encouraged to uncover new stories within the data, sharing their interpretations with other visual analysts via Tableau Public.
Launched in the United Kingdon (UK) in 2016, the challenge has become a cornerstone of the data visualization community. It attracts hundreds of participants each week, providing a unique space for building community, learning, and exploration. With no grades and expectations, Makeover Monday offers a playground to develop valuable skills in a stress-free setting.
Classroom Impact
Each week, Professor Ryan selects a dataset that aligns with the course objectives and invites students to build and share their visualizations on an open Discussion Forum. Most weeks, she even plays along, sharing her own version on her Tableau Public profile in an effort to give students the chance to compare approaches and learn from others.
To Professor Ryan, the Makeover Monday challenge is more than just an opportunity to provide extra credit—it’s a great platform for students to explore, experiment, and grow as visual data analysts.
“So far this semester, we’ve worked with data on the number of public holidays per country, social media platform usage, New Year's resolutions in the UK, animal rights, and world literacy,” Professor Ryan shared. “Not only does this help remind us that data doesn’t have to be boring, but that we can find meaningful stories to tell even in simple data.”
Key Benefits for Students
“Being playful with data has long proven beneficial in terms of efficacy and proficiency,” Professor Ryan explained. “It’s like practicing any other skill you enjoy: the more you sing, and the more types of music and songs you practice, the better singer you become. The same is true in data visualization: the more you interact with data, the more you learn (both in data and tools and techniques). Your abilities grow, and so does your confidence.”
In addition to gaining in-depth knowledge of visual analytics and Tableau, students also build portfolios of visual assets on their Tableau Public profiles. This can serve as a valuable resource for their current careers or impress potential employers with their practical experience.
“Students in both of my courses are actively engaging and having fun in the process—and I’m having fun joining along too! They’re discovering capabilities in Tableau beyond what we cover in class, and they’re engaging with each other (and with me) in ways that go beyond typical classroom engagement,” said Professor Ryan.
The Makeover Monday challenge is one of several initiatives in our program aimed at promoting experiential learning. Hands-on experiences, paired with continuous learning, allow students to better connect classroom theories with real-world applications
To learn more about these two courses, read a Q+A with Professor Ryan and our course highlight on Data Storytelling.