R Interactives

Last updated on 2026-09-08 | Edit this page

These coding interactives use Jupyter Notebooks that you can open and use with any web browser without any software installations on your own computer. This is ideal for beginners with R who do not yet want to learn how to use the R studio interface and are more concerned with learning how to code in R.

If you plan to teach students who will use R Studio in the future, we recommend trying activities from our R STEM Data Visualization + Du Bois lesson site. This site has live coding activities organized for use with R Studio.

Interactive 1: Literacy and College Attainment Bar Charts

In this interactive excercise, you will:

  1. Learn how to create a variation of a bar graph.
  2. Learn how to write R statistical software code to:
    • create visualizations that consistently and accurately represent your data
    • start from the minimum code necessary to make a simple graph, then add additional lines of code that each add a layer to your visualization
    • create a transparent record of exactly how you visualized something
    • make it easy for you or others to recreate or modify your visualization
  3. Export an HTML file of your completed Notebook that your instructor may ask you to submit.

You will acheive these learning objectives by creating two graphs with Python:

  1. You will recreate Du Bois’ visualization of Black illiteracy rates in the US compared to illiteracy rates in other countries. Du Bois created the visualization in 1900.

  2. You will reproduce Du Bois’ visualization using data on Black college attainment in the US today. This aligns with how Du Bois saw mass education as one important strategy for furthering and deepining emancipation for Black Americans and others.

Try it using Jupyter Lite. (Recommended. No installation required.)

Try it using the Du Bois Cloud. (Recommended only if you have problems with Jupyter Lite. No installation required)

This video tutorial will walk you through the interactive.

Interactive 2: Literacy, Biodiversity and Redlining Bar Charts

Try it using Jupyter Lite. (Recommended. No installation required.)

Try it using the Du Bois Cloud. (Recommended only if you have problems with Jupyter Lite. No installation required)

This video tutorial will walk you through the interactive.