Merging Queries | A Multimedia Lesson

This time last year if someone had asked what "merging queries" was, I probably would have thought it described the point where my wife's questions all seemingly combined into one big, blurry quiz.

Now I know it means something completely different! It's a way to shape and transform your data.

This easy-to-understand multi-media lesson will answer such questions as:
Why do you want to combine data?
How does this skill save space and increase my productivity speed?
Which "joins" best fit my goal?

A preview of the effective visuals used in the lesson:

So, here is my multimedia approach, including detailed notes, to simplifying what could be a big blur (like it was at the beginning for me.)

Again, I hope this approach to learning BI is making something complicated, a bit easier to understand. Especially for those of you who are like me... learning to thrive in this new B.I. world.

Please reach out with any questions or comment on the video.

Comments

The Power of CALCULATE in Power BI

Last week in my blog and video I discussed how Power BI could have made my life as a teacher much easier. It is not that Power BI can do things that I could not on my own. It is the fact that Power BI could have saved me so much time. This led me to some thoughts and questions. How could I have impacted the students more in the classroom with this extra time? Would teachers who were not analyzing student data due to time constraints now start? How can I make the data tell my students a story that gives them an accurate picture of their progress? That last question is what leads to this week’s blog. Many times the metrics (which is just a fancy word for "numbers") of what we want to show are easy to do by hand with a basic math background. Although easy, it can be very time consuming when dealing with different groups of data: like 6 periods of students instead of 1 period. When we want to do these calculations quickl...

Relating "Related Tables" to Baseball because I Miss Sports

I miss sports. In particular, I miss baseball. Between learning more Power BI functions and the ins-and-outs of DAX, I've turned to Netflix to fill the deep caverns left in my soul since baseball season has been postponed. And as a result, I've thought more about tigers and big cats more than I ever have in my life. I know ALL about Carol Baskins and am fully on board for a spin-off centering on locating her lost husband. I've googled "is it really legal to own a tiger in a residential area?" Without baseball in April, I am barely hanging in there (kinda like Joe Exotic's eyebrow ring). So, I am filling the sports-sized hole by using baseball stats in Power BI to demonstrate pulling data from multiple tables and consolidating it into one table. Some of the data we want to consolidate also has to have some aggregations (which is fancy for "calculations") performed on it. In this demo I will attempt to break down what is really going on ...

Power BI: Personalize Visuals Feature

Have you used the personalize visuals feature yet in Power BI? If not, then you could be missing out. The Personalize Visuals feature allows anyone you are sharing your with after published to the Power BI service to make changes to your visuals. Have no fear though! When they change the visuals it will not override your original report. This feature is great if you have ever had to respond to a request from your shared users that they would like the report to be modified to their liking. With this simple feature, the end-user can change the visualization type, change what measures or fields that are brought into the visual, and then simply make a personal bookmark after they make the changes. Again, this will not change the initial report you published and that others have access to. This will only make a new view of the report for the user who personalized the visual. If you decide to use this feature...

The Algebra Teacher Powers to B.I.

Search This Blog