Why’s Data Science Relevant to an Organization?

Norfolk Park, Paddington, London, GB

Photo by Jonathan Acuña

Why’s Data Science Relevant to an Organization?

The case of an education institution

By Prof. Jonathan Acuña-Solano, M. Ed.

School of English

Faculty of Social Sciences

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Friday, July 12, 2019

Post 327 / DS Log 02

        Being an educator whose interests in learning go beyond pedagogy, language teaching, and education technology, I feel bewildered by how Data Science and Big Data infiltrate every pore of our teaching endeavors and lives. Superficially mining the understanding of how Big Data is being used by businesses, governmental institutions, or individuals has given me the chance to wonder how the world is ruled by algorithms that undermine people’s privacy, up to certain extend. This is part of my being startled and dumbstruck by the potential Big Data can have in education when there is a database that stores so much information that can become revenue in student learning and business profit.

        As someone whose mind cannot be at easy, even when on vacation, I continue to have more questions than answers, similarly to what I wrote on my previous log entry. And when it comes to thinking like an educator and curriculum designer, I often wonder how Big Data has to be used in the places where I work (1) to create new programs to satisfy students’ needs, (2) to lower the attrition rate we face in courses and programs, (3) to comprehend student behavior and preferences when coming to study with us, and (4) to really identify learners’ working needs and services they require.

        Thinking of the characteristics of Big Data, I feel puzzled as to what extend the information that can be retrieved from the database is currently used. Are teachers able to mine the information to positively alter their lesson plans and learning outcomes to benefit as many learners as possible? Are the data sensibly organized to quietly listen to the story it has to tell financial and academic staff? Is Big Data used to impact five-year business plans to pay attention to what the market is screaming and that can backfire if we don’t heed the call?

        Do take a look at the following infographic I developed to try to put my thoughts in more colors than simply black and white.

        I also provided my suggestions as how Big Data ought to start being used in education institutions since they are also linked to a business’s reason for existing: the provision of a service a client requires based on what the current market demands.

Why's DS Relevant to an Organization by Jonathan Acuña on Scribd