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
Friday, July 12, 2019
Awesome post.Thanks for sharing.This is so nice.