data related items

Will micro-credentialing be an example of the use of big data in education and training?

On 02/04/2015, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, career development, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital audio, digital video, ideas, innovation, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, social learning / networks, social media, workplace, by Daniel Christian

I ran across a few items that may tie in with my Learning from the Living [Class] Room vision:

A very interesting concept at Stackup.net (@ScoreReporting)

Score everything you read + learn online. Use the StackUp Report to prove to employers that your dedication and interest make you the ideal candidate.

From DSC:
This is big data — but this time, it’s being applied to the world of credentials. Is this part of how one will obtain employment in the future? Will it work along with services like Beansprock (see below)?

Then there was spreecast: An interactive video platform that connects people:

From DSC:
A related item to these concepts:

The Future of Lifelong Learning — from knewton.com

Created by Knewton and Knewton

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AI software that could score you the perfect job — from wired.com by Davey Alba

Excerpt:

Today, little more than two years later, Levy and Smith are launching a website called Beansprock that uses natural language processing and machine learning techniques to match you with a suitable job. In other words, they’re applying artificial intelligence to the career hunt. “It’s all about helping the job hunter find the best job in the job universe,” Levy says.

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IBM Awards University of Texas at Austin Top Spot in Watson Competition — from indiaeducationdiary.in

Excerpts/applications (emphasis and numbering via DSC):

New York: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the first winner of its Watson University Competition, part of the company’s partnership with top universities through its cognitive computing academic initiative. The winning team of student entrepreneurs from the University of Texas at Austin will receive $100,000 in total in seed funding to help launch a business based on their Watson app, which offers the promise of improved citizen services.
…
The University of Texas at Austin took home top honors with a new app called 1) CallScout, designed to give Texas residents fast and easy access to information about social services in their area. Many of Texas’ 27 million residents rely on the state’s social services – such as transportation, healthcare, nutrition programs and housing assistance – though they can have difficulty finding the right information.
…
“These academic competitions expose students to a new era of computing, helps them build valuable professional skills, and provides an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to life.”

…
Two other innovative projects rounded out the top three finalists in the competition. Students from the University of Toronto took second place with 2) “Ross,” an app that allows users to ask Watson legal questions related to their case work, speeding research and guiding lawyers to pertinent information to help their case. In third place, students from the University of California, Berkeley, designed a new app called 3) “Patent Fox” that conceptualizes patent ideas, simplifies queries, streamlines filing processes and provides confidence-ranked, evidence-based results.
…
“Through this program we have been able to create a unique experience that not only enabled our students to develop skills in cognitive computing, app development and team work, but also in business development.”

Stanford 2025, a mobile app to advise undergrads, “What if students made a school?”, plus other interesting ideas

On 01/19/2015, in analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, data related items, emerging technologies, future, IBM, ideas, innovation, student-related, by Daniel Christian

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NYC students spark innovative ideas to improve higher education, city services using IBM Watson
CUNY and IBM announce winners in Student App Competition

3^rd place –Education: Advyzr
A mobile app that would advise undergraduates and college counselors on ideal courses and schedules based on learning preferences, graduation requirements, majors, and career goals. It would seamlessly integrate academic targets and user preferences.

Also see:

Student teams to present final ideas — from baruch.cuny.edu
For CUNY-IBM Watson Case Competition | Watch Videos to Learn More About the Teams and Their Ideas

What if students made a school? — from nextgenlearning.org by Tom Carroll

Excerpts:

What would happen if we trusted students to design their schools? Student voice and choice are core principles of a personalized learning movement that is empowering today’s youth to take responsibility for the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to thrive in college, careers and life.

As new education models grow to support this movement, are we ready to take the next step: asking students to help us customize the staff, space, curriculum, tools, and time they need for deeper learning?
…
Although these competitions took place over a decade ago, the students developed five design concepts that are as relevant today as when they were originally drafted.

Co-Created Curriculum
Collaborative Learning
Commitments from Capable Adults
Connected Learning – Doing Real Work
Comfortable, Customizable Learning Space

10 classroom ideas to try in 2015 — from blogs.edweek.org by Jennie Magiera

Karl Kapp “The Case of the Disengaged Learner” #ATDTK — from cammybean.kineo.com by Cammy Bean
These are my liveblogged notes from Karl Kapp’s session at ATD TechKnowledge, happening this week in Las Vegas. Forgive any typos or incoherencies.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Start instruction with ACTION and not objectives. Draw the learner in with action and encourage engagement. Make the learner do something. Have them identify something right away; make a decision right away; answer a question. Give them a complicated problem to solve. Confront a challenge. Create a curiosity gap — something you can do before hand that will raise a question that they want to know the answer to.

Law & Order (the tv) creates open loops — you HAVE to watch to the end to find out what happens. Leave them on a cliffhanger…it pulls you along.

In ID we create a closed loop: “by the end of this module, you will learn…” Instead open with “Do you know the #1 method to close sales in our company. Find out in this module.”

Start with a question that pulls the learner in – this creates an OPEN LOOP that draws them into the instruction. Don’t lead with the objectives (you still need ’em to design your instruction).

Create a challenging experience. Don’t make it frustrating, but create some struggle to get to the answer. Our best experiences are when we have that ah-ha moment, that breakthrough.
…
Add novelty. New and different catches our attention.

Also see Karl’s slides of “The Case of the Disengaged Learner“

Excerpt from Cammy Bean’s posting: David Kelly “Building a Learning Strategy from an Ecosystem of Resources” #ATDTK (emphasis DSC)

So what is a learning and performance ecosystem? It’s an organic entity that evolves over time. It’s finding the resources all around that support performance (not just training!). We’ve got multiple systems in our orgs — in a well-run org, those systems are all connected.

It’s a new mindset for those in L&D and training.

3 predictions for the future of jobs — from agenda.weforum.org by Kristel Van der Elst and Trudi Lan

A coming age of entrepreneurship:
Advances in technology will make self-generated livelihoods increasingly more viable
Retire first, work later?
In the future, our work-life duality patterns may change substantially
The new jobs robots can’t take:
We will soon see a plethora of jobs that currently do not exist

Also see:
Global Strategic Foresight Community – Members’ Perspectives on Global Shifts
As an extension of its own Strategic Foresight practice, the World Economic Forum has established a new community initiative, the Global Strategic Foresight Community (GSFC). A diverse, multistakeholder group, it brings together eminent and forward-looking thought leaders and senior practitioners from leading public, private and civil society organizations. The purpose of the Global Strategic Foresight Community is to provide a peer network to compare and contrast insights as well as to positively shape future-related industry, regional and global agendas. Below you will find information about the members as well as their foresight perspectives on “global shifts”. These shifts concern topics or issues which GSFC members believe should be highlighted now and added to the agendas of the Forum and relevant organizations to inspire constructive action for the future.

From Jobs of the future — from theguardian.com

Example job titles in 2020 — for education

Online education broker
Tailors a bespoke learning package for the client, dovetailing relevant modules from courses and syllabuses around the world.
Space tour guide
With Virgin Galactic planning commercial flights from 2011, space tourists will need cosmic enthusiasts to shed light on all that darkness.

What Are the Top Jobs and Skills of the Future? [Infographic] — from youtern.com

The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas. Linus Pauling #smallbiz #business

— Shawn Winkler-Rios (@Soloprenur) January 18, 2015

A smorgasboard of items re: data science and data scientists, including machine learning

On 01/06/2015, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, career development, computer science, corporate / business world, data related items, future, professional development, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Ten Trends in Data Science 2015 — from linkedin.com by Kurt Cagle

Excerpt:

Data Science Teams
I see the emergence within organizations of data science teams. Typically, such teams will be made up of a number of different specialties:

Integrator. A programmer or DBA that specializes in data ingestion and ETL from multiple different sources. Their domain will tend to be services and databases, and as databases become data application platforms, their role primarily shifts from being responsible for schemas to being responsible for building APIs. Primary focus: Data Acquisition
Data Translation Specialist. This will typically be a person focused on Hadoop, Map/Reduce and similar intermediate processing necessary to take raw data and clean it, transform it, and simplify it. They will work with both integrators and ontologists, Primary Focus: Data Acquiisition
Ontologist. The ontologist is a data architect specializing in building canonical models, working with different models, and establishing relationships between data sets. They will often have semantics or UML backgrounds. Primary focus: Data Awareness.
Curators. These people are responsible for the long term management, sourcing and provenance of data. This role is often held by librarians or archivists. They will often work closely with the ontologists. Primary Focus: Data Awareness.
Stochastic Analyst (Data Scientist?). This role is becoming a specialist one, in which people versed with increasingly sophisticated stochastic and semantic analysis tools take the contextual data and extraction trends, patterns and anti-patterns from this. They usually have a strong mathematical or statistical background, and will typically work with domain experts. Primary Focus: Data Analysis
Domain Expert. Typically these are analysts who know their particular domain, but aren’t necessarily expert on informatics. These may be financial specialists, business analysts, researchers, and so forth, depending upon the specific enterprise focus. Primary Focus: Data Analysis
Visualizers. These are typically going to be web interface developers with skills in areas such as SVG or Canvas and the suites of visualization tools that are emerging in this area. Their role is typically to take the data at hand and turn it into usable, meaningful information. They will work closely with both domain experts and stochastic analysts, as well as with the ontologist to better coerce the information coming from the data systems into meaningful patterns. Primary Focus:Data Analysis
Data Science Manager. This person is responsible for managing the team, understanding all of the domains reasonably well enough to interface with the client, and coordinating efforts. This person also is frequently the point person for establishing governance. Primary Focus: All.

Infographic: What’s Hot in Data Science in 2015 — from data-informed.com; with thanks to Michael Caveretta’s tweet on this

Michigan State Wants a Big Data Professor on Campus — from edtechmagazine.com by D. Frank Smith; back from Nov 2014
Explosive growth in the data science field is pushing higher education to extend its analytics expertise.

Excerpt:

There is a torrent of information flooding today’s higher education institutions. Michigan State University is hoping to find Big Data experts to turn it into results.

Putting Big Data to use in an educational setting takes a special set of skills. MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences recently held a search for an assistant professor of Big Data and health, a position that will lead courses on data analytics and IT in the Department of Media and Information.

“We seek a scholar conducting cutting-edge social and/or technical research utilizing big data approaches — including theory-building, analytics, applications, and effects,” according to MSU’s job listing, which has expired, but is still available on LinkedIn.

Is Data Science a buzzword? Modern Data Scientist defined — from marketingdistillery.com by Krzysztof Zawadzki

Great #infographic! MT @exaptive: #Datascience isn’t = a single #datascientist / super employee. pic.twitter.com/iw6WfTILir ht @analyticisms
— Michael Cavaretta (@mjcavaretta) December 12, 2014

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From DSC: Those working in higher ed – take note of this 12 week bootcamp:

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.. .

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Should Big Data Skills Be Taught in K–12 Classrooms? — from by D. Frank Smith
A new report recommends that schools begin preparing students to think like data scientists at an earlier age.

Excerpt:

The skills necessary for the data analytics jobs of tomorrow aren’t being taught in K–12 schools today, according to a new report released by the Education Development Center, Inc.’s (EDC) Oceans of Data Institute. The Profile of the Big-Data Enabled Specialist projects a workforce shortage for data-driven positions. Based on a 2011 McKinsey & Co. report cited by the Oceans of Data Institute, ”By 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions.”

Difference between Data Scientist and Data Analyst — from edureka.co; again, with thanks to Michael Caveretta’s tweet on this

Excerpt: .

.

The Data Scientist’s Toolbox — course from coursera.org

The 25 Hottest Skills That Got People Hired in 2014 — from linkedin.com

Excerpts:

Statistical analysis and data mining
Business intelligence
Data engineering and data warehousing

16 analytic disciplines compared to data science — from datasciencecentral.com by Vincent Granville

Excerpt:

What are the differences between data science, data mining, machine learning, statistics, operations research, and so on?

Here I compare several analytic disciplines that overlap, to explain the differences and common denominators. Sometimes differences exist for nothing else other than historical reasons. Sometimes the differences are real and subtle. I also provide typical job titles, types of analyses, and industries traditionally attached to each discipline. Underlined domains are main sub-domains. It would be great if someone can add an historical perspective to my article.

Tech 2015: Deep Learning And Machine Intelligence Will Eat The World — from forbes.com by Anthony Wing Kosner; with thanks to Pedro for his tweet on this

Excerpt:

Despite what Stephen Hawking or Elon Musk say, hostile Artificial Intelligence is not going to destroy the world anytime soon. What is certain to happen, however, is the continued ascent of the practical applications of AI, namely deep learning and machine intelligence. The word is spreading in all corners of the tech industry that the biggest part of big data, the unstructured part, possesses learnable patterns that we now have the computing power and algorithmic leverage to discern—and in short order.

The effects of this technology will change the economics of virtually every industry.

The rise of machines that learn — from infoworld.com by Eric Knorr; with thanks to Oliver Hansen for his tweet on this
A new big data analytics startup, Adatao, reminds us that we’re just at the beginning of a new phase of computing when systems become much, much smarter

Shivon Zilis, Machine Intelligence Landscape

Data Science Dojo — @DataScienceDojo
Stanford startup focused on all things data science.

The 2 Types Of Data Scientists Everyone Should Know About — from datasciencecentroal.com by Bernard Marr

Excerpt:

It depends entirely on how broadly you categorize them. In reality, of course – there are as many “types” of data scientist as there are people working in data science. I’ve worked with a lot, and have yet to meet two who are identical.

But what I have done here is separate data scientists into groups, containing individuals who share similar skills, methods, outlooks and responsibilities. Then I grouped those groups together, again and again, until I was left with just two quite distinctly different groups.

I’ve decided to call these two types strategic data scientists and operational data scientists.

Deep learning Reading List — from jmozah.github.io

Reflections on “The University of Southern California, Condé Nast and WIRED launch Master of Integrated Design, Business and Technology”

On 11/18/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, Amazon, analytics, Apple, art, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business side of he, career development, changing business models, collaboration, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, design, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, Google, higher education, IBM, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, MBA, Microsoft, new business models, pace of change, professional development, real-world assignments, reinvent, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, technology (general), workplace, by Daniel Christian

Following up on yesterday’s posting, History Channel bringing online courses to higher ed, I wanted to thank Mr. Rob Kingyens, President at Qubed Education, for alerting me to some related work that Qubed Education is doing. Below is an example of that work:

The University of Southern California, Condé Nast and WIRED launch Master of Integrated Design, Business and Technology — from qubededucation.com
New Learning Model Combines Network and Access of WIRED with Academic Strength and Vision of the USC Roski School of Art and Design

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

MARIN, Calif., October 1, 2014 – The University of Southern California, Condé Nast and WIRED today announced a partnership to create a new online Master’s degree in Integrated Design, Business and Technology. The partnership creates an unprecedented learning experience, combining the expertise of the editors, writers, and designers at WIRED with the academic rigor of USC, a leading research university known for its pioneering interdisciplinary programs. The aim of the 18-24 month degree is to educate creative thinkers and technologists to better equip them to transform the world of industry and enterprise. The first cohort is scheduled to begin in the 2015-2016 academic year.

…

“The pace of technology development requires higher education to continue to respond with programs that are flexible and adaptable, and that meet the needs of future cultural and business leaders,” said Dean Muhl.

“We’ve been thinking for years about what a university curriculum with WIRED would look like, and now we have a chance to build it with a terrific partner,” said Dadich. “Taking the best from USC and WIRED, we can teach discipline and disruption, business fundamentals, and the very latest innovation models from Silicon Valley. This is going to be thrilling.”

…

USC’s program development and build out will be powered by higher education partners Synergis Education and Qubed Education.

From Qubed’s website:

Qubed is the gateway for world-class, global brands to enter the education market with top tier universities.

From DSC:
I’ve long wondered if institutions of higher education will need to pool resources and/or form more partnerships and collaborations — either with other universities/colleges or with organizations outside of higher education. This reflection grows stronger for me when I:

Think that team-based content creation and delivery is pulling ahead of the pack
Hear about the financial situations of many institutions of higher education today (example1; example2)
See the momentum building up behind Competency Based Education (CBE)
Witness the growth of alternatives like Ideo Futures, Yieldr Academy, Lessons Go Where, ClassDo, Udemy, C-Suite TV.com and others
Hear about the potential advantages of learning analytics
See the pace of change accelerating — challenging higher education to keep up

For some institution(s) of higher education out there with deep pockets and a strong reputation, I could see them partnering up with an IBM (Watson), Google (Deepmind), Apple (Siri), Amazon (Echo), or Microsoft (Cortana) to create some next generation learning platforms. In fact, this is one of the areas I see occurring as lifelong learning/self-directed learning opportunities hit our living rooms. The underlying technologies these companies are working on could be powerful allies in the way people learn in the future — doing some heavy lifting to build the foundations in a variety of disciplines, and leaving the higher-order learning and the addressing of gaps to professors, teachers, trainers, and others.

Reflections on “C-Suite TV debuts, offers advice for the boardroom” [Dreier]

On 07/21/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adult learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communities of practice, convergence, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interactivity, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, streams of content, student-related, technologies for your home, telecommunications, television, training / L&D, trends, ubiquitous learning, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

C-Suite TV debuts, offers advice for the boardroom — from streamingmedia.com by Troy Dreier
Business leaders now have an on-demand video network to call their own, thanks to one Bloomberg host’s online venture.

Excerpt:

Bringing some business acumen to the world of online video, C-Suite TV is launching today. Created by Bloomberg TV host and author Jeffrey Hayzlett, the on-demand video network offers interviews with and shows about business execs. It promises inside information on business trends and the discussions taking place in the biggest boardrooms.

The Future of TV is here for the C-Suite — from hayzlett.com by Jeffrey Hayzlett

Excerpt:

Rather than wait for networks or try and gain traction through the thousands of cat videos, we went out and built our own network.

See also:

Mind your own business
From the About page:
C-Suite TV is a web-based digital on-demand business channel featuring interviews and shows with business executives, thought leaders, authors and celebrities providing news and information for business leaders. C-Suite TV is your go-to resource to find out the inside track on trends and discussions taking place in businesses today. This online channel will be home to such shows as C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett, MYOB – Mind Your Own Business and Bestseller TV with more shows to come.

From DSC:
The above items took me back to the concept of Learning from the Living [Class] Room.

Many of the following bullet points are already happening — but what I’m trying to influence/suggest is to bring all of them together in a powerful, global, 24 x 7 x 365, learning ecosystem:

When our “TVs” become more interactive…
When our mobile devices act as second screens and when second screen-based apps are numerous…
When discussion boards, forums, social media, assignments, assessments, and videoconferencing capabilities are embedded into our Smart/Connected TVs and are also available via our mobile devices…
When education is available 24 x 7 x 365…
When even the C-Suite taps into such platforms…
When education and entertainment are co-mingled…
When team-based educational content creation and delivery are mainstream…
When self-selecting Communities of Practice thrive online…
When Learning Hubs combine the best of both worlds (online and face-to-face)…
When Artificial Intelligence, powerful cognitive computing capabilities (i.e., IBM’s Watson), and robust reporting mechanisms are integrated into the backends…
When lifelong learners have their own cloud-based profiles…
When learners can use their “TVs” to tap into interactive, multimedia-based streams of content of their choice…
When recommendation engines are offered not just at Netflix but also at educationally-oriented sites…
When online tutoring and intelligent tutoring really take off…

…then I’d say we’ll have a powerful, engaging, responsive, global education platform.

IBM and Apple form partnership to bring big data & analytics capabilities to your iPhone/iPad

On 07/17/2014, in analytics, Apple, business, computer science, corporate / business world, data related items, IBM, innovation, mobile technologies, programming, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Apple joins with IBM on business software — from nytimes.com by Brian Chen and Steve Lohrjuly

Excerpt:

In a deal that could deepen Apple’s sales to corporations and strengthen IBM’s position in business software, the two companies announced a wide-ranging partnership intended to spread advanced mobile and data analysis technology in the corporate world.

IBM and Apple have been working together on the venture for several months, and they are jointly working on more than 100 business software programs developed exclusively for Apple’s iOS operating system and for use on iPhones and iPads. The applications will be tailored for use in industries including retail, health care, transportation, banking, insurance and telecommunications.

Apple and IBM forge global partnership to transform enterprise mobility — from apple.com

Excerpt:

CUPERTINO, California and ARMONK, New York—July 15, 2014—Apple® and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced an exclusive partnership that teams the market-leading strengths of each company to transform enterprise mobility through a new class of business apps—bringing IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone® and iPad®.

The landmark partnership aims to redefine the way work will get done, address key industry mobility challenges and spark true mobile-led business change—grounded in four core capabilities…

The next level of enterprise mobility: where data meets engagement — from IBM.com

Breaking down the Apple – IBM Announcement for our Ecosystem and Developers! — from socialbusinesssandy.com by Sandy Carter

Excerpt:

What did we announce? An exclusive partnership that teams the market-leading strengths of each company to transform enterprise mobility through a new class of business apps—bringing IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone® and iPad®.

Apple-IBM: Infographic of announcements! — from socialbusinesssandy.com by Sandy Carter

Why the Apple-IBM deal matters more to banking than you might think — from by JJ Hornblass

Apple teams up with IBM for huge, expansive enterprise push — from techcrunch.com by Darrell Etherington

From DSC:
It would be very interesting times, indeed, if Watson merged with Siri! Here’s a posting to that effect:

When Watson met Siri: Apple’s IBM deal could make Siri a lot smarter — from venturebeat.com by Richard Byrne Reilly & Devindra Hardawar

Excerpt:

One of the long-term results of Apple’s new partnership with IBM — which the two announced yesterday as a joint effort to give both a stronger standing in the mobile enterprise — could be an eventual union between Watson and Siri, a “cognitive” technology expert familiar with both tells VentureBeat.

—————–

Addendums:

Educating the ‘big data’ generation — from by Katherine Noyes
Classes—and even degree programs—focused on data analytics are cropping up all over the U.S. Behind them? Tech’s largest companies.

Report: Cognizant computing will have ‘immense’ impact on mobile computing — from by Joshua Bolkan

Excerpt:

Gartner has unveiled a new report forecasting that cognizant computing, which the company says is the next phase of the personal cloud movement, “will become one of the strongest forces in consumer-focused IT” in the next few years to “have an immense impact across a range of industries, including mobile devices, mobile apps, wearables, networking, services and cloud providers.”

…

With data analytics as its backbone, cognizant computing uses simple rules and data associated with an individual to create services and activities delivered across multiple devices. Examples include alarms, payments, health and fitness monitoring and management and context-specific advertisements.

—————–

Reflections on “The Internet of Things will radically change your Big Data strategy” [Kavis]

On 07/14/2014, in analytics, career development, computer science, data related items, higher education, internet, programming, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The Internet of Things will radically change your Big Data strategy — from forbes.com by Mike Kavis

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Companies are jumping on the Internet of Things (IoT) bandwagon and for good reasons. McKinsey Global Institute reports that the IoT business will deliver $6.2 trillion of revenue by 2025. Many people wonder if companies are ready for this explosion of data generated for IoT. As with any new technology, security is always the first point of resistance. I agree that IoT brings a wave of new security concerns but the bigger concern is how woefully unprepared most data centers are for the massive amount of data coming from all of the “things” in the near future.

Some companies are still hanging on to the belief that they can manage their own data centers better than the various cloud providers out there. This state of denial should all but go away when the influx of petabyte scale data becomes a reality for enterprises. Enterprises are going to have to ask themselves, “Do we want to be in the infrastructure business?” because that is what it will take to provide the appropriate amount of bandwidth, disk storage, and compute power to keep up with the demand for data ingestion, storage, and real-time analytics that will serve the business needs. If there ever was a use case for the cloud, the IoT and Big Data is it.

…

Even if enterprises manage to make it past the data ingestion phase, the data storage phase presents another set of challenges. In this area, companies must learn new technologies like Hadoop, Map Reduce, etc. and be able to provision enough disk, network, and compute capacity to keep up with the influx of new data. There is a major skills shortage in the area which creates a serious challenge in the do-it-yourself (DIY) model.

…

In the DIY model, engineers need to acquire a broad range of skills in order to work with the underlying technologies.

From DSC:
The above item made be wonder:

What are institutions of higher education doing to equip our students with the skills needed to be effective working with the Internet of Things (IoT)? With Big Data?
Are we able to be responsive to these needs? If not, what changes do we need to make to be more responsive to market needs?

Internet Trends 2014 — Mary Meeker [KPCB]

On 05/29/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, analytics, Apple, Asia, business, Canada, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, convergence, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, data related items, disruption, emerging technologies, Europe, global / globalization, Google, human-computer interaction (HCI), IBM, innovation, interactivity, internet, marketing/social marketing, marketplaces, mobile technologies, more voice more choice more control, pace of change, platforms, smart/connected TV, social media, society, strategy, streams of content, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, television, trends, UK, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

Example slides:

MIT Technology Review’s “10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2014”

On 05/14/2014, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Augmented Reality (AR), biology, collaboration, data related items, emerging technologies, engineering, mobile technologies, research, robotics, technology (general), by Daniel Christian

10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2014 — from MIT Technology Review

Also see:

MIT Lists its 10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2014 – Part 1 — from WFS.org

2 items on Big Data as it applies to learning [Masie & Proulx]

On 04/24/2014, in analytics, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, data related items, ethics, higher education, online learning, by Daniel Christian

When is Big Learning Data too Big? — from Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie

Excerpt from Update #822:

1) An interesting question arose in our conversations about Big Learning Data:

When is Big Learning Data too Big?
The question is framed around the ability of an individual or an organization to process really large amounts of data. Can a learning designer or even a learner, “handle” really large amounts of data? When is someone (or even an organization) handicapped by the size, scope and variety of data that is available to reflect learning patterns and outcomes? When do we want a tight summary vs. when we want to see a scattergram of many data points?

As we grow the size, volume and variety of Big Learning Data elements – we will also need to respect the ability (or challenge) of people to process the data. A parent may hear that their kid is a B- in mathematics – and want a lot more data. But, the same parent does not want 1,000 data elements covering 500 sub-competencies. The goal is to find a way to reflect Big Learning Data to an individual in a fashion that enables them to make better sense of the process – and have a “Continuum” that they can move to get more or less data as a situational choice.

Also related, an excerpt from Three Archetypes of the Future Post-Secondary Instructor — from evoLLLution.com by Chris Proulx

The Course Hacker
The last and perhaps most speculative role of the future online instructor will be the person who digs deep into the data that will be available from next generation learning systems to target specific learning interventions to specific students — at scale. The idea of the Course Hacker is based on the emerging role of the Growth Hacker at high-growth web businesses. Mining data from web traffic, social media, email campaigns, etc., the Growth Hacker is constantly iterating a web product or marketing campaign to seek rapid growth in users or revenue. Adapted to online education, the Course Hacker would be a faculty member with strong technical and statistical skills who would study data about which course assets were being used and by whom, which students worked more quickly or slowly, which questions caused the most problems on a quiz, who were the most socially active students in the course, who were the lurkers but getting high marks, etc. Armed with those deep insights, they would be continually adapting course content, providing support and remedial help to targeted students, creating incentives to motivate people past critical blocks in the course, etc.

Added later on:

Ethical Discourse: Guiding the Fuure of Learning Analytics — from educause.edu by James E. Willis, III and Matthew D. Pistilli
Excerpt:

What do the ethical models look like? How are these models deployed rapidly — at the speed of technology? How are these models refined with time? We distilled the group discussions into a series of topics, including student awareness (or lack of awareness) of analytics, future algorithmic science, and the future of learning analytics as defined by business practices, student and faculty access to the data, and a redefinition of failure.

The arguments put forward here often take the form of rhetorical questions; the methodological purpose in presenting the argument in this way is to frame how ethical questioning might guide future developments.

Career alert: A Master of analytics degree is the ticket — if you can get into class — from computerworld.com by Patrick Thibodeau
As demand for data degrees rise, acceptance rates fall

Reflections on “Time to retire from online learning?” [by Tony Bates]

On 04/17/2014, in analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, data related items, distance education, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, online learning, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Time to retire from online learning? – by Tony Bates

Excerpts:

Teaching in higher education is about to go through as major a revolution as one can imagine. This is not going to be easy; indeed it could get brutal.
…
…this is not a profession where you can be half in and half out. Dabbling in online learning is very dangerous (politicians please note).
…
Lastly, I am concerned that the computer scientists seem to be taking over online education. Ivy League MOOCs are being driven mainly by computer scientists, not educators. Politicians are looking to computer science to automate learning in order to save money. Computer scientists have much to offer, but they need more humility and a greater willingness to work with other professionals, such as psychologists and teachers, who understand better how learning operates. This is a battle that has always existed in educational technology, but it’s one I fear the educators are losing. The result could be disastrous, but that’s a theme for a whole set of blog posts.

From DSC:
I am very grateful for Tony’s work! He has helped many, many people develop their own learning ecosystems in a variety of ways throughout these last 45 years. As I, too, am passionate about online learning, I have really appreciated Tony’s insights and writings about topics that related to online and distance learning. I was glad to hear that Tony will continue to write in the future.

What educationally-related affordances might we enjoy from these TV-related developments?

On 04/09/2014, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, active learning, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Bring your own device (BYOD), communications, content development, aggregation, repositories, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, distance education, e-books, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, flipping -- inverted learning, future, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, lifelong learning, media/film, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more voice more choice more control, Near Field Communication (NFC), online learning, online media, online tutoring, participation, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, professional development, reinvent, second screen apps, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, social media, staying relevant, streams of content, student-related, surviving, technologies for your home, telepresence, television, training / L&D, transmedia, trends, user experience (UX), videoconferencing, virtual field trips, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

CONTENTS

Content discovery and synchronization
With access to rich data about their subscribers and what they do, operators can improve recommendation, encourage social TV and exploit second screen synchronization.
Recordings get more personal
One of the next big steps in multiscreen TV is giving people access to their personal recordings on every screen. This is the moment for nPVR to finally make its entrance.
Evolving the User Experience
As service providers go beyond household level and address individuals, the role of log-ins or context will become important. There is a place for social TV and big data.
The role of audio in personalization
Audio has a huge impact on how much we enjoy video services. Now it can help to personalize them. ‘Allegiance’ based audio choices are one possibility.
Making advertising more targeted
Addressable advertising is in its infancy but has a bright future, helping to fund the growth of on-demand and multiscreen viewing.

Some excerpts from this report:

Good content should be matched by good content discovery , including recommendations. The current state-of -the-art is defined by Netflix.

…

Today’s TV experience is worlds apart from the one we were talking about even five years ago. We’ve witnessed exponential growth in services such as HD and have moved from a model in which one screen is watched by many, to many screens (and devices) being available to the individual viewer, what is today called TV Everywhere. Having multiscreen access to content is driving the demand for a more personalised experience, in which the viewer can expect to see what they want, where, and when. While video on-demand (VOD) has been a great method for delivering compelling content to viewers, it is not always a truly seamless TV-like experience, and traditionally has been limited to the living room. The growing demand for the personalised experience is driving seismic change within the TV industry, and we’ve seen great strides made already, with time-shifted TV and nPVR as just two examples of how we in the industry can deliver content in the ways viewers want to watch. The next step is to move towards more advanced content discovery, effectively creating a personalised channel or playlist for the individual user.

…

As the tools become available to deliver personalized experiences to consumers, content owners can better create experiences that leverage their content. For example, for sports with multiple points of action, like motor racing, multiple camera angles and audio feeds will allow fans to follow the action that is relevant to their favourite racing team. And for movies, access to additional elements such as director’s commentaries, which have been available on Blu-ray discs for some time, can be made available over broadcast networks.

From DSC:
Some words and phrases that come to my mind:

Personalization.
Data driven.
Content discovery and recommendation engines (which could easily relate to educational playlists)
Training on demand
Learning agents
Web-based learner profiles
Learning hubs
What MOOCs morph into
More choice. More control.
Virtual tutoring
Interactivity and participation
Learning preferences
Lifelong learning
Reinventing oneself
Streams of content
Learning from The Living [Class] Room

Reflections on “IT under pressure: McKinsey Global Survey results” [Khan & Sikes]

On 03/26/2014, in analytics, business, career development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, game-changing environment, IT in HE, professional development, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

IT under pressure: McKinsey Global Survey results — from mckinsey.com by Naufal Khan and Johnson Sikes
Recognition of IT’s strategic importance is growing, but so is dissatisfaction with its effectiveness, according to our eighth annual survey on business and technology strategy.

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

More and more executives are acknowledging the strategic value of IT to their businesses beyond merely cutting costs. But as they focus on and invest in the function’s ability to enable productivity, business efficiency, and product and service innovation, respondents are also homing in on the shortcomings many IT organizations suffer. Among the most substantial challenges are demonstrating effective leadership and finding, developing, and retaining IT talent.

These are among the key findings from our most recent survey on business technology, which asked executives from all functions about their companies’ priorities for, spending on, and satisfaction with IT. Overall, respondents are more negative about IT performance than they were in 2012 and, notably, IT executives judge their own effectiveness more harshly than their business counterparts do. Compared with executives from the business side, they are more than twice as likely to suggest replacing IT management as the best remedy.

From DSC:
It seems to me that an organization or team can’t expect to extract significant value from someone or something that they haven’t cultivated. That is, a sports team shouldn’t expect a player who has sat on the bench most of the year to come in and light the world on fire. That player needs actual time playing in the games/matches/meets/etc. They need experience. They need practice in developing strategy as well as some experiments — to find out what’s working and what’s not.

IT organizations are key these days; and becoming more important in leading the organizations that they function in. It is short-sighted not to develop IT employees in both technical and business-related skills. As our world is increasingly being impacted by technological advances (occurring at exponential — not linear — trajectories), those companies who have leadership from the technical sides of the house should do quite well in the future.

Key items to work on:

Creating tighter integrations with the rest of the business/organization; get more IT-based reps into situations where they can pull up chairs at more business-oriented tables/discussions/projects (product development/R&D, sales, marketing, customer service, other); affect the culture of the organization so that they can actually lead the organization
Develop innovative, strategic thinking — thinking BIG!
Understanding the changing landscapes and what opportunities might exist as a result of those changing landscapes
Ability to develop potential scenarios and form responses to those scenarios
Stop thinking about cutting costs, start using your skills/knowledge to develop new income streams, new products, and new markets! Stop seeing IT departments as cost centers, but rather key revenue generators!
Moving more visionaries and those with the ability to persuade/sell into the IT organization
Create/give IT staff more chances to get in the game!

Regarding the graphic below:

IT-based personnel should be kicking out a lot more new, innovative products and services. That’s where their new/additional value should come from. But that doesn’t seem to be happening.

Why is that? Is the rest of the business so used to looking at IT in certain ways? Does IT have a seat at the senior-most level/table? Are folks in the business listening or even approaching IT for their input? Are some cultural changes necessary?

Also see:

CIO ‘confessions’: 5 critical attributes of the best IT leaders — from hp.com
A new book profiles leading CIOs to learn how they thrive. It’s not about technology—it’s about guts.

What: CIOs are taking on more and more responsibilities, and while technology matters, leadership makes all the difference.
Why: Tech trends come and go, but the challenge of bridging the gap between IT and the business—and demonstrating how IT can deliver real value—remain the heart of the job.
More: Read Confessions of a Successful CIO, set for March 2014 release.

By the way, all of this is true within the world of higher education as well. Consider, for example, the need for IT/technical leadership in the worlds of online learning, blended learning, distance education, as well as in creating new revenue streams based upon technologies and the affordances that these technologies provide.

Also see:

Top 10 Strategic Issues for Boards, 2013-2014 — from The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Those top issues include:

The Revenue Model
Productivity and Efficiency
Student Aid
Educational Delivery
Student Learning
Student Success
Market and Mission
The Academic Workforce
Globalization
Institutional Risk

Top-Ten IT Issues, 2014: Be the Change You See — from educause.edu by Susan Grajek

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Improving student outcomes through an institutional approach that strategically leverages technology
Establishing a partnership between IT leadership and institutional leadership to develop a collective understanding of what information technology can deliver
Assisting faculty with the instructional integration of information technology
Developing an IT staffing and organizational model to accommodate the changing IT environment and facilitate openness and agility
Using analytics to help drive critical institutional outcomes
Changing IT funding models to sustain core service, support innovation, and facilitate growth
Addressing access demand and the wireless and device explosion
Sourcing technologies and services at scale to reduce costs (via cloud, greater centralization of institutional IT services and systems, cross-institutional collaborations, and so forth)
Determining the role of online learning and developing a strategy for that role
Implementing risk management and information security practices to protect institutional IT resources/data and respond to regulatory compliance mandates*

Developing an enterprise IT architecture that can respond to changing conditions and new opportunities*

* Tie

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