data mining

How ‘big data’ is transforming business [McKinseyQuarterly.com]

On 11/02/2011, in analytics, business, change, corporate / business world, data related items, disruption, machine-to-machine communications, marketing/social marketing, by Daniel Christian

How ‘big data’ is transforming business — from McKinseyQuarterly.com

Excerpt:

Right now at your own company, it’s quite possible that sensors in process machinery are collecting operational data, marketers are using location data from smartphones to demystify teenagers’ buying quirks, and data exchanges are creating networks with your supply chain partners. As an explosion of data transforms processes, corporate ecosystems, and approaches to innovation, it’s important to remember that new technologies and tools raise productivity not only because companies adopt them but also, more critically, because they enable new management practices and organizational structures. So in this month’s newsletter, we highlight a package of articles that can help executives navigate the era of big data.

Tagged with: analytics • corporate / business world • data mining • disruption • machine-to-machine communications • marketing/social marketing

Why cloud computing is expanding the powers of Big Data analysis [Smith]

On 10/14/2011, in 21st century, analytics, business, career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, computer science, data related items, future, reinvent, surviving, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Why cloud computing is expanding the powers of Big Data analysis — from wired.co.uk by Dan Smith

Excerpt:

According to Werner Vogels, Amazon.com’s chief technology officer, data analysis — specifically “Big Data” analysis — is the backbone of modern business. Without it, your survival chances are limited and, with the growth of cloud computing it’s becoming easier than ever for startups and SMEs. “There’s a shift going on,” Vogels says. “Five or ten years ago, when thinking about data analysis, you would think about the biggest companies in the world. Today, there’s not a new business not thinking about data analysis.”

Also see:

Is the cloud driving the new marketplace? –– venturebeat.com
undertheradarblog.com

Tagged with: 21st century • analytics • business • career development • cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related • computer science • data mining • future • reinvent • surviving • workplace

Building Learning Communities 2011 Keynote: Dr. Eric Mazur [November Learning]

On 10/13/2011, in adjunct faculty, blended learning, collaboration, communities of practice, data related items, face-to-face, faculty/staff, higher education, hybrid learning, innovation, learning ecosystem, learning theories, physics, social learning / networks, strategy, teachers, teaching & learning, by Daniel Christian

Building Learning Communities 2011 Keynote: Dr. Eric Mazur — from November Learning

Excerpt:

Today, we are officially relaunching our opening keynote from BLC11 with Dr. Eric Mazur. Dr. Mazur is the Area Dean of Applied Physics and Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.

In his keynote, Dr. Mazur shares his vast research on teaching and learning. Students in Dr. Mazur’s class are moving far away from the traditional stand and deliver lectures given in many k-12 and university classrooms around the world, and they are gaining a much deeper understanding of the material being taught in the process.

As you watch this video, we invite you to take some time and respond to one or more of the following questions…

From DSC:
What I understood the key points to be:

Teaching and learning should not be about information transfer alone; that is, it’s not about simply having students “parrot back” the information. That doesn’t lead to true learning and long-term retention.
The more a teacher is an expert in his/her content, the more difficulty this teacher has in understanding how a first time learner in this subject struggles
Rather we need to guide and use peer instruction/social learning/collaboration amongst students to construct learning and then be able to apply/transfer that learning to a different context
Lecturing is not an effective way to create a long term retention of information
Peer instruction/human interaction creates effective learning
“The plural of anecdotes is not data.”
Eric is seeking data and feedback to sharpen his theories of how to optimize learning
Technology serves pedagogy — technology should afford a new mode of learning
Towards that end, Eric and team working on “Peer instruction 2.0”
How do I design good questions? Optimize the discussions? Manage time? Insure learning is taking place?
Eric is working with several other colleagues to create a system for building and using data analytics to give useful information to instructor about who’s “getting it” and who isn’t; about how we learn
Peer instruction not without issues — how people group themselves and who students choose to collaborate with can be problematical
Why not have the system do the pairing/grouping?
System uses algorithms, facial recognition, posture analysis; cameras, microphones
Surveys also used
The system is attempting to help Eric and his team learn about learning
The system being used at Harvard and by invitation only

Eric ended with a summary of the 2 key messages:

Education is not about lecturing
We can move way beyond the current technologies and use new methods and technologies to actively manage learning as it happens

From DSC:
After listening to this lecture, the graphic below captures a bit of what he’s getting at and reflects some of my thinking on this subject as well. That is, we need diagnostic tools — along the lines of those a mechanic might use on our cars to ascertain where the problems/issues are:

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • blended learning • collaboration • communities of practice • data mining • face-to-face • faculty-staff • higher education • hybrid learning • innovation • instructional design • learning and study strategies • learning ecosystem • learning theories • physics • social learning • strategy • teachers • teaching & learning

New Michigan School Data website: “Web site lets you compare Michigan high schools’ success” [Higgins]

On 08/19/2011, in analytics, data related items, education, K-12 related, Michigan, by Daniel Christian

Web site lets you compare Michigan high schools’ success — Detroit Free Press by Lori Higgins

Also see:

Tagged with: analytics • data mining • education • K-12 • Michigan

SunGard HE and Datatel: ‘An arranged marriage’

On 08/09/2011, in data related items, education technology, IT in HE, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

SunGard HE and Datatel: ‘An arranged marriage’ — from campustechnology.com

Excerpt:

Two of the biggest players in the education space have gone all in with their chips in a game not of their making. SunGard Higher Education, which became one of the largest companies in the segment, is being acquired from SunGard Data Systems in a $1.775 billion dollar deal by the same private equity firm that owns Datatel, another major education behemoth. According to a statement, the two companies will operate as a single entity under Hellman & Friedman, which bought Datatel in 2009. The combined business will acquire a new name and will continue to focus on serving educational institutions.

Tagged with: data mining • Datatel • educational technology • IT • tools • vendors

How data and analytics can improve education [Watters]

On 07/26/2011, in analytics, data related items, learning theories, online learning, traditional / tradition, by Daniel Christian

How data and analytics can improve education –from O’Reilly by by Audrey Watters
George Siemens on the applications and challenges of education data.

Excerpt:

Schools have long amassed data: tracking grades, attendance, textbook purchases, test scores, cafeteria meals, and the like. But little has actually been done with this information — whether due to privacy issues or technical capacities — to enhance students’ learning.

With the adoption of technology in more schools and with a push for more open government data, there are clearly a lot of opportunities for better data gathering and analysis in education. But what will that look like? It’s a politically charged question, no doubt, as some states are turning to things like standardized test score data in order to gauge teacher effectiveness and, in turn, retention and promotion.

I asked education theorist George Siemens, from the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute at Athabasca University, about the possibilities and challenges for data, teaching, and learning.

Our interview follows.

From DSC:
My thanks to Stephen Downes for his posting on this:

Explore A New Learning Frontier: MOOC
(A MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course.)

Tagged with: analytics • Connectivism • data mining • education • learning theories • MOOCs • online learning • traditional

Also see:

Wolfram Research launches new file format to help make knowledge interactive

Tagged with: biology • chemistry • computer science • creativity • data mining • digital learning • e-publishing related items (EPUB and more) • emerging technologies • engineering • Geography • Geology • Graphics • higher education • illustration • innovation • interactivity • math • research • science • tools • user experience • vendors • visualizing information

Kosmix

On 10/23/2010, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, data related items, innovation, learning agents, learning ecosystem, social learning / networks, social media, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: data mining • innovation • internet • Learning Agents • learning ecosystem • social learning • social media

Next Generation Learning and the Innovation Imperative

On 10/21/2010, in analytics, dangers of the status quo, data related items, engagement / engaging students, funding / grants, game-changing environment, generational differences, innovation, K-12 related, new business models, using teams, by Daniel Christian

.
I originally saw this at xplana.com

Tagged with: analytics • dangers of the status quo • data mining • engagement • funding • game-changing environment • generational differences • grants • innovation • K-12 • new business models in he • Using teams

What are our motivations? What’s the state of our hearts?

On 10/18/2010, in analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, ethics, faith, future, intelligent tutoring, learner profiles, learning agents, morals/values, pace of change, by Daniel Christian

We need to be constantly checking and praying about the state of our hearts.

The State of the Heart

From DSC:
My conscience prompts me to write this…as my recent posting on developing and using web-based learner profiles was not meant to try and ultimately recreate the human brain. I don’t think that’s possible. Rather, I was hoping that we could use such methods and breakthroughs to promote the personalization, customization, and engagement levels of the learning materials and experiences that we are able to offer each other.

But the posting got me to reflecting on a variety of technological advancements…and I couldn’t help but wonder about the motivations at play sometimes here.

That is, things can begin innocently enough and with excellent intentions. For example, with stem-cell research, such research can offer understanding on how stem cells might be able to help treat debilitating conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, traumatic spinal injury, or be used for positively affecting other clinical and therapeutic applications. And that’s great! Excellent!

But the problem for me in many of these endeavors lies in the hearts of mankind. Because, who knows where things could go from there…

Will we one day find ourselves being able to create fellow human beings? If so, who determines what those fellow human beings are like? Will we be able to program a robot to continually learn? If so, how will such devices be used by individuals? Corporations? Governments? Nations?

I know…it sounds rather bizarre and far-fetched. But with the rate of technological advancements, I just think we need to take a pulse check on the motivations involved. I’m suspect that the motivations of many folks out there are not in mankind’s ultimate best interest…plus…sometimes these individuals and organizations just don’t have the heart.

Ezekiel 11:19 (NIV)¹⁹ I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them;
I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

P.S. from DSC:
I need to say that my heart is in constant need of attention as well;
I don’t claim to be perfect…but I also don’t claim to want to play God.

Tagged with: Daniel S. Christian • data mining • ethics • faith-wisdom • future • intelligent tutoring • learner profiles • Learning Agents • morals/values • pace of change • religion

The thinking LMS

On 10/18/2010, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, analytics, CMS/LMS, data related items, learner profiles, learning agents, learning ecosystem, online learning, by Daniel Christian

The thinking LMS — from InsideHigherEd.com by — Steve Kolowich

If Facebook can use analytics to revolutionize advertising in the Web era, McQuaig suggested, colleges can use the same principles to revolutionize online learning.

The trick, she said, is individualization. Facebook lets users customize their experiences with the site by creating profiles and curating the flow of information coming through their “news feeds.” In the same motion, the users volunteer loads of information about themselves.

…

Unlike analog forms of student profiling — such as surveys, which are only as effective as the students’ ability to diagnose their own learning needs — Phoenix’s Learning Genome Project will be designed to infer details about students from how they behave in the online classroom, McQuaig said. If students grasp content more quickly when they learn it from a video than when they have to read a text, the system will feed them more videos. If a student is bad at interpreting graphs, the system will recognize that and present information accordingly — or connect the student with another Phoenix student who is better at graph-reading. The idea is to take the model of personal attention now only possible in the smallest classrooms and with the most responsive professors, make it even more perceptive and precise, and scale it to the largest student body in higher education.

“[Each student] comes to us with a set of learning modality preferences,” McQuaig said. The online learning platform Phoenix wants to build, she said, “reject[s] the one-size-fits-all model of presenting content online.” In the age of online education and the personal Web, the standardized curriculum is marked for extinction, McQuaig said; data analytics are going to kill it.

Tagged with: 1:1 • 21st century • 24x7x365 • analytics • CMS/LMS • data mining • learner profiles • Learning Agents • learning ecosystem • online learning

Some reflections re: web/cloud-based learner profiles

On 10/16/2010, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, CMS/LMS, colleges, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, digital learning, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, learning agents, learning ecosystem, learning preferences, lifelong learning, mobile learning, multimedia, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, training / L&D, ubiquitous learning, universities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Reflections on web-based learner profiles -- by Daniel S. Christian

Tagged with: 1:1 • 21st century • 24x7x365 • AI • assessment • Blackboard • cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related • CMS/LMS • colleges • community college • competency-based learning/education • corporate training / universities • customized learning • Daniel S. Christian • data mining • digital learning • e-learning • educational technology • emerging technologies • evaluation • HCI • innovation • instructional design • intelligent tutoring • internet • K-12 • Learning Agents • learning ecosystem • learning preferences • Lifelong learning • Mobile learning • Moodle • personalized learning • scaffolding • training • ubiquitous learning • universities

Real-time scholarship — from academicevolution.com

On 03/24/2010, in data related items, learning ecosystem, pace of change, publishing, research, by Daniel Christian

Real-time scholarship — from academicevolution.com by Gideon Burton

“The tools are only getting better and better for discovery, networking, data mining, networking, collaborating, representing findings and disseminating learned communication. I pity my colleagues trapped in the print paradigm. By the time a journal article appears (or even an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education), what they report on will be secondary to the real conversation. The real scholars are the real-time scholars (emphasis DSC). We use legacy knowledge systems and respect them for what they do, but we don’t wait for them to fossilize the conversation; we’re too busy growing live knowledge with the more intellectually agile tools of mobile phones, microblogging, and live update streams.”

From DSC:
Gideon Burton expresses my viewpoints on this topic as well. The pace of exchanging information and learning about new information has picked up considerably. Those who rely on getting their information via printed journals are going to be at least 1 step behind. (This goes for textbooks as well.)

But my larger concern here is that if we aren’t connected in real-time to a global network of colleagues and peers, our knowledgebases may be a version or two behind — and worse yet, we may be relaying inaccurate information. We need a real-time, up-to-date, ever-growing, ever-adapting learning ecosystem.

Once again I ask, “Can you hear the engines roaring? As for myself, I’m trying not to come out onto the racetrack in an old “Model T”, as I have a significant co-pay on emergency room visits!

Tagged with: data mining • journals • learning ecosystem • new publishing models • pace of change • publishing • real-time information

Google’s Public Data Explorer

On 03/08/2010, in Google, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: data mining • Google

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Google’s Public Data Explorer

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