Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    sales and data analytics
    How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
    9 Min Read
    data analytics and truck accident claims
    How Data Analytics Reduces Truck Accidents and Speeds Up Claims
    7 Min Read
    predictive analytics for interior designers
    Interior Designers Boost Profits with Predictive Analytics
    8 Min Read
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Big Data Education: Why Learning Will Never Be the Same
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Uncategorized > Big Data Education: Why Learning Will Never Be the Same
Uncategorized

Big Data Education: Why Learning Will Never Be the Same

Bernard Marr
Bernard Marr
8 Min Read
Image
SHARE

Image

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Millennial or a Baby Boomer—classrooms today are starting to look a lot different than when we were kids.

Image

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Millennial or a Baby Boomer—classrooms today are starting to look a lot different than when we were kids.

More Read

Google to Spend $773 Million on Dutch Data Center
Leveraging Complexity to Create Value
Practical Change Management: The Top Ten Countdown – No. 10
Why Flickr Images Boost Your Blog
The Risks of Using One Backup Solution Over Another [VIDEO]

Children are being issued tablets or laptops as soon as they enter school, before many can even read. Second graders are being required to type 60 words per minute in order to easily take computer-based standardized tests. And a child’s digital trail within the school system may begin as early as preschool, with information including the child’s name, address, birth date, medical and behavioral history all entered into an administration system.

Technology and data collection in the classroom are a reality, and the field is changing so fast, it’s nearly impossible to predict what kids even a few years from now will accept as part of the norm of their education.

It’s yet another example of the ways in which big data is becoming an inextricable part of everyday life. But when it comes to our children’s education, is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

Closing the feedback loops and the benefits of data in education

Education has always fundamentally been about feedback loops. A teacher presents a problem and the student attempts to solve it. From that attempt, the teacher can learn what the student understands and doesn’t understand, and can adjust his or her instruction accordingly. Likewise, the student understands more about the problem he attempted.

That works very well in a one-to-one setting or with a low student to teacher ratio, but with classrooms overflowing with students—each one of whom is at a different level—it becomes much harder to create those individual feedback loops.

That’s one area where data and technology can step in.

Any teacher can walk students through a course. But to pinpoint and develop the specific problem areas of each student—in classrooms that are already at capacity—is a tough undertaking, which is where an education technology company like Knewton seeks to improve the process.

Through its digital platform, Knewton analyzes the progress of millions of students, from kindergarten to college level, to create better test questions and personalized course goals.

The company recently partnered with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to provide adaptive K-12 math courses, as well as French startup Gutenberg Technology to create smarter digital textbooks—then capped off the year by raising an impressive $51 million, led by venerable venture firm Atomico.

Basically, these courses and textbooks adapt to each individual student. The program can assess, in real time, whether a problem is too easy, too hard, or just right, and adjust the remaining problems in a session accordingly.

Students can proceed at their own pace, regardless of what the other students around them are doing. Then, the teacher can receive that information and understand where any one student might be struggling, or analyze the performance of a class as a whole.

This video from the Knewton website explains the five types of data the company helps educators collect, and these sorts of personalised learning applications are often cited as the most exciting and promising components of big data in the classroom.

But what are the drawbacks?

The obstacles data must overcome in education

As with data use in almost any application, there are fears and concerns that follow big data into the education system.

Data breaches are a legitimate concern, as they have already happened. In 2009, one school district in Tennessee inadvertently left the names, addresses, birth dates and full Social Security numbers of 18,000 K-12 students on an unsecured server for months.

Another fear is that, like the mythical “permanent record” file folder schools used to use, students may get an unshakable data identity that follows them throughout their education career. A student branded a troublemaker in primary school, for example, may be a totally different behavior case by secondary school, but still be treated by administrators and teachers based on past problems—an education no fly list, if you will.

Some advocacy groups also fear that student data could be used to market to children. In theory, schools and program manufacturers could sell advertising within the digital space that could be tailored specifically for a particular student’s needs and tastes. Write an essay about baseball, and you might see ads for tickets to a local game or memorabilia. (And that’s in the most benign scenario.)

The changing role of teachers

Each of these is an obstacle faced by any sector using data—from finances to retail, but in education another problem is the changing role of the teacher.

With more and more technology and data in the classroom, there is the very real drawback of the teacher’s role becoming much more data-driven and administrative, which I believe already is a major problem.

Great teachers are in their profession because they are passionate about educating our children. They get a buzz from seeing kid’s eyes light up when they understand a new topic and they are passionate about making children flourish in a topic.

Unfortunately, those same great teachers are generally less passionate about the fact that now algorithms take over that job and that their role involves (even more) data input and administrative work, even if all of this might ultimately helps pupils to excel.

So big data and technology is probably not going to be the panacea for all of education’s woes. I believe that it is critical that we build the technology alongside the vital role of great teachers and not alienate them through the use of data and analytics. In the end, as with every industry, understanding and applying the data and analytics processes to education will yield positive results and ultimately benefit teachers and students.

—–

Finally, please check out my other posts in The Big Data Guru column and feel free to connect with me via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, slideshare and The Advanced Performance Institute.

 

TAGGED:The Big Data Guru
Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share
ByBernard Marr
Follow:
Bernard Marr is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, strategic performance consultant and analytics, KPI and Big Data guru.

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

sales and data analytics
How Data Analytics Improves Lead Management and Sales Results
Analytics Big Data Exclusive
ai in marketing
How AI and Smart Platforms Improve Email Marketing
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive Marketing
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
AI Document Verification for Legal Firms: Importance & Top Tools
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
AI supply chain
AI Tools Are Strengthening Global Supply Chains
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

Image
Big Data

Big Data Explained in Less Than 2 Minutes … to Absolutely Anyone

7 Min Read
Image
AnalyticsBig DataCloud ComputingData ManagementData MiningData WarehousingHadoopInside CompaniesITMapReducePredictive AnalyticsSentiment AnalyticsSocial DataSoftwareText AnalyticsTransparency

WOW! Big Data at Google

7 Min Read
Image
AnalyticsBest PracticesBig DataBusiness IntelligenceCloud ComputingData ManagementData MiningData VisualizationExclusiveHadoopHardwareITMapReducePolicy and GovernanceSoftwareUnstructured Data

6 Simple Steps to a Big Data Strategy

6 Min Read
Image
AnalyticsBig DataBusiness IntelligenceCloud ComputingData ManagementData MiningData WarehousingExclusiveHadoopITPredictive AnalyticsUnstructured DataWorkforce Data

Revealed: The Top 5 Big Data Use Cases Your CEO Will Love

9 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

AI and chatbots
Chatbots and SEO: How Can Chatbots Improve Your SEO Ranking?
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Exclusive
ai is improving the safety of cars
From Bolts to Bots: How AI Is Fortifying the Automotive Industry
Artificial Intelligence

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?