Big Data: a Big Deal for Higher Ed?

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big data illustration

What exactly is Big Data? At its core, Big Data represents the intersection between massive quantities of data and the computer hardware and software powerful enough to analyze that data and produce meaningful results.

A 2012 Harvard Business Review article pegged daily worldwide data creation at 2.5 exabytes. That’s 2.5 billion gigabytes, or roughly 2.5 million standard computer hard drives worth of data created every single day. That’s a lot of information and, potentially, a treasure trove of meaningful trends, correlations, and insights into how we interact both online and offline.

The analysis of huge data sets is already at work in for-profit businesses, as well as the health care, government, public policy, and technology sectors. Companies are using big data to learn more about the behavior of their customers in order to improve services, reduce costs, and increase revenue. For example, a 2011 study by the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that the effective use of large scale data analysis could save the U.S. health care industry $300 billion per year, and that the improved use of geolocation tools on mobile devices could save consumers $600 billion dollars annually.

If this description of Big Data and its uses seems somewhat vague and theoretical, that’s because much of it is. We’re still in the early stages of figuring out what Big Data might mean to various industries, and detractors point out that there are many hurdles to overcome, including the reliability of data sets, the potential for data manipulation, and the accuracy of predictive analysis based on large data sets.

Big Data has, of course, made headway in higher education as well. There is a wealth of data created at any college, from enrollment statistics, to course participation, to fundraising and long-term financial information. To date, the focus of Big Data in higher education has been on the student experience. While schools have come a long way in automating the enrollment and course registration processes, among others, students are still mostly unable to use the data produced by these functions to improve the quality of their education.

There are projects under way at several schools seeking to highlight and empower student data (PDF). At Saddleback College in California, administrators have introduced personal assistant software that helps students choose a course of study based on past experience and performance. Purdue University has focused on student success in individual courses by implementing a system that helps students stay on track by comparing their performance against past students who have succeeded in that course.

These are just two examples of how Big Data is beginning to play a role in higher education. The promise, of course, is that data analysis can optimize and streamline the ways in which students interact with technology to improve their experience and to help them manage their success from the day they apply to the day they graduate. The big challenge for Big Data in higher education lies in successfully designing and deploying the tools to achieve these outcomes.

Enhancing Data Security and Protecting Sensitive Information

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laptop_newsletterRecently, there have been several high-profile cases in which colleges’ sensitive information has been made publicly available via cyber attacks, phishing scams, or internal error. These data breaches have taken a reputational and financial toll on Boston University, the University of Maryland, and Indiana University, and exposed the data of more than 450,000 students and employees.

We’d like to take this opportunity to remind you to be aware of unlawful attempts to access your data, and to communicate a change we’ve instituted to make some Simmons websites more readily identifiable.

Phishing scams are attempts to obtain confidential information using emails, websites, and even phone calls that appear to be from a trusted source. Often, phishing emails mask the “from” address to create the appearance that they’ve been sent by a colleague or friend, or as an alert from your bank. Links included in these emails will direct you to websites that look very much like the sites for services you use and will ask you to enter your username and password or other personal information.

Recent widespread examples of phishing scams have affected Gmail and Bank of America. While some scams are very sophisticated, there are a few things you can do to stay safe.

First, do not click links in emails that appear to be suspicious and never respond to an email requesting sensitive information. If an email contains suspicious links or requests for information from a trusted source, navigate to their website manually (instead of clicking a link) or call them to verify the request.

When visiting secure websites, check the address bar in your web browser to make sure it matches what you’re seeing on-screen. For example, all secure website addresses at Simmons begin with https:// and end with the .simmons.edu domain.

To help make our secure websites more easily identifiable, we’ve introduced visual identifiers for login.simmons.edu and connection.simmons.edu. If you see green on the left side of the address bar along with the text “Simmons College (US),” you’re in the right place.

ev_cert_examples

Finally, remember that a trusted source, such as Simmons College, will never ask for your password or other personal information via email or phone. If you’re unsure about the validity of an email or website, you can always contact the Service Desk at 617-521-2222 for help.

 

Doing More with Google Docs and Sheets

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Within the Technology team, we’ve been using Google Drive for much of our project planning and collaborative work. While Docs is a great alternative to using Microsoft Office and helps us to work together more effectively, it also lacks some of the small but integral tools necessary for certain kinds of work.

In an effort to close those gaps, Google has introduced Add-ons for Docs and Sheets, a set of tools created by outside developers and verified by Google. The Add-ons cover a wide range of features, from creating tables of contents and bibliographies, to track changes and advanced diagramming and flowchart creation.

To begin using Add-ons, click the Add-ons menu while working in any Doc or Spreadsheet.

Google Docs menu

Next, click Get Add-ons.

Google Docs Add-ons menu

From there, you can choose from a wide variety of tools. To help you get started, here are two Add-ons we think the Simmons community will find useful.

Track Changes
While Google Docs helpfully keeps track of changes to a document, it doesn’t allow you make changes that must be accepted by a collaborator. The Track Changes Add-on fixes that and adds a feature that many Microsoft Word users desperately wanted to see in Google Drive.

Track Changes Add-on

Hassle-free Bibliographies
If you’re working on a research paper in Google Docs and you need a citation, the EasyBib Add-on allows you to search for books, articles, and websites, and then creates a bibliographic entry in MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Once you have added your sources, EasyBib will even create an alphabetized list of citations at the end of the document.

EasyBib Add-on

These are just two of the many Add-ons available. To find more, click the Add-ons menu or browse all of the available Add-ons.

Using GoToMeeting in Your Classroom

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Did you know that our new phone and web conferencing platform isn’t just for business meetings?

GoToMeeting features built-in chat, webcam sharing, HD video, and screen sharing and recording capabilities, making it ideal for creating recorded course content, hosting virtual office hours, inviting remote guest lecturers to your class, and more.

Best of all, GoToMeeting is available on all Simmons computers and can be installed on your personal computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Simmons Technology has created a guide to help faculty get started with GoToMeeting quickly and easily. If you’d like one-to-one assistance, please contact the Service Desk at 617-521-2222.