There’s plenty of talk about big data and how it is changing everything, including education. However,
colleges and university officials should be thinking about “small data,”
according to Stephen Laster, former chief information officer of the Harvard
Business School and current chief digital officer of McGraw-Hill Education.
“I love the idea of bringing data
together to look for patterns and insights, but not in education,” he said
during his keynote address at the Campus Technology 2014 conference in Boston.
A lot of students start school, but
not enough finish, a fact that Laster considers “almost a crime.” A program that
helped summer students at the University of Texas El Paso prepare for college
math through the use of knowledge maps and artificial intelligence engines is
just one example of the kind of small-data initiative Laster recommends.
“Small data is not going to be the sole driver, but it can be one small piece,” he said. “We cannot unilaterally drive the change, but we can drive a lot of it. Let’s start small.”
“Small data is not going to be the sole driver, but it can be one small piece,” he said. “We cannot unilaterally drive the change, but we can drive a lot of it. Let’s start small.”