Data. No, not Mr. Data from Star Trek Next Generation. I mean data as in potential information. I say potential, because data are useless until they are turned into information, and information is turned into stories, and these stories are well told to audiences who benefit from experiencing them. That is a long process, and it starts with … data. Big Data is a field of study experiencing explosive growth. How can we harness Big Data to tell meaningful stories that benefit us? Today we hear from a man who found one such story, and that story changed how a high school does things. Special guest Patrick Love, high school counselor, gives us a true story of how Big Data changed “business as usual” at one high school, and is now changing how a growing number of schools operate.

Lessons Learned

Dennis – There are two kinds of people. Those who can extrapolate conclusions from incomplete data…

Chris – In spirit, We can all be Mr Rogers.

Patrick – What’s hardest part about telling a joke timing.

Fun Facts

The data volumes are exploding, more data has been created in the past two years than in the entire previous history of the human race.

Data is growing faster than ever before and by the year 2020, about 1.7 megabytes of new information will be created every second for every human being on the planet.

  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2015/09/30/big-data-20-mind-boggling-facts-everyone-must-read/#28b266b617b1

Notes & Links

SPECIAL GUEST: Patrick Love – HS Counselor, Concordia International School Shanghai

Students take two-minute survey every Wednesday.  Survey created on Google Forms, data linked to Tableau ( https://www.tableau.com/ ) for analysis.  Results shared with students help them assess their own wellness, how they are doing as a class, and help counselors identify students that may need help.

Sample results

Wellness Data for Teachers/Counselors

Homework Data

If you would like to learn more, contact

RESOURCES:

Stanford Emotional Arc

Happiness Engineering – https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/student-affairs-and-technology/automattic-possibilities

Jon Boeckenstedt – http://highereddatastories.blogspot.com/