Blog

Reflecting on Finland

It’s been a few months since I last contributed to the ODI blog, and boy, a lot has happened in my blogging hiatus! We had leaks, hacks, an election, and the Cubs finally won the World Series (though I’m still not convinced this last one isn’t “fake news”). Through it all, the ODI team has been hard at work making new connections and continuing our efforts to better prepare K-16 students with the data literacy skills required to navigate the aforementioned rapidly changing world. Unfortunately, I can’t take credit for any of the great work the ODI team has done these past few months.

Looking Back and Moving Full STEAM Ahead

The work of a teacher rarely ceases once the doors of the school finally close for summer vacation. Just a few short days after the school year had ended, I had the opportunity to head back to my old high school stomping grounds and reconnect with many of the teachers who were, and in some cases continue to be, my most influential mentors, helping to shape me as a learner and as a person. But this time, instead of turning to former teachers for wisdom, I was suddenly being treated as the “expert” in the room.

Big Data Down on the Farm

Big data has become a big buzzword. For many though, this term remains very much a black box, its real world applications shrouded in ambiguity. For some, big data can often carry some negative connotations: they think of secret government agencies, tracking their every move. They think of large corporations following their every click, peering deep into the souls of consumers to predict their buying habits and preferences. But big data isn’t reserved only for the likes of Google, the NSA, and companies on the Fortune 500.

Getting Agile in the Classroom

This past week I had the pleasure of traveling out to Oregon wine country to visit Dayton High School. While Dayton may be a small rural town, big changes were taking place in the classroom. The school is experimenting with a new type of learning model, dubbed Agile Learning, to spark a culture of creative problem solving and collaboration throughout its halls.

Making Smarter Business Decisions with Big Data: A Netflix Case Study

With the recent release of its fourth season, the political drama, “House of Cards” was, and continues to be, a huge success for the online video-streaming tycoon, Netflix. “House of Cards” has garnished critical acclaim: its first season, released in 2013, was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards and 4 Golden Globe Awards, the first Web-only show to ever receive any such nominations. The popular ratings website, IMDb, scored “House of Cards” a 9.0 out of 10, placing it in the upper echelon of television and online programming. So what’s the secret behind the show’s huge success?

The Big Data Driving Google Maps

For many, the term “Big Data” remains very much a black box. How it is collected, managed, and then analyzed for practical use is still largely an unknown. To help unpack the mysteries of this buzzword, big data, it is beneficial to explore the ways it impacts our day-to-day lives: whether it be the ways in which we engage with content online to how it impacts our daily commute.

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