Big Data in Education

Big data is a term that is used to refer to the massive amount of data that is being generated today. With more and more people getting connected through the internet, the rate of generation of data has increased rapidly. Different types of industries are continuously shifting towards the analysis of big data to generate insights that can help them make better decisions. Nowadays, big data technology is seen as an important tool in the field of education. There has been a considerable shift from the traditional teaching programs to the use of efficient online educational tools to expand the reach of education. Big data technology can be used to assess the date generated through the use of these educational tools to make better policies. Education has always been a top-rated agenda in any policy making and data has become a key asset for many economies today. Big Data (BD) has been considered as a matter of a priority in scientific research, industrial implications, and public sectors than the education sector. Big data helps us take a step forward in the field of education to reach out to all the impossibilities that lies within it. By using big data analytics wisely, we can provide a more personalized learning experience to the young generation. Though the internet already had a major impact on the way students collect information and the way they carry out research, recently, attention is now turning to the potential of big data through which it can help to radically transform the structure of the educational landscape. It could, for an instance, provide educators with the paramount information about the customized needs of individual students and how to customize learning by enabling educators to keep a track on students progress more accurately so that courses can be designed to meet the specific needs of the learners. This book is proposed to be a reference material, which will throw light on the vast field of big data and its application in the field of education. The first chapter gives an overview about the tools and techniques related to big data and its application in the field of education. The next chapter talks about the various data mining methods that can be used in the field of education. The fourth chapter discusses the evolution of big data technology over the years. Chapter 5 highlights the various applications of big data in the field of education. Subsequently, we discuss the challenges and applications of big data in education. Chapter 8 discusses the future prospects of big data technology in the education sector. It also focusses on the digital education sector. The last chapter of the book discusses several case studies related to the implementation of big data and the associated challenges. This book addresses the issues which are faced by the researchers in the field of big data in education such as increasing the effectiveness of educators, wisely harnessing the fruitful insights from the learning experiences, making sure to deliver the quality education to all which is tailor made according to the needs of an individual learner and making students well equipped with the relevant skills as required for their future careers needs. Overall, this book will help to provide guidance on the complete structure of the big data problems and its solution in the education sector.