Third Data Science Educators Workshop

I am the Principal Investigator (PI) of the National Science Foundation project: “Building a Big Data Analytics Workforce in iSchools.” In June of 2019, we held our Third Data Science Educators Workshop at the Penn State Center Pittsburgh.

Below is an excerpt of an article authored by our workshop moderator, Dr. Larry Ragan.

The workshop was co-chaired by project PI, Dr. Jungwoo Ryoo from Penn State Altoona, and Dr. Rachel Chung, Clinical Associate Professor of Operations and Information Systems at William and Mary. The NSF project aims at developing a big data education curriculum for college students, and the annual workshop is the main event that brings together participating educators from across the Penn State University System, and from other collaborating institutions.

This year, the workshop focused on two main goals:

1. Presentation of the data science teaching materials developed during this project including: (a) the introductory data science e-book and the hands-on tutorials in different tools applied to real-world case studies in cybersecurity and (2) other advanced topics in big data mining and analytics
2. Exploration of how and where Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) can continually assess student progress, provide timely feedback, and update data science course content to improve student success.

One of the primary outcomes of the Third Data Science Educators Workshop was providing access and exposure to the repository of educational resources made available through the NSF project. Additionally, a summary of innovative approaches to the use of AI/ML technologies to facilitate student feedback and success were shared.

Researchers and developers demonstrated a range of instructional technologies and tools aimed at improving the student learning experience and preparing students for the workplace of today and tomorrow.