Video on Big Data

Just in case you are interested, a short video named "Big data... what is means to you"

So, I've been walking ... have data to prove it

I spent the last week in Istanbul. Incredible experience. Tiring, too. Why? Well, first I was burning the candle at both ends so I could work and play tourist (which meant little sleep). And also I was walking everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE.

Here are some of my data:

This is from the Health app on my phone.

It really does tell the story of my week.

May 8 - flying, walking at home and airport

May 9 - flying, arrive in Istanbul, walk to dinner

May 10 - sleep in, solo touring in local area plus acclimating

May 11/12 - power touring with a local

May 13 - work all morning, light touring in afternoon

May 14 - incomplete data

And here's fitbit data from a single day:

I've actually cross-checked Fitbit and Health, and found that they report similar findings. That suggests they're effectively calibrated with each other. They weren't exact matches on steps, but that would be a bit much to expect. Plus there were probably some steps in my hotel room without the phone in hand. There was one error in the Fitbit data: When I switched the time zone on Fb it got confused and so my Tuesday data shows as Tuesday and then on Wed it recorded Tues + Wed together. I was aware of this, couldn't fix it in the app, but I made the mental calculation to get the data.

And now the bigger question: Who cares? It's data, but is it important? I was actually glad to have the data, and to be able to see the distances I was walking. These distances are meaningful to me since I run half-marathons, but had no way of telling how much walking I was doing. Also, I've been thinking about how I need to up my game when I get home (not enough running -- or walking -- this spring) and the data is motivating me to keep going.

what size data do we really want (need?) in education

Today the Washington Post published an article discussing the issue of data use in education. Ashley and I both read it independently, and I'm guessing a few others of you may have seen it, too. It foreshadows a bit of our Week 2 topical focus.

The article recaps the obsession we've had with big data for the last several years, and suggests that small data, however, is the new "plastics." (OK, that was an old movie reference, glory to whoever in the class recognizes it.)

Read the story here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/05/09/big-data-was-supposed-to-fix-education-it-didnt-its-time-for-small-data/

Personally, I tend to agree. We've got it all wrong. If we worried less about benchmarking to global trends and more about looking at what's happening nearby (focus on local and formative assessment, not on those big high stakes tests), we could solve our local problems and be on the path to actual learning.

What do you think?

(And during Week 6 we're reading an article about small data -- so yes, we're going there)

Global temperature change: A data story

Came across this on Facebook today (my friends tend to be data visualization geeks, too).

To read more about it, go here.

Greetings from Istanbul ... and analytics of my journey

I've arrived in Istanbul! For my next magic trip I will collapse and perhaps sleep as long as 12 hours (or not). My fitbit will tell that tale tomorrow morning, but in the meantime I'll share the analytics of my day courtesy of the health app on my iPhone. It was on my person continuously since about 5 pm Florida time yesterday, when I arrived at the airport. The data display starts at midnight in Istanbul, which was 5 pm Tallahassee.


Essentially ... walking around TLH, flying, walking around ATL, flying (various bathroom trips but mostly no bar), a lot of walking around CDG, 3 hr flight to IST (no bars), then walking around airport at IST (big bar at 5 pm), transit to hotel, walking to dinner. Yeah, I see my day there.

Pretty much no stairs.

I've got higher goals for tomorrow ... but more about that later.

Do you have an iPhone? If so, see where your stats are at.