How can big data analytics help improve the education sector?

With each passing year, the amount of data created on online platforms has increased astronomically. All of this information is crucial, as it allows businesses to understand the myriad of intricacies that exist in today’s markets. With more and more companies going international, the competition is fierce – and it’s only going to get tougher as the new decade rolls on. Similarly, with so many options available to them, consumers are pickier than ever, and gaining their trust and attention is paramount to making sales and conversions. It’s no surprise then that most organisations have begun to adopt big data analytics into their business process.

Big data systems are able to collect, store and process vast chunks of user data and make sense of them. Essentially, it translates all of this unstructured data into valuable insights that can be used in your everyday business processes. Now, it may seem that the utility of big data is mostly confined to business-consumer transactions; that the ultimate goal is driving conversion. In reality, the potential uses for big data analytics are far greater – it can play an integral role in the advancement of various industries and sectors. One of the best examples to illustrate this is the education sector.

Future insights can play a vital role in an academic setting and big data analytics can prove to be an amazing tool that can help improve the processes of teaching and learning. Here’s how.

Creating customised curriculums with big data analytics

Good curricula serve as the backbone of any education model, and designing one can often prove to be a challenging task, requiring extensive analysis and expert supervision. Still, no matter how inclusive and intricate a curriculum will try to be, it simply won’t be ideal for everyone that’s taking it up. Though it may seem impossible, it is possible to create customised curricula on an individual level through a combination of big data and online learning programs. So, how exactly can this be done?

Users these days are connected to a wide variety of platforms and devices, from smartphones and smartwatches to social media sites and online forums, and these are an excellent source of information for educators. Based on the big data analytics derived from all these platforms, you can create educational courses that better fit the needs and preferences of your student base.

Traditional classrooms stick to static courses with no real room for flexibility – everyone is expected to follow the same set of steps. The more streamlined and personalised curriculums that big data analytics allow for are a great start, but there’s no reason to stop there. You can take things a step further with big data systems by way of online learning classes. Here, you can allow students to do their own self-learning while you pinpoint target areas best suited for them.

Increase student performance and reduce dropouts

Increasing student performance and providing an effective, stress-free learning experience should be the primary objective for contemporary educators. In order to achieve this, it’s paramount that they identify what the problem areas are for students, understand what their learning difficulties might be and correctly predict which students might be struggling and thinking of dropping out.

Implementing online learning methods, as we mentioned earlier, is one way to achieve this. But remember that you can keep track of this data as well. With big data analytics, you can easily visualise what subjects or areas your students prefer to self-learn. You can set up self-assessments that will store all the scores your students achieve, and through that, you will be able to identify which students might need additional help.

Career prediction via big data analytics

Accessing student performances, interests and strengths – especially over the course of their academic life – can provide a clear understanding of what their ideal career paths should be. This information can easily be relayed to students by educators; they could point out these patterns to undecided individuals and help them reach a decision.

What’s more, you can then begin collecting data on students who went through your education system and joined the workforce. Here, you can assess how effective their career choice was, and use it to optimise your curricula and make even better decisions in the future.

The future of education with big data analytics

The rapid rate at which organisations have adopted big data in order to provide better experiences for their consumers has transformed the way markets look at data. The amount of raw data available to be processed is quite astronomical, and there is immense potential in the insights you can derive from big data analytics.

As far as the education sector is concerned, efficient utilisation of big data can lead to a great many improvements – for both students and educators. And even though it may take a while for education systems around the world to unlock the true potential of everything big data has to offer, the future certainly looks bright.