From the IES Director: Big Dreams for Big Data: A Look Ahead

The third of three items from the folks of IES.  This is an interesting topic, as the nature of K-12 distance, online, and blended learning generally means that there are tools being used that collect data.  For example, a learning management system collects a ton of data – big data if you will – and within the scholarship of K-12 distance, online, and blended learning we haven’t done a lot of work in this space.  So what are your big dreams for big data within our field?

Over the past 20 years, IES has built a strong foundation for the education sciences. But time does not stand still, and much of the way we have worked needs a rethink. The question we are faced with is how best to build a more modern, quicker, and less expensive infrastructure for education research and development atop the existing foundation. This is particularly so, now that Congress has put IES on a path toward what we hope will be ARPA-ED. There are two avenues into the future that we are particularly excited about. I have been in education research long enough to know that there have been other times when innovations, technologies, and political interest have come together to produce a “moment” in which new horizons are visible; all too often those moments have dissipated without the breakthroughs we thought possible. We are again at a moment in which many advances in technology have been recognized by researchers, policymakers, foundations, and ed tech entrepreneurs as potential game changers. And there is a growing recognition that these advances must be leveraged to help students, teachers, families, and communities work together to create better educational outcomes. Read the full blog. The Institute of Education Sciences, a part of the U.S. Department of Education, is the nation’s leading source for rigorous, independent education research, evaluation, statistics, and assessment. IES is celebrating 20 years. Here’s how to get involved.

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