Learning Analytics - Education, data, and the future

With DC acting as a hub for Educational Technology companies, it only makes sense to look at how data is being used to not only make money but also improve education, and the greater good in the process. We have speakers from government, academia, startups, and more established companies. Be prepared, as always, for a dynamic and fascinating group.

Talks

eReaders & Reading Data: Can the Book Talk Back?

Today, more and more jobs require in-depth knowledge of more than one discipline. The best Apple engineers know technology and design. The most successful journalists have to know how to write--and how to use social media like Twitter. One of the hottest job titles, "data scientist," describes someone who understand computer technology and statistics--and knows enough about a specific research field or industry to apply their Big Data tools effectively. A recent McKinsey report forecast that in the US by 2018 there will be a need for 140,000-190,000 more data scientists--and 1.5 million more managers who know how to interpret what data scientists tell them. What kind of training do data scientists have? How will universities and companies train people to harness Big Data?

Speakers

Paul McGowan (https://twitter.com/paulemcgowan) leads the CIT Connect Consulting practice which works extensively with DoD, Federal and State Government agencies in the development and leverage of emerging technology capabilities.

Arian Arfaian is a Senior Engineer at EverFi, a leading education technology company delivering learning platforms that teach critical skills. Arian's focus on both data and software have allowed EverFi to better understand how users interact with their applications with the ultimate goal of making better business decisions.

Michael R. Nelson is a Senior Technology and Telecommunications Analyst with Bloomberg Government. He also teaches Internet studies at Georgetown University. He was an IBM executive, focusing on Internet strategy, and he worked on technology policy at the Federal Communications Commission, in the White House, and on the Senate's Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee. He received his Ph.D. in geophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology.

Benjamin Bengfort (http://www.linkedin.com/in/bbengfort/) (@bbengfort (https://twitter.com/bbengfort)) is CTO, partner, lead programmer, researcher, and master of all things data at Unbound Concepts, Inc. Ben’s focus on networks, wireless communication, artificial intelligence (specifically semantic search), and software engineering brings a skill set that pumps the heart of the Unbound Concepts learning engine, Meridian. Ben graduated with a Master’s degree in Computer Science; Phi Kappa Phi; Upsilon Pi Epsilon, and is continuing his PhD research in Computer Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Jeff Olson is Vice President of Customer Research for Kaplan Test Prep. Olson specializes in tracking the education marketplace using online and telephone surveys, longitudinal tracking surveys, and pricing and promotional studies.

Olson’s surveys and commentary have appeared in hundreds of U.S. periodicals, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Newsweek. He was profiled in the Washington Business Journal newspaper in July, 2006. Olson was educated at the College of William & Mary and trained in survey design & data analysis at George Washington University.

and More coming!

Companies

Unbound Concepts (https://www.unboundconcepts.com/) - Through in-hand, knowledge-gathering tools such as BookLeveler, Unbound Concepts seeks to build a corpus of accurately leveled K-12 digital books and content, and to facilitate a powerful, data-backed dialogue between instructors and those who create the content those instructors use to teach students.

Many more to be announced ...