During the last six decades, the world has undergone major changes, which have dramatically affected life. Almost every one of us carries around a powerful computer in our pocket, capable of performing billions of calculations per second. Every day, collectively we generate enough data to fill libraries. And the Internet has disrupted almost everything. The data of people’s movements and likes and dislikes is being compiled somewhere and the result comes to us in one form or another on mobile, computer or laptop.
Even in offices, it feels like you’re diving into a sea of data and drowning. More than 50 thousand gigabytes of internet traffic is used on the internet every second. Thousands of searches are made on Google and videos are watched on YouTube every second. The total number of websites in the world is close to two billion, which is constantly increasing with every passing moment. Data science has emerged as a regular academic subject.
Diving into the ocean of data, one has to understand it and make business, economic and social decisions in the light of its results. Data science is the combination of mathematics and economics, through which it is possible to analyze the data. Due to the immense flow of information online, the field of data science will become very important in the coming days.
The technology revolution has changed our lives in many ways. Seven of the 10 fastest-growing jobs in the US are data-related, and most of them are highly technical. Most educators believe that school curricula must evolve as the world changes. Refusal to adapt will be at a disadvantage for students, leaving them unprepared for their future.
Striking the right balance is difficult, but a way forward can be found. Computing and data have entered everyone’s workplace. Can you imagine how often today’s kids will be working with data when they grow up? In this new world, how useful is the math we are currently teaching in our schools? A small survey was conducted to gain some insight into this question.
The unscientific results of the survey suggest that teachers have a lot of work to do on the current math curriculum. Only 2 percent of survey respondents reported using trigonometry in their daily work, while 66 percent said they were constantly creating spreadsheets. Additionally, when asked what math topics they wished they had been taught more about in high school, 64 percent named data analysis and interpretation while only 5 percent named geometry. .
What should be done in such a case? Experts say that the amount of time schools currently devote to algebra and geometry can be easily reduced in two ways: 1) anachronistic, computation-heavy subjects that are now in the computer age; are not relevant and 2) elements that do not serve as important building blocks for higher-order mathematics.
This will open a chapter of new dimensions that can be devoted to data literacy, statistics and other forms of applied math. Children can learn how to analyze, interpret and visualize data. This can be explained as the difference between correlation and causation. And perhaps most importantly, they can be helped to understand the limitations of the data, so they know when to believe the claims based on the data and when not to.
The real power of data is seen in its hidden uses. Educators recommend that a data-driven math course be taught early in a math setting, so that students have opportunities to integrate data analysis into their social science, humanities, and science courses. It deliberately avoids creating a separate data-math track, which leads some students to choose a new path and others to stick to the traditional path.
Experts say data skills should be taught first so they can be applied throughout the broader high school curriculum. Analyzing and interpreting data requires critical thinking, creativity, and a keen understanding of the context in which the data was generated.
According to educators, while students have much to gain from becoming data literate, challenges in changing the curriculum remain. Teachers will need extensive professional development to acquire the required skills. Reaching a consensus on which topics to drop from the curriculum will not be easy. But focusing on data literacy will not necessarily dramatically improve equity issues in education. Still, data literacy will be an important skill for living in the 21st century, so every effort should be made to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn it.
Importance of data
One of the most revolutionary benefits of living in the digital age is that it is now possible to analyze the vast amount of data available on the business, looking at the trends and scope of products and services in the market, according to demand and supply. This data paves the way for the best business leaders to expand their businesses. From product costing and marketing strategy to determining its demand across the globe, Big Data Analytics has now made it possible.
Company leaders have been able to connect with the skilled and desired workforce through the use of content and text, which has helped create quality products. Not only that, but now the communication with the customers has also become easy while sitting in the office. Multinationals are making successful advertising campaigns by contacting consumers directly and knowing their likes and dislikes. Talent Management functionaries for Human Resources are filled.
