Abstract:

Data science and data analytics have emerged as thriving fields. As businesses, governments, and individuals produce massive collections of data as a byproduct of their online activity, a growing need exists for professionals trained to capitalize on the potential of big data by figuring out how to generate valuable information. Important characteristics of such people include creativity, curiosity, analytical abilities, statistical expertise, and communication skills combined with knowledge of how to mine and drill down data to tell a meaningful story to stakeholders. At the same time, online education is one of the fastest growing segments of higher education. Over three million students were estimated to be working toward their degree online in 2016, and this number is expected to increase to five million by 2020. Online education is an attractive option as it provides an opportunity for students to pursue higher education on their own schedule while also balancing work and family responsibilities.

Given the increasing demand in industry for individuals trained in techniques for data analytics, as well as the increasing demand for online courses, a new course was developed for students pursuing a Masters of Business Administration at a university in New York. This paper and presentation will provide an overview of the development and implementation of an online graduate course curriculum titled Analytics Bootcamp, in which students learn statistical techniques for approaching big data. This course introduces a range of data driven disciplines and technologies to help enterprise users make better, faster business decisions. Course curriculum focuses on spreadsheet modeling, data visualization, rudiments of data management and data analysis, and an introduction to data mining and predictive modeling, together with the statistics and software necessary to use the tools.

The course is designed to be hands-on, using state of the art software, with real world examples from different functional areas and domains. This paper includes an overview of the course goals and content, course structure, and content management system, including the online platform used for delivery.

Keywords:

Data Analytics, Data Science, Data Visualization, Online Education, Course Management Systems.