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Archive for September, 2018

26
Sep

Sabbatical 2018 Week 6: The Big Data Landscape is Ridiculously Huge

Last week I completed course two in the Big Data Specialization: Big Data Modeling and Management Systems. This was another very technical course. We gained an in-depth knowledge of why big data modeling and management is essential in preparing to gain insights from your data. We gained knowledge of real world big data modeling and management use cases in areas such as energy and gaming. We also learned to understand different kinds of data models, the ability to describe streaming data and the different challenges it presents, and the differences between a DBMS and a BDMS.

We did a lot of playing in the Cloudera VM again. I type in the codes given and things magically happen. It’s kind of cool, but no way I’m going to remember how to replicate any of this. For example, we learned how to import and query text documents with Lucene and perform weighted queries to see how rankings change. We learned how to perform statistical operations and layout algorithms on graph data in Gephi. I believe we actually installed and ran that program on our computers instead of in Cloudera. Then back in Cloudera we learned how to view semi-structured data streaming in real-time from a weather station and create plots of streaming weather station data.

If your head is spinning from just the few programs I mentioned already, it’s going to explode when you hear we also were introduced to Redis, Aerospike, AsterixDB, Solr, and Vertica. I thought I might pass out. The Big Data landscape is ridiculously huge. How anyone knows all of these programs is beyond me.

Also this week I reached out to district IT to schedule a meeting with the Canvas administrators to discuss Canvas Data Portal. It sounds like they have already started doing some exploring on their own. In fact, I was told to contact another individual who had already done some initial investigation in the use of Amazon Redshift. And a few developers have already explored it as part of a Transformation data project. It also looks like I’ll be able to get access to our Data Portal soon as well so I can start exploring. This is great news, as I thought this one step would be the one thing to derail my sabbatical proposal. Things are moving forward. I’m a little behind on my reading and annotated bib, but besides that I’m right on track. Yay, me!

 

 

 

25
Sep

Sabbatical 2018 Week 5: Not All Work and No Play

If you’ve never taken an extended sabbatical from your job, you’re really missing out. It’s a great experience that I’m grateful to have taken advantage of twice in my 20 years in Maricopa. I really think I’ve worked hard enough to deserve it, and you probably have too. According to the MCLI website,

“A sabbatical leave is an opportunity to broaden or deepen educational interests, to explore new areas, or examine instructional methods to enhance the mission of the college. A sabbatical leave gives faculty a respite from their normal duties in order to provide them an opportunity to grow professionally. The goal of a sabbatical leave project is to engage faculty in the areas of study, research, travel, work experience, or other creative activity, and to contribute to the institution as a whole upon his/her return to the college.”

If you’re into learning new things then a sabbatical in Maricopa is for you. However, in the more generic sense the word sabbatical, which can be a noun or an adjective, comes from the Greek word sabatikos, which means “of the Sabbath,” the day of rest that happens every seventh day. Most teaching jobs come with the promise of a sabbatical, which is a year of not having to teach, though you still get paid. It’s also interesting to know that only 5% of US companies offer paid sabbaticals. So I’m not complaining that I still have to work during my sabbatical. At least it’s something I’m interested in learning and doesn’t involve grading hundreds of essay. It’s definitely a respite from the norm.

The challenging part for me is getting used to doing less. Many faculty do more than just teach a 15 hours schedule, and Maricopa is good about providing opportunities and compensating those of us who do more. For the past 4 years, I’ve been wrapped up in the world of professional development, online learning and OER. I’ve taught very little, but worked more than I have in previous years collaborating, coordinating, and strategizing with our Instructional Designer, CTLE Staff, eCourses faculty lead and faculty developers. My involvement also included working district wide with other CTL directors, elearning and OER leaders. It’s hard to just go cold turkey and not talk to or work with any of those people anymore. My only saving grace is that many of those people are personal friends and we still chat when I sneak on campus to visit or attend a planned happy hour. Shout out to Meghan, my better half for the last 4 years.

One major plus is that my other partner in crime for the past 4 years, Dr. Lisa Young, is also on sabbatical this year, and her sabbatical proposal is similar to mine – Big Data. And as the Faculty Director of SCC’s CTL and Co-Tri-Chair of the Maricopa Millions project, she’s been involved in all the same things I have. So she can relate. Part of our sabbatical plan is to hike every other week to discuss our projects and other stuff. It’s comforting to know she’s learning the same things and good to have someone to bounce ideas off of. And it doesn’t hurt to get some exercise in on a regular basis. Below is evidence of our endeavors.

The best part of a sabbatical is you get to determine your schedule, so there’s a lot of flexibility in there for doing the things you never seem to have time for. The reality is that many of the people you’d like to do those things with are still working hard and stressed out. Ha! (Sorry Beth! Thanks for visiting me yesterday)

And one more for the road. So far we’ve hiked Holbert and Mormon Trails on South Mountain, Cholla Trail on Camelback, and Trail 100 in Dreamy Draw followed by breakfast at Dick’s Hideaway, Scramble, and First Watch. Breakfast is an added bonus. What is up with my hair?! Anyway, I’m looking forward to it cooling off so we don’t have to hike so early. Then sabbatical life will be truly perfect. Well, if they can figure out how to pay me correctly then it will be truly perfect.

12
Sep

Sabbatical 2018 Week 4: Where’s My Money?

I don't know image.It has become painfully clear that I will never be a data analyst. That’s not necessarily a bad thing considering I already have a job as an educator at a great community college. Thank goodness for that because I’m a little over my head here in my Big Data Specialization from the University of California San Diego. Somehow I’m learning just enough to get by, but don’t ask me anything specific. You really have to be a programmer to use this stuff.

Course 2 was Big Data Modeling and Management Systems and it was very technical. It was all about Big Data technologies, and frankly I’m happy to leave that part to the IT experts. Systems and tools discussed included: AsterixDB, HP Vertica, Impala, Neo4j, Redis, SparkSQL <eyes glass over>. We learned an in-depth knowledge of why big data modeling and management is essential in preparing to gain insights from your data, and knowledge of real world big data modeling and management use cases in areas such as energy and gaming. We also learned about different kinds of data models, the ability to describe streaming data and the different challenges it presents, and the differences between a DBMS and a BDMS.

I some how managed to complete the final assignment for this course, which was to design a data model for a fictitious game: “Catch the Pink Flamingo.” The strangest thing about this whole Coursera setup is the assignments are peer reviewed. I’m awaiting my fate as I type. I wasn’t really clear if what I was doing was correct, but I did my best and submitted the assignment. Then I had to go in and review my classmates’ work. Yeah, right? It looked good. Nothing like mine, but hey, who’s right? I guess we’ll see once my assignment is peer reviewed.

Two courses down; four to go. Then on to the Johns Hopkins Data Science Specialization. In the mean time, I’ve reached out to our district IT person in charge of Canvas. I’m hoping to meet with her soon to discuss Canvas Data Portal. ITS has a proposal process when our resources are needed for more than 20 hours, so I have to go to the PMO site which is where a business case can be initiated to start the process. Additionally, the IITGC provides prioritization of business cases/projects for ITS, so I’ll have to cross my fingers and hope my case gets prioritized.

Okay, back to figuring out how to get paid correctly. Hey, Maricopa, where’s my money?