How Laudius asked for a Big Data eCourse and I and another teacher made it

Index

Laudius 

Laudius is an e‑learning platform based in The Netherlands that offers a wide range of online courses. Most of these courses focus on language learning, and some also include practical training days. The Big Data course, which I developed together with a fellow instructor, is a self‑paced online program that students can follow whenever it suits them.

Big Data

Data is collected and then analyzed to answer research questions or address societal issues. However, not all data is Big Data. Data is considered Big Data when it does not have a clear structure. In most Big Data analyses, the questions are formulated after the data has already been collected. Often, the data was gathered for another purpose rather than specifically to answer the Big Data question.

How The Big Data eCourse Was Made

After discussing the eCourse with Laudius and agreeing on its main content, the other teacher and I decided who would develop each part and which details to include. Creating the Big Data eCourse took us six months. The course includes instructional and explanatory videos and PDFs, the book, homework assignments with questions and cases, a forum, and links to additional Big Data resources.

The Big Data eCourse

The Big Data eCourse is based on the Dutch book ‘Succes met Big Data’. The book provides the theoretical foundation for the course, and students test their understanding through questions. The course also includes cases that allow students to practice different types of Big Data analysis. Each case focuses on a specific analysis method that can be applied to Big Data. If students choose the homework correction option, the other teacher and I correct their assignments. The analyses are carried out in Excel, although other analysis programs can also be used. Excel was chosen because most people already have access to Excel, and a free Excel add-on makes it possible to perform statistical analyses in Excel.

Certificate

The eCourse consists of seven lessons in Dutch. After completing the course, students can choose from several certificate options. For the most up-to-date information about exams and certificates, please check the Laudius platform.