Education impacts every society at a fundamental level. So, as advanced data techniques emerge to improve and optimize activities of every kind, it’s no surprise educators are looking for opportunities to apply those techniques to learning. Data-driven learning has been extensively studied by researchers hoping to set policy that benefits students at every level.

But public-school systems, colleges and universities are also massive organizations that can benefit from data management and analytics solutions in the same operational ways other businesses do. Here are some recent case studies that highlight how data is being used in both ways throughout the education industry.

Elevating Learning

A recent example of the first type is this Chinese study examining the effect of optimizing data analysis on early childhood education (ECE) majors. Researchers developed a new AI model based on deep learning that improves training for teachers focusing on ECE through gaming.

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the independent research arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Leveraging official data from Pennsylvania schools, the IES used statistical analysis and modeling to see if the methods used for identifying low-performing student subgroups were accurate enough to show compliance with the Every Student Succeeds Act. By minimizing statistical fluctuations, the new approach aims to ensure that schools are not wrongly identified for improvement based on temporary fluctuations in data.

Researchers from Universitas Hindu Indonesia investigated the effects of data-driven strategies on personalized learning experiences. The quantitative study found a significant positive correlation between using data to inform instructional decision making and the ability to provide individualized learning opportunities for students.

Operational Improvements

On the organizational side, data management platform provider Denodo worked with Indiana University (IU) to fulfill an ongoing initiative at the institution to improve decision making through enhanced data, models and processes. A case study from the company described how IU used the platform to connect existing tools from Oracle, Amazon, Box.com and Tableau, among others, enabling it to “significantly improved information agility across the university.

A consortium of three Vermont universities worked with Hitachi Vantara to achieve cost reduction and efficiency goals by collaborating on common administrative services. Champlain, Middlebury and St. Michael’s Colleges worked with Hitachi Vantara to reimagine and modernize their business processes—implementing a cloud ERP solution that enabled automating workflows for HR, finance, IT and data governance and creating a shared services environment.