From EdTech Magazine ..... Reading and responding to students’ emotions could help boost engagement levels and academic performance. Love it or hate it, Big Data is changing K–12 education. Collecting and analyzing student data — including grades, attendance, disciplinary issues and test scores — gives schools and districts new, valuable insights into student performance and behavior. For example, after my colleagues in Washington helped Spokane Public Schools set up a virtualized data warehouse, the district began using an in-house data analytics system to determine predictors of dropping out and to monitor at-risk students. As a result, graduation rates improved by nearly 8 … [Read more...]