First Day Expectations

• Set expectations for this class
• Break the ice with an activity so you talk to each other

Expectations

123 GO is a Zoom game. You write the response to my question in the chat box, I say “123 GO”, and then you press enter when you hear “GO”, so that all responses show up simultaneously.

123 GO- what is “big data”?

Our typical starting point for assignments in this class:

• high level questions
• data set on a remote machine which may be larger than memory

The goal of this class is to statistically analyze data larger than memory on remote machines. This requires:

1. data analysis develop precise questions and apply statistics
2. computational reasoning approaches and algorithms suitable for the data
3. technology implement the approach so it actually runs

What’s the difference between a data scientist and a data engineer? Our goal in this course is to grow as data scientists.

This is a brand new experimental course. We’re going to push the boundaries of technology and try new things, and they won’t all work. I’m OK with that.

The Bad

Here’s why you might want to run away now. 👎

1. I like to “learn by doing”.
2. Assignments will be open ended, and my expectations are high.
3. We have very little support.
4. My experience with AWS is limited.

123 GO: What’s AWS?

Be careful about unintentionally excluding people by using acronyms.

There are seemingly unlimited resources for learning available online, and we can find them and learn together. I’m OK with not being the expert at all things.

The Good

Here’s why you might want to stick around. 👍

1. Your success is my success.
2. I taught a similar class at UC Davis, and I’ve spent about 10 years working in this field.
3. I’ll communicate often and support you as well as I can by engaging on Discord.
4. We’ll build up to the more involved assignments by focusing on individual prerequisite skills.
5. I’ll grade fairly, accounting for your background and circumstances.
6. 🤑💵💰🤑💵💰🤑💵💰

What I expect from you

1. Give assignments an honest effort.
2. Stay calm when things don’t work out.
3. Help each other, and me.
4. Communicate with me.

Now you have some idea of what to expect, and you can decide for yourselves if this is the class for you. Maybe you prefer a more conventional class. Maybe you would like to take it with me next year, once some of the bugs have been worked out. Please adjust your schedules accordingly, and I will approve your drops for any reason.

Quiz Activity

1. Take the day 1 quiz. You have 5 minutes to do it by yourself. Don’t communicate at all. The goal is to get a low score now, so you can improve it later. After the five minutes are up, we’ll come back to class and see how the score distribution looks. Remind me to remove the time limit restriction.
2. We’re done with Zoom now, but I’ll leave the meeting running. Join Discord, pick a random group room: “# alligators”, “# birds”, “# cats”, “# dogs”, “# elephants” Introduce yourselves, work together, explain the right answers, and improve your quiz scores. Get my attention if you have a question. See you next class!