Students enjoyed the diverse topics taught by guest speakers, the field trips, and the low-pressure environment of the class. The worst aspects of the course were the inconsistent quality of the lectures from week to week and the somewhat harsh homework grading by the teaching assistants. The course could be improved if there was more coherence between the guest speakers and if the course itself was more interactive. Prospective students should know that this is a fun, easy class. As long as they

Students thought that the good aspects of this course included the hands-on, practical application of the materials. They liked choosing their own projects and liked the breadth of topics covered over the course. They thought that the course was somewhat unorganized and that the course did not always stick to the syl abus. Suggestions for improvement included providing more lectures and additional assignments to support the final project. Prospective students should have an idea for their final project before taking the course and know the basics to researching and sharing academic papers. 88

Students praised this course for giving them the opportunity to work independently on projects. Most students disliked that the course seemed to lack structure and that there wasn’t enough feedback on their work. Suggestions for improvement included a belief that students could use additional direction from the instructor and in particular, hands-on experience. In addition students suggested the course would benefit from clearer lectures in which each course built upon the next. Prospective students should know that students found that it was important to have some sort of background in ‘big data’ such as experience in distributed systems and parallel programing.