I think the course could be shorten by half. The instructors extended the course into 3 weeks, but I think the real meat can fit into just 2 weeks. They use too many examples and several similar case studies to make the same points about why big data is important and beneficial -- repeatedly.

I know why it is important, that's why I took the course! Just give a few mins intro and move on already.

They even have a session discussing why should learn basic tools and theory and have a quiz about that; A quiz about why should you learn how to add and subtract before using a calculator. They can just explain once and people would understand.

Anyhow, I feel like I learned quite a lot, but those I can do my reading just first chapter of big data book or watch 1-2 YouTube tutorials.

Should not waste so many hours watching the course.

Very interesting course. Explained concepts I'd heard of but didn't really know about. It is a foundation course for a specialization, it's not enough by itself but very good as a foundation course.

The course provided almost no value , and there was almost nothing covered that you couldn't find online for free. The presentation was probably the worst part of the course: It was extremely boring and made it hard to get through the videos.

I didn't expect much practical parts in the course, but there was even less than what I expected: What was described as setting up a hadoop cluster consisted of downloading a preconfigured VM image and running it, and then typing in a couple of commands that were provided to you. Again, nothing of value was added, and quickly going over the FAQ page of any of the products mentioned would be more helpful, faster and a lot more interesting.

Excelente curso, muy explicativo los vídeos y de gran utilidad el material suministrado. Este curso me ha permitido comenzar mis conocimientos en big data, comprender el gran potencial de manejar la data que se genera en mi trabajo, en la sociedad y personalmente, lo cual permitirá contribuir a la toma de decisiones que permitan incrementar el valor de la data.

This is a great introduction for Big Data. It helps me to revisit what I learned from the meetups and webinars, then put the fundamental knowledge and information in a solid foundation. Thank you.

A step by step approach stating from basic big data concept extending to Hadoop framework and hands on mapping and simple MapReduce application development effort.

Very smooth learning experience.

Good intro that also helped me understand some of my previous assumptions

Perfect for starters!

I have participated in better courses on Coursera. I think the power point presentations are very very ugly. The colors really don't match well. This could be a lot more visually appealing. Also, for self learners, a bit more text would be cool, even though I know that not having too much text, but rather pictures, is beneficial. The presenter could speak a bit more natural. At the moment, it is very obvious that she reads text aloud. Also, there need to be some more FAQs in the practical parts, because there can be quite a few problems when trying to run mapreduce. I was only able to do it using Google, because I also had to install another hadoop version (5.12.) because my Intel Chipset was not compatible with the version you wanted me to download. There, the file path to map reduce was different from the example you proviided. To be honest, I did not check the Discussion Forums because I was not aware there were any. Maybe I could have gotten help there.

The general concepts of big data (week 1 and week 2) seemed a bit drawn out, much of the same was repeated over and over again. This was not necessary. The peer-graded assignment needs more detailed instructions - like mentioning that it is ok to resize the fields, and that shapes need to be copy/pasted as much as needed.

The intro part is too long. You will not start with the practice till the end of next week and I find that the lectures and videos by then are a lot less complete even when the content is harder. I would have prefer is the theoretical part was shorter and there was more support when we start learning about hadoop

This was absolutely useless. Lots of definitions with no motivation. The one saving grace is that the slides are comprehensive.

This course gives a basic view for Big data Analysis through introducing much information in the subject "much theoretically at the beginning and then become more piratical using basics of Hadoop program"

Merits:

excellent overview of the Big Data's concepts

gradual teaching techniques

having flexible time viewing the vids

Needs of improvements

Quiz need to stick on learning objectives (for example: instead of asking about Amazon or other companies practices in some area (which was included as an example), questions need to be practical on other non-mentioned companies.

The course has a deadline (one week after the week 3) it should be extended more

some videos are not directed to the point and much details are asked in the quiz

Some IT concepts need to be explain more (like in the last videos) because for me I'm ZERO IT experience

I had a good overview for the topic because I'm applying myself for Master in Big Data without having a single IT background

I have learnt the new Big Data Concepts & modern technology that is used to unlock the value of massive data sets. This course has ignited my curiosity & interest in learning more about the Big Data technologies. I received the financial assistance to complete the course & earn a verified certificate for this course. Thank you Ilkay Altintas & Amarnath Gupta who are the instructors in this course. They organized & taught the course materials well so that even the new learners can understand. Thank you Coursera for giving me financial assistance to complete the course.

I did this course and have been enjoying all of the subsequent courses. I find the content great and the examples and lecture fascinating. I have been working with Cloud computing for 5 years. This course really opened my eyes up on the applicability and the inner workings. It is not a programmers course. It is excellent if you are a Sr. manager or strategist that needs to work with people as part of a data science team. I think this should be a mandatory course for anyone who thinks they may need to deal with bid data and the new computing cloud universe

A highly motivating introduction to Big Data with option to work out the examples hands on in cloud with Hadoop. The course inspires the learner to dive deep in to big data and explore big data analytics.

The course presentations are well planned. It is presented as short videos in a very attractive manner. The way the researchers have shared their experiences in using Big Data for disaster management is great information to the learners. Overall, it is a very good experience.

It is very easy to follow the course. This first course is not complex. As the title says, it is more of an introduction of the world of big data and hadoop. Also, you will learn how to install and run hadoop as well as some very basic functions of MapReduce.

Overall a very good course. As a tip, if you are fluent in english, I would recommend you to run the video x1.5 or x1.75. At the beginning it may be hard, but it will reduce the time that you spend watching video.

Despite my busy work schedule I had fun taking this course especially because of the forum that diverse learners from all around the globe participated it. Twice I got stuck with running hadoop and other learners had posted the solution so I tried their suggestions and I got unstuck! I appreciate those who put in extra work to make my learning easier and fun. Honestly, that was the incentive that made me to complete this course for I was about to drop out. Thank you.

Lots of good material. Of the three "aspects" of data science, this one covers the business angle pretty heavily. It also sets you up with Hadoop and introduces the MapReduce elements.

If you already have background knowledge of data science, some of this material may seem to drag a little bit. Nonetheless, it's one of the few courses on this platform I've taken that address how data science is used in industry (rather than simply the methods).

The course is exceptionally well made and tailored to our needs. I had a great time going through the course. The course was clear and well tailored covering all the major aspects of Big Data. I started the course late and was unable to finish it by the deadline, but was auto enrolled to the next month and was able to successfully finish the course. Thank you Coursera and University of San Diego for explaing Big Data in such a simple way

This was a very good course covering great information on Big Data with many quizzes and workshops to reinforce the learning content. I found it very interesting and looking forward to continuing the big data journey. Passing this course was fun and exciting! I'm already using what I've learned on my job. I'm planning on registering for the next module but taking a moment to celebrate this success.

This is much better than the previous version! 6 weeks with much more spread out and comprehensive contents about big data with a nice balance between theory and hands-on assignments.

Technical software taught are Hadoop, following the MapReduce framework, to which the introduction was very gentle and progressive. Thus, it makes it manageable to take in the and learn the rope by small baby steps.

The course is very informative. I was a layman in BigData. Now, I know what are the kinds of data, origin of data, how it impacts and plays roles in our lives.

Fundamentals of Hadoop has been explained very well and the assignments play a vital role in the learning because to clear the assignment, we go through the courses at least twice to make the concepts clear.

Thanks for all the effort.

My name is Jose Antonio. I am looking for a new Data Scientist career (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseantonio11)

I did this specialization to get new knowledge about Big Data and better understand the technology and your practical applications.

The course was excellent and the classes well taught by teachers.

Congratulations to Coursera team and Instructors.

Regards.

Jose Antonio.

For the price this is an excellent introduction, the course is a good foundation for working with big data. It is up to the student to go forth from this course and take on their own project. I previously submitted a Spark Streaming application prototype to my client prior to the start of this course. I wish I had this course prior to starting my job but it is what it