Dr. Laeeq Khan is a professor in the School of Media Arts at Ohio University. Dr. Khan also serves as the director of the Social Media Analytics Team, also known as SMART LAB, a team he has been a part of since 2015, when he joined. SMART LAB was designed with the goal of providing a space for students and faculty can come together and discuss research problems, find solutions, and use data analytics. “It was established with the vision and mission to foster interdisciplinary research,” said Dr. Khan.Over the years, Dr. Khan has worked on multiple research projects, but his most current research project highlights the use of AI. In his research, he works with a team to examine AI in higher education. “So we are all going through a very interesting phase of digital disruption, and it’s a massive one, which is, what does it even mean to be a learner and an instructor when we have AI that’s going to do a lot of things for us?”
Dr. Khan learned in his research that we should use AI as a tool to help us. One thing AI cannot do is replace our brains. It cannot think for us. “That human element is very central to a lot of things. Yes, there are going to be job eliminations, but they’re going to be new ones created, which are going to be at a high level. I would call higher-order thinking skills required for that to use AI effectively, “ said Dr. Khan. AI is a tool we need to learn to navigate, just like when Google first came out or when the Internet was introduced. “I feel like any new innovation, it’s gonna make our lives easier, but we need to know how to harness it perfectly,” said Dr. Khan.
Along with Dr. Khan’s research, he recently came out with a book he wrote called “The Data Analytics Advantage: Strategies and Insights to Understand Social Media Content and Audiences.” The motivation for the book is to help students, especially undergrad students who are not familiar with data numbers, better understand and have all the learning tools in one spot. “But one of the other motivations for that was, for you, my students, I was really concerned that there is content out there which is not in one place,” said Dr. Khan. The book helps readers understand data numbers, but also emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions when finding data. “So it’s not just crunching numbers, but also having the right questions that guide us into what it is that we want to show, and before that, you need to understand the audience before you send a messaging,” said Dr. Khan. This book is now used in his classroom as a way to help teach his students to better understand social analytics and data, however, it's for everyone. You can also find the book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Dr. Khan also talks about the process of making this book. The book comes from years of involvement as a professor, consultant, and researcher, and has taught in 6 different countries, allowing him to gain well-rounded experiences. While the book only took 2-3 years to write, go through the publication process, peer review from the Oxford University Press, and the printing process, he says it took a decade to come up with and develop an idea for the book. Dr. Khan mentions that there were many sacrifices, such as late nights, long weekends, and time away from family, in order to finish this book, but he says it was important for the book to be finished and published as soon as possible. Through Dr. Khan’s research on AI and his book, the most important concept is that we must navigate new tools, learn, and build off each other's knowledge. That’s the key to helping humans advance for years to come. His final message for students is “whenever you go study and think about how people before you, over the millennia, were thinking about issues and writing them and sharing their thoughts, and that’s how we progressed as humanity together. No society can progress on its own; we always need and build upon other things.”
Contact Information:
Number: 740-593-4803
W: ProfessorKhan.com
Email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Link to book:
https://www.amazon.com/Data-Analytics-Advantage-Strategies-Understand/dp/0197814239
Link to podcast with Dr. Collin and Dr. Khan:
https://youtu.be/T2QsU61JuF4?si=lVAVyiLgTMW09xXN
Dr. Khan learned in his research that we should use AI as a tool to help us. One thing AI cannot do is replace our brains. It cannot think for us. “That human element is very central to a lot of things. Yes, there are going to be job eliminations, but they’re going to be new ones created, which are going to be at a high level. I would call higher-order thinking skills required for that to use AI effectively, “ said Dr. Khan. AI is a tool we need to learn to navigate, just like when Google first came out or when the Internet was introduced. “I feel like any new innovation, it’s gonna make our lives easier, but we need to know how to harness it perfectly,” said Dr. Khan.
Along with Dr. Khan’s research, he recently came out with a book he wrote called “The Data Analytics Advantage: Strategies and Insights to Understand Social Media Content and Audiences.” The motivation for the book is to help students, especially undergrad students who are not familiar with data numbers, better understand and have all the learning tools in one spot. “But one of the other motivations for that was, for you, my students, I was really concerned that there is content out there which is not in one place,” said Dr. Khan. The book helps readers understand data numbers, but also emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions when finding data. “So it’s not just crunching numbers, but also having the right questions that guide us into what it is that we want to show, and before that, you need to understand the audience before you send a messaging,” said Dr. Khan. This book is now used in his classroom as a way to help teach his students to better understand social analytics and data, however, it's for everyone. You can also find the book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Dr. Khan also talks about the process of making this book. The book comes from years of involvement as a professor, consultant, and researcher, and has taught in 6 different countries, allowing him to gain well-rounded experiences. While the book only took 2-3 years to write, go through the publication process, peer review from the Oxford University Press, and the printing process, he says it took a decade to come up with and develop an idea for the book. Dr. Khan mentions that there were many sacrifices, such as late nights, long weekends, and time away from family, in order to finish this book, but he says it was important for the book to be finished and published as soon as possible. Through Dr. Khan’s research on AI and his book, the most important concept is that we must navigate new tools, learn, and build off each other's knowledge. That’s the key to helping humans advance for years to come. His final message for students is “whenever you go study and think about how people before you, over the millennia, were thinking about issues and writing them and sharing their thoughts, and that’s how we progressed as humanity together. No society can progress on its own; we always need and build upon other things.”
Contact Information:
Number: 740-593-4803
W: ProfessorKhan.com
Email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Link to book:
https://www.amazon.com/Data-Analytics-Advantage-Strategies-Understand/dp/0197814239
Link to podcast with Dr. Collin and Dr. Khan:
https://youtu.be/T2QsU61JuF4?si=lVAVyiLgTMW09xXN