Learn how to mine your own data

Today’s world generates more data than ever before! Being able to turn it into useful information is a key skill. This course introduces you to practical data mining using the Weka workbench. We’ll dispel the mystery that surrounds the subject. We’ll explain the principles of popular algorithms. We’ll show you how to use them in practical applications. You’ll get plenty of experience actually mining data during the course, and afterwards you’ll be well equipped to mine your own. Weka originated at the University of Waikato in NZ, and Ian Witten has authored a leading book on data mining.

This course is aimed at anyone who deals in data. It involves no computer programming, although you need some experience with using computers for everyday tasks. High school maths should be more than enough and you’ll need an understanding of some elementary statistics concepts (means and variances).

You will download the free Weka software during Week 1. It runs on any computer, under Windows, Linux, or Mac. It has been downloaded millions of times and is being used all around the world.

(Note: Depending on your computer and system version, you may need admin access to install Weka.)