Data Analytics and Learning Technologies:
What’s possible and can it inform practice?
Timothy Linsey
Hendrik van der Sluis
Academic Development Centre
Educational Research Forum
Friday 15 June 2012
Available at:
Learning and Academic analytics
Analytics
Analytics is an overarching concept described as data-driven decision making (van Barneveld, Arnold & Campbell, 2012: 6)
Learning analytics
“Learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occur” (LAK, 2011, npn)
Academic analytics
Analytics marries large data sets, statistical techniques, and predictive modeling. It could be thought of as the practice of mining institutional data to produce “actionable intelligence.” (Campbell, DeBlois & Oblinger, 2007: 42)
Level of analysis
Type of analytics Level or object of analysis Who benefits?
Learning analytics Course-level: monitoring student progress and at risk students, course development
Learners, faculty
Departmental: predictive modelling, patterns of success/failure
Learners, faculty
Academic Analytics Institutional: Learner profiles, performance of academics,
Administrators, funders
Regional: comparisons between systems Funders, administrators
National: benchmarking National governments, Educational authorities
Example of tools and available data
Type of analytics
Data sources Tools and available data
Learning analytics VLE, StudySpace, (Blackboard) Grade Centre, Course access, Early warning system, Track Number of Views(Activity tables)
Academic analytics VLE, StudySpace, (Blackboard) Activity tablesTurnitin (3rd Party integration) Number of submission
(Number of Staff)QMP (3rd Party integration) Number of Assessment
Number of StaffSNS, OneCommunity (ELGG) Google analytics?
Postings, commentsBlogging, Blogs@KU (WordPress) Google analytics?
Pages access SITS, student records management system
Advanced reportingCombining data sets
HRMS, Human Resource Management Systems (PeopleSoft?)
Advanced reportingCombining data sets
Challenges and Ethics
Challenges Ethics
Sustainability Orwellian world/big brother
Incompatibility of sources Data stewardship
Openness Oversimplification of data interpretation
Focus on administration and monitoring
Does analytics mirrors the real world
Data interpretation
Development and growth of learning technologies at Kingston
Growth in institutional supported learning technologies
• StudySpace (Blackboard upgrades)
• One Community (ELGG)
• Blogging (WordPress )
Increase Third Party integrations
• Turnitin (StudySpace)
• Blackboard Collaborate
• Slide Share
• YouTube
• Learning Objects (StudySpace)
• Wimba
• QuestionMark Perception
Example of early statistics
Snapshot of OneCommunityPostings, comments and files, (Jan- Sep 2010)
Analytics on the Blackboard activity tables
Period Relevant Period Monday Sunday
Data set 1_1, Sep-09 Start academic year 09-10 28/09/2009 25/10/2009
Date set 2_1, Nov-09 Nov-09 02/11/2009 29/11/2009
Date set 3_1, Feb-10 Start 2nd semester 09-10 01/02/2010 28/02/2010
Date set 1_2, Sep-10 Start academic year 10-11 27/09/2010 24/10/2010
Date set 2_2, Nov-10 Nov-10 01/11/2010 28/11/2010
Date set 3_2, Feb-11 Start 2nd semester 10-11 31/01/2011 27/02/2011
Staff use of Blackboard functionalities IBlackboard Activity Tables
Staff use of Blackboard functionalities IIBlackboard Activity Tables
Further reading
EDUCAUSE. (2010). 7 Things you should know about analytics. Available at: http://www.educause.edu/Fxsources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutAnaly/202736, [06/06/2012]
Campbell, J. P., & Oblinger, D. G. (2007). Academic Analytics: Educause, available at: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/PUB6101.pdf, [06/06/2012].
Ferguson, R. (2012). The State Of Learning Analytics in 2012: A Review and Future Challenges. Technical Report KMI-12-01, Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University, UK, available at: http://kmi.open.ac.uk/publications/techreport/kmi-12-01, [06/06/2012].
Goldstein, P. J., & Katz, R. N. (2005). Academic Analytics: The Uses of Management Information and Technology in Higher Education. Boulder, Colorado: Educause Center for Applied Research, available from: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ers0508/rs/ers0508w.pdf, [06/06/2012]
Horizon Report (2011). 2011 Horizon Report. Educause, HR2011, available at: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/2011HorizonReport/223122, [06/06/2012].
Jones, S.J. (2012). Technology Review: The possibilities of learning analytics to improve learner-centred decision-making. Technology review, 18(1), 89-92.