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.