What is Learning Analytics
SoLAR (Society for Learning Analytics Research) define LEARNING ANALYTICS as "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 occurs."
https://www.solaresearch.org/about/what-is-learning-analytics/
This definition is used throughout almost all of the literature on Learning Analytics.
The biggest advantage of Educational Data is that it is captured automatically whenever a student interacts with any online resources that are provided via a Learning Management System (LMS) or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) (de Andrade et al. 2021; da Silva et al., 2022; Gedrimiene et al., 2022; Lawson et al., 2016; Wilkinson et al., 2022).
It is a method of gaining information about learners and their interactions within the Learning Management System without having to rely on the students to provide feedback (Lockyer et al., 2013).
Data can be classified as:
- Demographic - includes information about the learner such as age, gender, cultural background
- Behavioural - this is data that demonstrates when and where students have logged in and potentially how long they stayed
- Interaction - this shows how involved a student was with the course resources and activities
- Performance - this represents the level of learning that took place, demonstrated by whether a student passed and how well they did in assessments
(de Andrade et al., 2021)
Role of LA practitioners
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| Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash |
Why is it Important
Teachers/Instructors/Educators
From a teacher perspective, Learning Analytics can provide information about how your learners are interacting with your course content. The most common use of this data is to predict which students may drop out of the course prior to completion. Armed with this information, teachers can put actions in place before they drop out. The action could be as simple as communicating with the student to see if they need help or send a simple reminder that they need to access the course resources and that they may be falling behind. (Da Silva et al., 2022; De Andrade et al., 2021; Foster & Francis, 2020; Lawson et al., 2016; Jawthari & Stoffa, 2022).
At Chisholm, we have a student attendance register called Markbook, which is linked with Moodle for those courses/classes that are using an online delivery or blended model. Once a student has completed everything for a unit on Moodle, results are transferred back to Markbook and will fill in the results for the teacher to review and finalise. This utilises live data from Moodle.
Learning Designers
As well as focusing on learner outcomes, Learning Analytics is also an important part of the Learning Design process. The data can demonstrate those areas of a course students interacted with more than others and those that potentially provided a better learning environment and can be used for continuous improvement of courses and their design (Clow, 2013; Gunn et al., 2017; Lang et al., 2022; Lockyer et al., 2013; West et al.,2020; Wilkinson et al., 2019).
Learning Designers can also review data from multiple classes to demonstrate how different groups of learners interact with the learning activities and determine whether there needs to be adjustments to the course design (Wise & Vytasek, 2017).
Students
Learners themselves can also benefit from having access to their own data. Some institutions include a dashboard that will display useful information to students about their learning and may also show where they are in comparison with other learners. Students can use this to reflect on their learning and make any necessary adjustments to their own interaction with the learning resources. (Corrin & de Barba, 2014; West et al., 2020; Wise & Vytasek, 2017)
To ensure that students are able to properly interpret the data that is provided, it is important that they are provided with guidelines and training. There should be some kind of user needs analysis performed to ensure that students are provided with the information that they need to make the best decisions regarding their learning. Students should have the choice as to whether they wish to use the dashboard or not, as some may respond negatively to the information, especially when they are compared against their peers (West et al., 2020a, 2020b).
Institutions
Educational institutions can use Learning Analytics as a justification for cost efficiency to provide personalised learning plans and funding for support services (Gedrimiene et al., 2020).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) can be used to create algorithms to interpret the data and provide results that might not be equitable across the Institution (Stephenson et al., 2022).
Government
There is not a lot of information that relates to how Governments use Educational Data and the corresponding analysis and reporting. In Australia, University courses are funded by both the student and the Commonwealth Government which means that the Government has a vested interest in courses and student outcomes. https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-funding
Funding for TAFEs come from both Commonwealth support programs as well as state funding. TAFEs are generally owned by the State Governments in which they operate, but there are also private RTOs that also access some funding for student completions. The funding models have changed over the years and full funding is only provided for eligible students while they are attending and when they complete each unit. There are also incentives for employers to have trainees, who are registered with a relevant RTO.
TAFEs have reporting responsibilities to the government to ensure that they are operating within the rules and providing a suitable level of training to students. The data for this reporting comes from our Student Management System, Markbook, and Moodle logs if attendance needs to be verified. Funding is based on the information provided by the Institutions to the government.
https://www.dewr.gov.au/revitalising-tafe-campuses-across-australia-initiative
https://www.vic.gov.au/free-tafe
https://www.skills.vic.gov.au/s/your-options-around-financial-support
