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
Learning analytics
Who benefits?
Course-level: monitoring student progress and at Learners, faculty
risk students, course development
Departmental: predictive modelling, patterns of
success/failure
Academic Analytics Institutional: Learner profiles, performance of
academics,
Learners, faculty
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
Learning analytics VLE, StudySpace, (Blackboard)
Tools and available data
Grade Centre, Course access, Early
warning system, Track Number of Views
(Activity tables)
Academic analytics
Activity tables
Number of submission
(Number of Staff)
Number of Assessment
Number of Staff
Google analytics?
Postings, comments
Google analytics?
Pages access
Advanced reporting
Combining data sets
Advanced reporting
Combining data sets
VLE, StudySpace, (Blackboard)
Turnitin (3rd Party integration)
QMP (3rd Party integration)
SNS, OneCommunity (ELGG)
Blogging, Blogs@KU (WordPress)
SITS, student records management
system
HRMS, Human Resource
Management Systems (PeopleSoft?)
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 OneCommunity
Postings, 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 I
Blackboard Activity Tables
Staff use of Blackboard functionalities II
Blackboard 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-1201, 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.