Learning Analytics
Learning analytics is a relatively new phenomenon in education. It involves analysing the online behaviour of students within an electronic learning environment or a digital learning and working environment. Analysing the data can help higher education institutions to gain a better understanding of:
- students’ study behaviour;
- the quality of the educational resources used;
- how the digital learning and working environment is in fact used;
- the quality of test items;
- student progress.
The Horizon Report 2011 produced by EDUCAUSE describes learning analytics as a trend and as a development that can improve the quality of the education provided and offer tailor-made supervision.
The advantages
Learning analytics has overlaps with various SURF programmes and themes, for example:
Testing and Test-Driven Learning
analysis of data on test items
Open Educational Resources
analysis of the way learning objects are used
Digital Learning and Working Environments
collecting and analysing data on user behaviour online
These programmes and themes generate a great deal of data on students’ online behaviour and can help provide answers to such questions as:
- Which test items can best predict the final result in a test?
- How often do students make use of web lectures, and how does this relate to attendance at live lectures?
- How often (precisely) do students utilise particular functions of the digital learning and working environment?
The answers to these questions are extremely valuable for various target groups within higher education institutions. Students can compare their own study behaviour with that of fellow students, while instructors can see how often their course material is in fact used. The institution itself gains a better understanding of the use made of the educational software that it has purchased. In this way, learning analytics has the potential to provide all the various target groups with relevant information.
Implementation
Learning analytics is still in its infancy. The Horizon Report 2011 suggests that it will take four or five years before higher education institutions have implemented this approach. A great deal of R&D is necessary for this to be done. Important aspects that still need to be tackled include:
- potential privacy issues regarding the data collected;
- an infrastructure to properly collect, store, and combine data from various different sources;
- expertise as regards analysing the data;
- educational expertise so as to make use of the insights generated from the data in activities.
Exploratory phase
Earlier this year, SURF began a foresight study on the theme of learning analytics. A Learning Analytics Seminar is planned for 30–31 August to assess the various possibilities for the Dutch higher education sector and put interested parties in touch with one another. SURF will announce later this year whether it intends pursuing learning analytics further.
More information
For more information about Learning Analytics, please contact John Doove, projectmanager at SURF, T 030 234 66 88.