Learning Analytics 2012:Review and Future Challenges

Dr Rebecca Ferguson

The Open University, UK

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.

LAK 11 Call for Papers

Learning analytics

Driver 1: Big data

Formal: Blackboard, MoodleInformal: Facebook, OpenLearn

•Interaction data•Personal data•Systems information•Academic information•Social information

Technical challenge

How can we extract value from these big sets of learning-related data?

Driver 2: Online learning

Infographic: http://sloanconsortium.org/sites/default/files/pages/OnlineLearningSurvey-Infographic-1.png

Educational challenge

How can we optimise opportunities for learning?

Driver 3: Political concerns

The goal of creating an interconnected feedback system would be to ensure that key decisions about learning are informed by data and that data are aggregated and made accessible at all levels of the education system for continuous improvement.

US Department of Education, 2010Table: http://www.oecd.org/document/2/0,3746,en_2649_39263238_48634114_1_1_1_1,00.html

Political challenge

How can we substantially improve learning opportunities and educational results at national or international levels?

Three main interest groups

Learners and teachers

Schools and colleges

Governments

Data-driven analytics

Use of web mining techniques•Clustering•Classification•Outlier detection

•Association rule mining•Sequential pattern mining

•Text mining

Effective better learners

The goal:Turn learners into effective better learners

Focus on:data mining and machine learning techniques… to enhance web-based learning environments for the educator to better evaluate the learning process, as well as for the learners to help them in their learning endeavour

Zaïane, 2001

Learning-focused perspectives

Knowledge is constructed through social negotiation

Learning takes place in networks and in communities of practice

Learning can be scaffolded by a more able other Dawson, McWilliam, Tan, 2008

Strategic perspectives – 2007/8

by 2020 the overall portion of the U.S. workforce with a college degree will be lower than it was in 2000

analytics is emerging as a new tool that can address what seem like intractable challenges

analytics has the potential to improve teaching, learning, and student success

EDM and analytics split

• extend geographical focus• make tools easier for educators to use• standardize methods and data across systems• integrate tools within e-learning environments • develop education-specific mining techniques

Disambiguation

Phil Long, George Siemens (2011)

Dividing responsibility

Educational data miningHow can we extract value from these big sets of learning-related data?

Academic (and action) analyticsHow can we substantially improve learning opportunities and educational results at national or international levels?

Learning analyticsHow can we optimise opportunities for learning?

Meeting the challenge

How can we optimise opportunities for learning?

•Maintain focus on this challenge

•Learn from previous work in all three fields

•Integrate experience from different disciplines

•Focus on learners and teachers

Fresh challenges

• Widen range of theory-driven approaches

• Develop methods of presenting analytics clearly

• Adopt standards for the structure and export of data

• Broaden focus from higher education

• Broaden international focus

• Address issues around ethics, privacy and data

• Explore possibilities offered by new data sources