Learning Analytics: seeking answers at a time of big questions? (576) Home : Annual Conference 2014

Learning Analytics: seeking answers at a time of big questions? (576)

Public Group Active 7 years, 8 months ago

Mon, Sep 1 2014, 3:10pm – 4:10pm

Description

Learning Analytics (LA) and Educational Data Mining (EDM) have attracted great interest and excitement at a time of increasing demands on the accountability, efficiency and relevance of education. Emerging evidence from research and practice suggests that learning analytics may have a direct positive impact on student retention and have the potential to improve students’ learning experiences. These possibilities have stimulated growth in the number of stakeholder groups interested in how learning analytics can support effective decision-making in HEIs. However, when translating learning into numbers, competing discourses emerge between enthusiasts and sceptics with different views about the promises and possibilities of using analytics in education. It is time now to bring together a range of views about the consequences of using analytics in education.

LACE (Learning Analytics Community Exchange) is a Coordination and Support action project funded by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme. The project aims to build communities that explore the benefits and pitfalls of the unprecedented availability of data related to education and learning. To support this, a framework has been developed to facilitate the conversation around key questions and challenges of using data analysis in education. This framework identifies six critical dimensions of LA and EDM to support discourse within particular stakeholder communities, including: Stakeholders, Objectives, Data, Method, Constraints and Competences (Greller & Drachsler 2012). The workshop will (a) introduce concepts in LA/EDM by means of a scenario grounded in evidence from literature and practical experience, and (b) apply the framework and a set of quality indicators for critically evaluating LA/EDM.

At the workshop, scenarios will be used to explore the potential, ethical, cultural and pedagogical concerns about using learning analytics in Higher Education. Participants will work in groups to develop scenarios around (a) student retention and early intervention and (b) students learning in MOOCs, with questions to be answered in each scenario. Some example visualisations will be presented to demonstrate tools and techniques that help to interpret data and understand learners and their environments in different contexts. The framework and a set of quality indicators will be used to guide and evaluate the process and outcomes of data analysis and stimulate discussions around ethical, cultural and pedagogical concerns about LA/EDM. Participants will be invited to contribute their views on some practical issues on effectively using data in education and consider how the full potential of LA and EDM could be realized in HE institutions. We hope this workshop will provide opportunities for stakeholders (including senior managers, teachers and other practitioners, researchers, and technologists) to: experience the application of a framework for discourse that may be of use in their own organisation; explore the potential of LA and EDM; and identify the obstacles to achieving desirable future outcomes for higher education.

Reference:

Greller, W., & Drachsler, H. (2012). Translating Learning into Numbers: A Generic Framework for Learning Analytics. Educational Technology & Society, 15 (3), 42–57