Rebecca Ferguson, The Open UniversityVITAL, UCLAN, July 2017

Learning analytics: planning for the future

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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Defining learning analytics

The measurement, collection, analysis and

reporting of data about learners and their

contexts, for purposes of understanding and

optimizing learning and the environments in

which it occurs.

Learning analytics help us

to identify and make sense

of patterns in the data

to improve our teaching,

our learning and

our learning environments

Priority areas for education and training

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Open and innovative education and training, fully embracing

the digital era.

Strong support for teachers, trainers, school leaders and

other educational staff

Relevant and high-quality knowledge, skills and

competences developed throughout lifelong learning

Focus on learning outcomes for

employability, innovation, active citizenship and well-being

and inclusive education, equality, equity, non-discrimination

and the promotion of civic competences.

• Safety and wellbeing: all children

and young people are protected

from harm and vulnerable children

are supported to succeed with

opportunities as good as those for

any other child.

• Educational excellence

everywhere: every child and young

person can access high-quality

provision, achieving to the best of

his or her ability regardless of

location, attainment and

background.

• Prepared for adult life: all 19-year-

olds complete school or college

with the skills and character to

contribute to the UK’s society and

economy and are able to access

high-quality work or study options.

• The University will create an inspirational student

experience, enabling people, irrespective of their

backgrounds, to fulfil their potential, develop as

global citizens and meet their life and career goals.

• The University will be innovative and

entrepreneurial in our approach to research and

knowledge exchange in order to maximise our

positive social, environmental and economic

impact locally, nationally and globally.

• The University operates in a global market place.

Our activities, from our internationally focused

research to our curriculum and study opportunities

will be international in their outlook.

• The University will continue to inspire positive

change in organisations and people from all walks

of life, enabling them to achieve their full potential.

• We will further strengthen our financial stability,

growing income from a diverse range of sources,

so enabling continual reinvestment in our people

and infrastructure.

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http://careers2030.cst.org/jobs/

Preparing for the future

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A decade of change

2012: ‘Year of the MOOC’

2007: Launch of the iphone

2006: First tweets

Priority areas for education and training

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• Bringing together different sectors: higher education, schools & workplace learning

• Building networks that will outlive the project’s funding period

• Helping to develop learning analytics capability

• Creating and sharing resources

• Developing visions of the future and agreeing how to work towards them

http://www.laceproject.eu/

Visions of the future

Full report

bit.ly/28X5tq7

Provocation 1: Learners are monitored by their learning environments

Provocation 2:Learners’ personal data are tracked

Provocation 3:Analytics are rarely used

Provocation 4:

Learners

control

their own

data

Provocation 5:Open systems are widely adopted

Provocation 6:Learning analytics are essential tools

Provocation 7:Analytics help learners make the right choices

Provocation 8:Analytics have largely

replaced teachers

LAEP: learning analytics for European

educational policy

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•What is the current state of the art?

• What are the prospects for the implementation

of learning analytics?

• What is the potential for European policy to be

used to guide and support the take-up and

adaptation of learning analytics to enhance

education in Europe?

Action for analytics

Strategy

Research and development

Infrastructure

Context

Standards

Skills

Outreach

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Strategy

Example of a framework for learning analytics: Siemens, G., Gašević, D., Haythornthwaite, C., Dawson, S.,

Buckingham Shum, S., Ferguson, R., Duval, E., Verbert, K. & Baker, R.S.J.d. (2011). Open Learning

Analytics: An Integrated and Modularized Platform (Concept Paper). Download from solaresearch.org

• Align work on learning analytics with

strategic objectives and priority areas for

education and training

• Develop a roadmap for learning analytics

• Assign responsibility for development of

learning analytics

• Identify and build on work in

related areas and other countries

• Build on learning analytics

work to develop new priorities

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Research and development

• Develop pedagogy that makes

good use of analytics

• Develop analytics that address

strategic objectives and priorities

• Develop technology that enables

deployment of analytics

• Develop frameworks that enable

development of analytics

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http://evidence.laceproject.eu

Infrastructure

● Increase data-handling

capability

●Create organisational

structures to support use

of learning analytics

●Use Evidence Hub to

identify areas for

development

●Develop methods of

sharing experience

and good practice

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Context

●Align learning analytics

work with different

sectors of education

●Develop practices that

are appropriate to

different contexts

● Identify successful

financial models

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Standards

●Adapt and employ interoperability

standards

●Develop and employ ethical

standards, including data

protection

●Align analytics with

assessment practices

●Develop a robust quality

assurance process

●Develop evaluation

frameworks

http://www.laceproject.eu/deliverables/d7-1-interoperability-studies/

http://www.open.ac.uk/students/charter/essential-documents/ethical-use-student-data-learning-analytics-policy

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Skills

● Identify the skills required in

different areas

●Train and support educators to

use analytics to support

achievement

●Train and support researchers and

developers to work in this field

●Develop and support educational

leaders to implement these

changes

●Educate learners to use analytics

to support their own achievement

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Outreach

●Engage stakeholders

throughout the learning

analytics process

●Support collaboration

with commercial

organisations

●Promote awareness of

learning analytics

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solaresearch.org • LAK conferences • LASI events • LACE

Stay connected

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Slides online at www.slideshare.net/R3beccaF

Rebecca Ferguson @R3beccaF

http://r3beccaf.wordpress.com/