SPECIAL

EDITION
www.elearnmaga zine.com

P. 14 P. 20 P. 24
Interview: Infographic: Roundtable:
Niall Sclater - Ethical Concerns With Learning 10 Reasons Why Institutions Should Experiments and Challenges with
Analytics: What You Should Be Aware of Implement Learning Analytics Learning Analytics Around the World

LEARNING ANALYTICS:
Using Data to Optimize
the Learning Experience

Functioning as a
collaborative teaching
and learning
community, E-Learn is
a place for educators
to share ideas,
insights, perspectives,
and practices for the
purpose of improving
student success.
Want to participate?
We'd like to hear from you.
Share your experience,
perspective, or field of
expertise through an interview,
column, or article. Suggest our
next topic of focus, get in touch
with the E-Learn team.
Email
elearn@blackboard.com
for further information.
From the Editor
THE TOPIC OF LEARNING ANALYTICS HAS BEEN
trending in recent years. Although it is still a
growing field, with some countries adopting the
technology more quickly than others and some
just beginning to discover its possibilities, one
thing is for sure: learning analytics is here to stay.
Educational institutions can use learning analytics
to turn raw data into actionable insights to achieve
results across the entire institution. From adminis-
trative staff to faculty and students, this education
insight can increase institutional performance and
help meet today’s biggest challenges in academia.
At Blackboard, our aim is to continuously provide
you with the most current and relevant informa-
tion about the topics that matter most in educa-
tion today. Learning analytics promise to engage
faculty and students, increase learning outcomes,
and improve institutional success. With that in
mind, we have put together meaningful informa-
tion that can help you along this exciting journey.
We begin this issue with a piece featuring
Timothy Harfield, Blackboard’s senior product
marketing manager, and his thoughts on the
challenges and possibilities of learning analytics.
As Harfield puts it, learning analytics cannot
replace human judgment, but it can inform it.
Find out how institutions can go about inter-
preting data, the possibilities for instructors,
and how to identify institutional barriers.
Discover how Dr. John Whitmer and a team of
scientists are developing and enhancing the next
wave of data-informed learning environment fea-
tures that will better serve the educators, learners,
and institutions. Get insights on how democratiz-
ing analytics can benefit students and teachers,
and how institutions, educators and students will
engage with this technology in the near future.
Consider the ethical concerns related to learning
analytics, explore 10 reasons why higher edu-
cation institutions should implement learning
analytics today, review insights and experienc-
es from experts in three distinct regions, and
learn how Concordia University Wisconsin
is harnessing the power of learning analytics
to identify at-risk students to help them succeed.
We hope you find this information timely and
valuable, and as always, we invite all members
of the teaching and learning community
to share their experiences, best practices,
and insights for the benefit of the entire
community. If you’re interested in sharing
your story, we’d like to hear from you.
Sincerely,
The E-Learn Team
For more information, please contact:
elearn@blackboard.com
Table of Contents
Learning Analytics / February 2018

EDI TO R PR ODU C T I O N Learning Analytics: Possibilities

and Challenges of Using Data
Manuel Rivera Carolina Pintor Science in Higher Education...................... 4

C ON T R I BU T I N G E DI TO R S W E B M AST E R Learning Analytics

Amplifies Quality Teaching.........................10
Katie Gallagher María José Correa
Liliana Camacho Ethical Concerns With
S PEC I A L T H AN KS Learning Analytics:
JOUR N A L I S M What You Should Be Aware of............... 14
Katie Blot, Phill Miller,
Priscila Zigunovas, Leonardo Katie Gallagher, 10 Reasons Why Institutions
Tissot, Cristina Wagner. Carl Marrelli, Lynn Should Implement Learning Analytics........ 20
Zingraf, Timothy Harfield,
PHOTO GR A PH Y John Whitmer. Experiments and Challenges with
Learning Analytics Around the World...... 24
AFP PR OY EC TOS S E M AN A
Concordia University Wisconsin: How to
AR T A ND D ESI GN Photography Editor Achieve a Record Retention Rate................ 30
Mario Inti García Mutis
TRiiBU Studio
Camilo Higuera, Enny Rodríguez,
Camila Mejía, Laura Naranjo,
David Peña, Juana Molina.
© 2018 E-Learn. Some rights reserved. The views expressed in this
magazine are those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions, policies or
official positions of Blackboard. Statements about future plans or prospects
are given on the date this and not intended to be a prediction of future
events. We assume no obligation to update any statement at any time.
E - L E AR N E XPE R T A N A LYS I S
Sponsored by Blackboard

Learning Analytics:
Possibilities and Challenges
Timothy Harfield
Senior Product Marketing
Manager for Blackboard
of Using Data Science in
Higher Education
Analytics at Blackboard Inc.

Still a young field, learning analytics is being increasingly

seen by higher education institutions as a powerful resource
to inform decisions and achieve better learning results.

by: priscila zigunovas

“WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS MANAGED.” THIS QUOTE,
attributed to Peter Drucker, the father of modern manage-
ment, is often used by analytics researchers and thinkers in
reference to the power of data to inform decisions, a practice
that many higher education institutions could benefit from.
of students in a timely manner,” says
Harfield, who has a background in philosophy
and sociology and has published extensively on
how learning analytics can be used to promote
student success along with humanistic values.

“In order to effectively manage our systems, our processes and the
success of students, we need to have measurement, because with
that we have access to information and knowledge that we can
use to control particular outcomes,” says Dr. Timothy Harfield,
Senior Product Marketing Manager for Blackboard Analytics.
However, most institutions are still
far from exploring all the possibilities
that learning analytics can offer.
Great Expectations

The biggest change in education in recent years has been
the increase in scale, which not only impacts the num-
ber of people institutions are able to reach, but also limits
their ability to engage students face-to-face. Learning
analytics can play an important role in this challenge.
“As education becomes increasingly scaled and asyn-
chronous, analytics becomes more important as a
tool in support of high-quality teaching and learn-
ing practices that are responsive to meet the needs
Learning analytics, as a field and as a disci-
pline, is still very young – about six years old.
Institutions and researchers are still work-
ing with a great deal of experimentation.
Over the past few years, some institutions
have invested in learning analytics with great
success, while other early adopters were dis-
appointed and are now skeptical about what
the field can offer, according to Harfield.

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“One day we woke up and we had access to all kinds of
data. Everybody got really excited. There was a lot of
promise, but not a whole lot of clarity around what was
really possible and how this access to data could ac-
tually benefit institutions,” explains Harfield.
The novelty of the field and the lack of experience by practi-
tioners, institutions, vendors and researchers caused them
not to realize which types of policies and practices would
be necessary to make a successful analytics initiative.
Over time, since the innovation rate was not as rap-
id as institutions were expecting, the initial excite-
ment turned into disappointment. As it turns out,
data alone isn’t sufficient to get the work done and
developing impactful data-informed initiatives re-
quires a great amount of dedication from institutions.
Human Judgment is
Still Essential
Analytics is nothing more and nothing less
than the visual display of quantitated in-
formation, according to Harfield. However,
capturing activity in the form of data and
transforming that data into visual displays
of information, such as tables, charts and
graphs, involves human judgment, and in-
stitutions have to take that into account.
In the expert’s experience, the institutions that
are most effective at working with learning an-
alytics are those with experienced and prudent
practitioners who carefully consider the data in
the context of deep knowledge about students,

PHOTOS: AFP Tami Chappell

Now that this first stage has passed, the future of learn-
ing analytics looks quite promising. “Right now, be-
cause institutions, media and vendors have developed
much more realistic expectations, we know more and
can start really getting the work done. We have a level of
maturity that is necessary to be realistic about what we
need to do in order to see real results,” says Harfield.
Learning analytics is trending
and it seems to offer endless
possibilities. Institutions and
institutional practices and cultural factors.
“Learning analytics is not an opportunity for
us to stop thinking, assessing and making deci-
sions, but it is an important artifact that needs
to be considered along with a variety of other
sources of knowledge, including the human
wisdom that comes with experience in order “However, once they have invested in that The result of that is often a paradox: universities and
to solve particular problems,” Harfield says. infrastructure, they need to forget about colleges want students to be successful; however, be-
the data and focus on the questions, such cause of the complexity of these institutions, they of-
“Analytics is not a replacement for human as ‘What are the problems we need to ten end up including systematic barriers to the success
judgment. It’s a form of information, but solve as an institution?,’” says Harfield. of the very students they want to see succeed.
it still needs to be interpreted, and that
interpretation requires human wisdom.” He suggests beginning with those inquiries and then Analytics can provide the data that institutions need to
thinking about how to translate them into questions identify those barriers, and it can positively impact student

education professionals can
benefit from this powerful
technology, as long as they
remember that working with
data requires human wisdom.
Identifying Institutional Barriers
Over time, institutions will be using increas-
ingly more data as a base for their decisions
and strategies. A major challenge that they
have to face is not to be overwhelmed with the
amount of data. That’s why it’s important to
invest in structures like data warehouses, so
that they have access to data when they need it.
that can be answered using the available data, and
finally translating that data back into strategies
that can actually inform and improve the specific
outcomes institutions are looking to achieve.
“Let’s not forget that the university is a very
old institution and, as a result, it’s incredi-
bly complex. It can be really challenging to
navigate if you are a student,” says Harfield.
success but also institutional success and efficiency as well.
“Analytics allows institutions to see themselves
almost like in a mirror. It allows them to gain
access to how the institution is functioning as a
whole and to identify the way in which students
are being systematically and disproportionate-
ly advantaged or disadvantaged because of how
that institution functions,” explains Harfield.

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Possibilities for Instructors more likely to earn a grade C or higher com-

A way in which instructors are using analytics to improve their
courses is by creating solutions to identify students at risk.
This could be automated by using predictive analytics,
through Blackboard Predict, and also through tools like the
Retention Center in Blackboard Learn 9.1. The later allows
faculty to establish a threshold based on factors that they
consider important, and also to monitor students as needed.
pared to students who didn’t use the tool. 1
“Also, I have seen through research that we have
done with the University of Michigan that the
benefits received by having access to this kind
of student-facing analytics disproportionate-
ly affects lower performing students. So, it’s
actually helping exactly the kind of students
we want to help keep on track,” tells Harfield.
Understand How Analytics Technology Works
Blackboard’s solution for using data to drive innovation in Analytics for Learn offers three important features:
education is called Analytics for Learn, and it is designed data aggregation, the ability to perform
to help administrators, instructional designers and faculty longitudinal analysis, and the ability to combine
to identify students at risk and optimize university learning data from multiple sources. Gain a better
environments for greater rates of student success. understanding of each concept below.

1 2 3
“This type of access to information about student activity and
the consequences of that activity for their success are less From a pedagogical perspective, he explains,
important if you are in a small face-to-face class, but it becomes learning analytics gives instructors an op-
more important as you enter into online courses and large class- portunity to create interesting assignments
es, where that face-to-face interaction is lost,” says Harfield. that require students to, for example, reflect
upon the analytics that they are seeing.
Proactive advising using predictive analytics is a trend that will
be even more present in the future, as it allows instructors and “We know that simply presenting information
institutions to identify students at risk before they go off-track. to students doesn’t make a difference in their
behavior, but what does have an impact are
Harfield recalls that the reason why traditional approach- opportunities to actively reflect on that data
es to academic advising increasingly don’t work is because and what it means for them,” says Harfield.
DATA AGGREGATION LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS COMBINING DATA FROM
students that are in most need of that advising — usu- MULTIPLE SOURCES
In the learning management Since retaining data requires
ally low income, first generation and minority students Future Perspectives system (LMS), every student click a great deal of storage, most Analytics for Learn makes it
— are exactly the ones that are the least likely to active- and behavior is recorded. “These learning management systems possible to combine information
produce huge complex tables have a tendency to hold not only from the learning
ly seek out help from support systems on their own. Although there are still many questions to
that are extremely challenging information for a short period, management system but also from
be answered regarding the use of data in to write queries against. Also, usually one or two years. “But the student information system.
“By using predictive analytics, we are able to identify education, there are also several opportu- as you write these complex by storing this information “That allows us to do really
queries, you run the risk of in a separate warehouse or interesting things, to understand
students at risk early, before they fail the class, before nities for pedagogical innovation in the use putting an enormous burden system, such as Blackboard learning behaviors in light of
they have dropped out,” suggests Harfield. These students of learning analytics that instructors, profes- or strain on that operational Analytics for Learn, it’s possible demographic factors and other
system,” explains Harfield. When to capture information and information that is only stored
can be invited for a conversation with professors, student success sors, teachers and coaches have yet to explore.
Analytics for Learn is used, analyze trends across multiple within the student information
professionals, academic advisors or coaches in order for them to that stream of data is pulled years,” explains Harfield. system,” says Harfield. Some
understand the potential barriers that students are facing and In the future, Harfield says he would like to see more into another system and then institutions are integrating
transformed, so that information data from other learning
to develop strategies to help them overcome these difficulties. reflection and research done on the most effective can be easily accessed. tools and systems as well.
way to leverage these new analytic technologies.
Another way in which teachers can use analytics is giving stu-
dents access to their own information, which fosters a sense “I’m really looking forward to seeing, as tech-
of self-regulated learning. Research has found interesting nology advances, how we will be able to adapt SOURCE
NEW VERSION
results in that area. John Fritz, from University of Maryland, our strategies, our approaches and our thinking
Baltimore County (UMBC), has found that students who used about pedagogy to make the most effective use Version 4.3.5 of Analytics for Learn offers 1. Fritz, J. (2013, April 30). Using Analytics at UMBC: Encouraging Student
support for Rubrics and Tool Detail. Responsibility and Identifying Effective Course Designs. Retrieved Novem-
a feedback tool called “Check my Activity” were 1.92 times of those technologies in support of students.” ber 8, 2017, from https://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERB1304.pdf.

8 9
E - L E AR N E XPE R T A N A LYS I S
Sponsored by Blackboard

Learning

PHOTO: AFP John Hefti

Analytics
Amplifies Quality
Teaching
John
As research and implementation on learning analytics Whitmer
Blackboard’s
advances, it is possible to catch a glimpse of a future in Learning
which data-informed features will become essential to Analytics and
Research
help instructors and students make better decisions. Director

by: priscila zigunovas

LEARNING ANALYTICS AND STUDENT BEHAVIORAL
data insights are a new form of knowledge that
was not available before educational technologies
were so deeply integrated in the classroom. At
least that’s the perception of Dr. John Whitmer,
Blackboard’s Analytics and Research Director.
Whitmer manages a team of data scientists
distributed across the globe who work on
research and analysis. With advanced degrees
in statistics, training in machine learning
and computer science, as well as experience
with e-learning, these scientists think about
and provide answers to questions about how
institutions, students and instructors use these
products in collaboration with Blackboard Prod-
uct Management and Product Design teams.
“We look at how both faculty and stu-
dents use our products in order to help
make decisions about how to develop new features,
refine existing features, as well as develop new dedicat-
ed embedded analytics features,” Whitmer explains.
Evolution in Data Collection
Before learning analytics, due to the difficulty access-
ing behavioral data at scale, the research that campus-
es conducted about student use of academic technology
usually relied on student interviews and surveys, which
aren’t always accurate. The response rates are low and the
students who respond are a biased sample, often reflect-
ing power users or people with extreme opinions.
The field of learning analytics is creating and apply-
ing new statistical techniques to help researchers
to deeply understand what is happening in class.
“They give us this new form of knowledge about what hap-
pened during a class that allows us to create better learning
materials and learning experiences, as well as
interact with students while the class is still
going on, while there is still time to intervene,
maybe even change the success of a student
within that same class,” says Whitmer.
Next, learn about the main research
findings by Whitmer’s team, as well as
innovative features that can make a dif-
ference for teachers and students.
Can Learning Analytics Provide
a Formula for Student Success?
Sometimes the biggest discovery is that a
hypothesis cannot be confirmed. One of
the most interesting research findings from
Whitmer’s team is that, when looking at scale
across all courses and institutions, there isn’t
a strong relationship between student use of
Blackboard Learn (in particular) and their class grade. In
fact, there is a very small relationship between the two.1
“There is often an assumption in learning analytics that if
you could get information about what students do and how
frequently they use the platform, then you would have a
magic wand that would completely reveal students’ success
and factors around student learning. But when we look at it
on a large scale, we find that this is not true,” he explains.
Instead, they found that it was important to look deep-
er into course design and the specific uses of Blackboard
Learn. “For example, students that spend a larger amount
of time looking at their grades tend to do better than stu-
dents who spend less time doing that,” says Whitmer.
In classes that use assessments or discussion forums frequently, the
amount of time students spend on those activities is directly related
to their grade. In the end, what matters most is centered around
student effort, pedagogical approaches and instructional practices.

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How Can Democratizing Analytics
Benefit Teachers and Students?
Educational research is often done by a small group of experts,
and historically, the results only circulate around adminis-
trative and leadership positions within an institution. These
leaders can choose to disseminate the information or not.
“But often teachers and students have a lot of questions, and
they are very interested in data and information that can help
them make decisions,” points out Whitmer. Democratizing
analytics means making data and insights accessible to them
as well as to other stakeholders that can benefit from it.
Ethics is also something that needs to be carefully considered,
according to Whitmer. “That is an important part of what
Blackboard does, to ensure that the powerful techniques we can
apply are aligned with what we should do in terms of the ethical
obligations that we have to students. And those obligations are
different around the globe, given different laws and regula-
tion and cultural practices around student data,” he says.
How Can a Teacher Begin to
Use Learning Analytics?
Fundamentally, learning analytics means that the
teacher can study students’ actions and how frequent-
ly they access learning materials and activities.
“Before learning analytics, we did not know, or at least
we did not know at large scale, what happened while
students were in class, how often they studied, how
they studied, how often they opened the materials, how
they interacted with them,” points out Whitmer.
The expert suggests that teachers should start using
analytics by identifying the most important ques-
tions that they need evidence in order to answer.
“For example, are my most successful students accessing, par-
ticipating in their learning activities, or are my least successful
12
Blackboard’s Learning Analytics
Research team investigates
how institutions, students
and instructors all over the
world really use the company’s
products. Their findings help
Blackboard refine and develop
new features.
students not participating in certain types of
activities? Looking at those relationships between
activity in student learning at a very detailed
level, looking at discussion forums, looking at
your lecture materials, and reviewing notes,
instructors can get a sense of what students are
actually doing in their course and how it relates to
the success they have,” recommends Whitmer.
A Blackboard initiative can make this process
much easier in the future. With embedded
analytics, Blackboard is integrating analytics
within the workflow of what teachers are already
doing, a unique approach in the market.
“Teachers often do not have the time within their
busy lives and teaching schedules to go off and
think separately about these questions. So, instead
of going to a separate reporting area or a menu
for analytics, Blackboard is embedding an-
alytics within the workflows the teachers
are natively engaging in,” explains Whitmer.
In practice, that means that when instructors
log into the LMS, they can receive summary
updates about how their students are doing and
which ones may need attention; when teachers
are grading, they get information about student
participation; when instructors are reviewing discussion fo-
rums, they get information about the quality of student posts,
for example. “We bring the analytics to them,” says Whitmer.
Do Students Notice Notifications?
The possibility of enabling automatic notifications for
students based on their performance and activity is an
innovative feature in the Blackboard Learn Ultra Ex-
perience. These alerts are embedded directly within the
course, and when they are clicked, a student receives
detailed information as well as a suggested action.2
According to Whitmer, this feature has been dis-
cussed for some time by educators, but institutions
have been hesitant in providing notifications directly
to students because they are concerned about poten-
tial negative repercussions. After all, individuals receive
so many alerts and notifications daily that distraction
and lack of focus are becoming serious problems.3
However, research found that sending rule-based
notifications to students is beneficial and recommend-
ed. “We have found that students are very interested in
receiving these notifications and alerts, and they access
them much more frequently than they do other types of
e-mails or notifications they get from educational insti-
tutions,” says Whitmer. “Students want to know how
they are doing, and how they are doing relative
to their peers, both positive and negative.”
In that sense, learning analytics can be intend-
ed to identify what is most important and put that
in the center of the student learning experience, so
they are better able to pay attention and to focus.
“Students can have their own ideas about what they
need by going through learning analytics and finding
successful or unsuccessful patterns in the past. We are
able to identify these behaviors and practices and then
bring them to students’ attention,” says Whitmer.
E XPE R T A N A LYS I S
What Will Happen Next?
• More Sophisticated Solutions, Better
Insights - Learning analytics is still at its early
stages. As education technologies become
more and more integrated, the amount of data
available for analytics will increase, as well as
new analysis techniques to derive meaning
from this data. The solutions for institutions,
educators and students tend to become
more robust and sophisticated over time.
• More Critical Customers - As learning
analytics becomes more common, students and
faculty will have more experience and become
critical consumers of these solutions. They will
be able to distinguish, for example, between
learning analytics and conventional reporting.
• More Effectiveness - Learning analytics
will be increasingly used to help instructors,
administrators and students to make decisions.
Also, students will be more successful in
achieving their educational goals. This doesn’t
mean that analytics will replace human
decision-making. “We don’t see a scenario in
which analytics is anything close to replacing
human judgment,” says Whitmer. “In a sense,
learning analytics is augmented intelligence.”
SOURCES
1. Whitmer, J. (2016, March 18). Research in progress:
Learning analytics at scale for Blackboard Learn. Re-
trieved November 22, 2017, from http://blog.blackboard.
com/research-in-progress-learning-analytics-at-scale.
2. Whitmer, J., Nasiatka, D., & Harfield, T. (2017, July 26).
Do notifications get noticed? New study finds that embed-
ded alerts to students promote action at high rates. Re-
trieved November 22, 2017, from http://blog.blackboard.
com/new-study-notifications-promote-student-action
3. Rosen, L. (2012, April 09). Attention Alert! Study on Distraction Re-
veals Some Surprises. Retrieved November 22, 2017, from https://
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rewired-the-psychology-tech-
nology/201204/attention-alert-study-distraction-reveals-some..
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Ethical Concerns
With Learning
Analytics: What You
Should Be Aware of
Educational institutions that implement a learning analytics strategy can collect
significant student data and create reports based on student activity. But is
it ethical to use students’ data? Is communicating to students how their data
is being used an ethical responsibility of educators? Lastly, are institutions
taking proper care of privacy and student rights? Current discussions regarding
learning analytics and ethics in the education community have been studying
the implications of dealing with such data. This is a complex issue, and
there are a variety of concerns that should be considered, especially when
innovation in learning analytics continues to be developed at a rapid pace.

by: cristina wagner

glen fruin, scotland, united kingdom

IN THIS INTERVIEW WITH E-LEARN, CONSULTANT Main Ethical Issues Related

Niall Sclater explains that learning analyt-
ics faces a combination of ethical, legal, and
logistical issues, and talks about some of the
ethical concerns that surround student data and
learning analytics. Sclater has been working with
innovation in online and distance education
for more than 25 years. He has also worked on
many collaborative national and internation-
al projects related to the use of technology to
enhance learning and teaching, and is the author
of the book “Learning Analytics Explained.”
to Learning Analytics
• Poor Quality or Insufficient Data - “Trying to do
analytics when you do not have much data, or it is Niall Sclater
Consultant
not good quality, is a really difficult and pointless
PHOTOS: AFP Andy Buchanan
and Director at
exercise. A lot of work needs to be done in cleaning the data Sclater Digital
set and compensating for that,” says Sclater. One example
of this is something called ‘enmeshed identities’, where
students are working together online and the data cannot
differentiate between the person who is authenticated and the
other members of the group. “In learning analytics, the two

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main data sources are generally the learning
management system (LMS) and the student
information system (SIS), which capture only
a tiny bit of the learning that takes place and
some of the contextual information. Ideally, we
need more data points as well as accurate data.”
• Invalid Analytics - Not only does the data
need to be high quality, the analytics also
need to be valid. “One of the main rationales
behind predictive learning analytics is that
there is a relationship between a student’s
engagement in their learning activities and
their subsequent success. Generally, the more
students engage in the learning process, the
more likely they are to complete their course
and get a better grade. But engagement is
not the same as success, and quite often
people confuse the concepts of causation
and correlation”, Sclater explains.
• Loss of Autonomy in Decision Making - This
is a frequently discussed ethical issue, partic-
ularly with adaptive learning systems which
continually change the learning based on how
students are performing. “Some people worry
that it might ‘spoon-feed’ the students too
much with automated suggestions, therefore
make the learning process less demanding.”
• Students’ Behavior - Another issue is related
to when students change their behavior, either
consciously or unconsciously, if they know
that their activities are being continuously
monitored. “If the institution is monitoring the
e-book the student is reading, is that going to
change his or her behavior? That might result
in the student improving their learning, but it
also might increase stress levels. Some students
might even decide not to participate in some
activities at all because they feel uneasy.”
16
• Gaming the System - Students may do something to try to
improve their scores or their engagement. In one institution,
for example, Sclater heard about a student inserting their
ID card into the library entry system a number of times,
trying to improve their library engagement score. “This
is an example of unforeseen outcomes that you can have
when students are aware that you are measuring things.”
• Obligation to Act - Finally, Sclater points out an-
other ethical matter he thinks is important: whether
there is an obligation on the institution to act on the
basis of the analytics. “If you have a lot of data
Adopting learning analytics strategies
may come with some ethical and legal
concerns. Educational institutions
should be prepared to deal
these appropriately.
on the students, is there an ethical obliga-
tion to do something with it? If it is possible
to stop a student from dropping out, should
you not be obliged to use that data?,” he asks.
Data Should Be Used Carefully
Sclater clearly states that students should be aware of the
type of data that is being collected about them, and what is
being done with it. He mentions that the law in some coun-
tries says that if any user asks about what the institution is
storing about them, they need to be able to tell the student
exactly what it is and what they are doing with it. “I do not
think there are many universities and colleges yet that are in
a position to do that,” he affirms. “The only way forward
is to make sure you understand all the data that is
being collected about individual students, and be in
a position to gather it together and provide it quickly
to any student that asks for it,” Sclater suggests.
Is There an Ideal Way to Carry
Out Interventions With Students?
Learning analytics is only constructive when accompanied
by interventions to change student behavior or improve the
course. The decision about when to make an intervention
varies according to different institutional processes. Sclater
believes that institutions should define what he calls
“a trigger,” meaning what precipitates that inter-
vention. “In some institutions, it might be the student
has not logged into the system for two weeks, for example.
I N T E RV I E W
In others, it is when they have not submitted
an assignment on time. And, in others, there
are regular points in which personal tutors or
student advisers will look at where the students
are at, four times per semester, for example.”
In addition, institutions should define the differ-
ent types of intervention, such as an automat-
ic reminder sent to the student, a question, a
prompt, an invitation to meet with a tutor, or even
a supportive message. “All these measures can be
included in an intervention plan,” he says. Insti-
tutions should also think about the frequency and
timing of interventions for them to be effective.
One of the biggest issues for institutions,
however, is about how to get staff to change
their working practices, and to understand
that analytics is either going to help their daily
activities, or make an impact on the students.
Lastly, Sclater points out: “There is not much
point in carrying out interventions unless you
are going to evaluate the success of them.”
In Learning Analytics, Students
Are Individuals, Not Numbers
It is very easy to look at a dashboard or some
other kind of analytics and detect a failing student
without considering that he or she might have all
sorts of potential reasons for that prediction, such
as facing an illness or other personal issues, finding
the concepts too difficult to understand, or having
a demanding job and not having enough time to
study properly. “The only way to find that out may
be to bring a human into the process,” Sclater says.
This means treating students like humans, not
numbers. “Many universities are using an-
alytics as a way of identifying the student
who might need a subsequent conversation
17
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with a person.” Greater data sources can help to find out Developing a Learning
more about the student and tailor the intervention to their Analytics Policy 6 Key Factors to Check if
circumstances. “But you are never going to get the whole picture Your Institution is Ready to Build
about a student. For many of them, meeting a person to chat Sclater says that educational institutions a Learning Analytics Strategy
through their issues is the only way forward,” Sclater alerts. should develop an institutional policy agreed
by the relevant stakeholders in the institu-
Niall Sclater gives some tips for universities and colleges
Educators Should Focus on the Positive tion, including students. He suggests some of to make sure they are ready to develop a learning analytics
the main topics the policy should include: project and to deal with the relevant issues:
One of the main concerns for educators is that, if analytics shows
students their position among the class percentile, it could poten- • What kind of data is being collected
tially demotivate some of them. According to Sclater, while many
students want to see that they are doing well compared to their • Who is responsible for the overall initiative 1 LEADERSHIP
Someone in the institution
2 CULTURE
peers, being told or seeing that they are likely to fail could demoti- Institutions need to build
has to lead and promote
vate others. “It is important to tell students early in the course • How the institution is dealing with the initiative. The person
a vision for the initiative
around their institutional
to get into the habit of checking these analytics,” he says. “And then transparency - making it clear what should be senior enough to
vision, making learning
give it credibility and should
maybe if they are not doing well, the appropriate thing may be for you are doing and what kind of consent have a high-level knowledge
analytics a part of
that student to pull out of the course and enroll in a different one. I you are gathering from students about learning analytics.
their strategic plan.

do not think that the possibility of demotivating a student is a good

reason not to show students how they are predicted to perform.” • What is being done about
confidentiality and securing the data
For Sclater, the best way to provide this information to stu-

3 4
STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE
INVESTMENT
dents is still a matter for investigation. “If we can get the com- • How to ensure the data and The institution should look
“Learning analytics projects
cut across existing roles
puter systems to understand more about what motivates the the analytics are valid into the resources that are
and power structures in an
individual person, then we may be able to tailor the messages, going to be used in analytics,
organization, as different
whether they are for buying
and the kind of information we present to the students more • How students will have access software, linking up data
people need to be involved,
and individuals can be
appropriately.” He is excited by the possibilities that person- to their personal data sources into the analytics
quite concerned that their
software and so on, and also
alization presents. “We are only at the beginning of a perceived ownership of data
look at costs in implementing
journey here. I think the potential is huge for this.” • How interventions will be carried out learning analytics, such
or influence is threatened
somehow by another project
as the staff costs.
coming in,” says Niall.
How to Manage Student Data • How you are going to make sure
that there are no, or minimized,
The legal requirements concerning students’ data vary from
country to country. According to Sclater, some of the
adverse impacts on the students
5 IT
Besides the technology that 6 PREPARE TEACHERS
matters that institutions should pay attention to are He also recommends the development of a student is going to be adopted, there AND LEARNERS

being clear about what data is being collected and guide to learning analytics that answers what stu- are different data sources They need to
that need to be cleaned and understand some of the
why you’re doing that, the capacity to anonymize dents might want to know (he has developed a model put into the right format. processes of adopting
the data, ensuring that the student has the right to student guide that can be downloaded here https:// Also, there’s the need to learning analytics and
make sure the staff have be aware of its impacts
have their data erased if they request that, and de- analytics.jiscinvolve.org), and of a more in-depth,
skills in handling, interpreting and advantages.
veloping careful access controls. ensuring that the technical document that presents how the analytics and visualizing the data.
student has the right to have their data erased if they are actually working. Algorithmic transparency, he
request that, and developing careful access controls. suggests, is going to be increasingly important.

18 19
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10 Reasons Why Institutions 3 UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT

OF INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Should Implement
PATTERNS ON STUDENT
PERFORMANCE

Learning analytics can help identify the most

Learning Analytics
successful instructional design style by program
and course. By correlating tool use by faculty and
students with specific learning outcomes, institutions
can identify and scale high impact practices to
assist specific program and curricular goals.¹⁰
Learning analytics turns raw data into valuable strategic information, offering insights to
improve teaching, learning, and the environments in which they occur. We’ve gathered
10 reasons why learning analytics has the power to improve the educational experience.
by: cristina wagner i n f o g r a p h i c : t r iib u Studio

4 INCREASE REPORTING
EFFICIENCY
1 PROMOTE REFLECTION
AND SELF-REGULATED
2 IDENTIFY
STUDENTS AT Colleges and universities must fulfill a wide variety
LEARNING RISK OF POOR of institutional reporting requirements. Many of
PERFORMANCE these concern educational quality and the impact of
Student-facing reports help learners educational technology investments. By capturing data
increase their performance by providing on learning activity, and automating report creation,
By using data to identify students
them with information about their course learning analytics technology can increase the accuracy
who are likely to struggle in
activity and performance compared to and efficiency of institutional reporting in a way that
a course, proactive advising
others. Systems like this can provide frees analysts to think beyond mere reporting and
can help students in a timely
students with signals about how well they also use the same data in support of other strategic
manner. Learning analytics
are doing in general, as well as information initiatives on campus. For example, California Baptist
surfaces relevant information
about specific areas they need to work University Online used Analytics for Learn to automate
about student engagement and
on. By making learning analytics available an attendance tracking process that was otherwise
performance that is key for
to students, institutions can promote labor-intensive and prone to error.¹¹ Because of an
academic advisors and student
self-regulated learning. This practice not increase in institutional efficiency, CBU Online is also
success specialists.¹ This way,
only improves student outcomes but also able to start using that same information to identify at-
professionals can reach out and
fosters a mindset that may help learners risk students and intervene with targeted interventions
intervene at an earlier stage than
increase their post–graduation success.1 to keep more students on track for graduation.
would otherwise be possible and
help learners persist in spite of
challenges.2 For example, using
predictive analytics tools like
Blackboard Predict, faculty and
advisors can start identifying
at-risk students before the 5 OPTIMIZE
ASSESSMENTS
second week in the semester.⁸

Learning analytics allows instructors

to identify assignments that are highly
associated with a student’s final grade
and those that tend to correlate with a
sudden drop in performance and course
withdrawals. Instructors can quickly
identify the assessments that are working
and those that might need revision.

20 21
E - L E AR N
6
MEASURE TOOL
ADOPTION AND IMPACT
With access to data on learning environment activity, institutions
can get a realistic picture of how the system is being used and
increase its adoption where it is likely to make the biggest impact.¹²
Institutions can also assess the use of third party tools, which,
in some cases, might only be used by a few faculty members
and do not justify their high costs. This process is important to
establish an educational technology investment value, and also
for instructional designers and faculty developers to look for
evidence that supports assumptions about best practices.²
7 IMPROVE FACULTY
DEVELOPMENT
With access to student engagement information, LMS
usage and instructional design practices, learning
analytics helps faculty developers provide evidence
in support of high impact instructional practices.
Access to information about faculty behavior before
and after professional development activities also
helps institutions to evaluate the impact of their faculty
development initiatives.¹³ Instructors are also able to
identify and promote effective teaching practices, as
they can immediately address gaps and challenges
and adjust their courses accordingly.³ Data can also
help identify areas in need of improvement by the
instructor to facilitate enhanced instructor-student
interactions in the educational environment.⁹
NUDGE STUDENTS TO IMPROVE
8 LEARNING BEHAVIORS
Learning analytics can be used to improve student success
by providing students with relevant performance information
and alerting them in advance whether they are at risk of
not passing a course. When students can see how they
are performing, it increases their sense of agency over
their own learning and empowers them.8 Blackboard Learn
Ultra has the ability to automate notifications embedded
directly within the course. This way, students can receive
more detailed information as well as a suggested action,
allowing them to keep their performance on track and
improve the areas in which they are having difficulties.⁴
22
I NFO G R A PH I C
SOURCES
9 UNDERSTAND
THE IMPACT OF
1. Blackboard. Nine things you can do with
ASSIGNMENTS Blackboard Analytics for Learn [PDF].
ON DISCUSSION
2. Harfield, Timothy. From LMS Reporting to Learning
BOARD Analytics: Exciting updates to Analytics for Learn.
ENGAGEMENT Retrieved November 17, 2017, from http://blog.
blackboard.com/from-lms-reporting-to-learning-an-
alytics-exciting-updates-to-analytics-for-learn.
Learning analytics can help
instructors understand 3. Everhart, Deb. Learning Analytics: The Future is Now. Re-
individual learners’ trieved November 17, 2017, from https://edtechdigest.word-
press.com/2012/05/10/learning-analytics-the-future-is-now
discussion forum activity,
as well as critical thinking
4. Whitmer, John. Do notifications get noticed?
and the originality of their
New study finds that embedded alerts to students
contributions. They can also promote action at high rates. Retrieved Novem-
test the impact that specific ber 17, 2017, from http://blog.blackboard.com/
discussion board assignments new-study-notifications-promote-student-action
have on the amount and
quality of student participation 5. Blackboard. X-Ray Learning Analytics. Retrieved
in the online environment. With November 17, 2017, from http://www.blackboard.com/
resources/pdf/datasheet-xray-rev20170228_002_.pdf
insights gained from learning
analytics tools like X-Ray
Learning Analytics, instructors
6. Osborn, Eliana. Dashboards for Success. Retrieved
November 17, 2017, from https://www.insidehighered.
can create activities to com/digital-learning/article/2017/03/15/pierce-col-
keep students engaged.⁵ lege-uses-data-dashboards-improve-graduation-rates
7. Blackboard. Learn how Indian River State College grew
their online enrollments by 35% in two years. Retrieved No-
vember 17, 2017, from http://pages.blackboard.com/cam-
10 IDENTIFY AND ELIMINATE SOURCES
OF SYSTEMATIC INEQUITY
paign/analytics/indian-river-state-college-case-study.aspx
8. Rattiner, Marlen. Walking the line of predictive
Access to longitudinal data about relative student outcomes across different analytics in higher education. Retrieved December,
sections of the same course can help institutions to identify areas in which 2nd 2017, from http://blog.blackboard.com/walk-
ing-the-line-predictive-analytics-higher-education/.
the course environment itself is creating barriers to success. For example,
institutions often see significant grade variance between sources taught online 9. John, A., Mansureh, K., Sandra, N., & Theresa,
and in person. At many institutions, faculty grading patterns differ widely K. (n.d.). Learning Analytics Methods, Benefits, and
between course sections. Pierce College⁶ and Indian River State College⁷ are Challenges in Higher Education: A Systematic Lit-
examples of institutions that have benefited from access to this kind of data. erature Review. Retrieved November 16, 2017, from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1105911.pdf
10. Harfield, Timothy. Analytics for Learn: Using data
science to drive innovation in higher education. Retrieved
December 4, 2017, from http://blog.blackboard.com/ana-
lytics-for-learn-data-science-innovation-higher-education/
11. Simpson, Rich. Using analytics to track non-attending
students. Retrieved December4 2017, from http://blog.black-
board.com/using-analytics-to-track-non-attending-students/
12. Harfield, Timothy. Analytics From LMS Reporting
to Learning Analytics: Exciting updates to Analyt-
ic. Retrieved December 4, 2017, from http://blog.
blackboard.com/from-lms-reporting-to-learning-an-
alytics-exciting-updates-to-analytics-for-learn/
13. Mead, M. (Director). (2017, June 13). Learn-
ing analytics and faculty development [Video
file]. Retrieved December 4, 2017, from https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSJKVU6Ltys
23
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Sponsored by Blackboard

Experiments and Dragan

Gasevic
The United States, United Kingdom, Canada
and Australia are considered leaders in

Challenges with learning analytics, while regions such as

Professor and Sir
Tim O’Shea Chair in
Learning Analytics
Latin America are still at an initial stage

Learning Analytics
and Informatics and of exploring its possibilities.
Co-Director, Centre
for Research in
Digital Education,

Around the World

The University of
Edinburgh, Scotland
how analytics can be beneficial for institutions, and the lack of
strategic ability, that is, not having institutional leaders that
can identify those critical issues and how learning analytics
Since the first learning analytics conference, held in Canada in 2011,1 the
can help. A third barrier would be related to privacy protec-
field has been developing rapidly. Some of the trending areas in research
tion and ethics, which is a main issue in specific countries.
are teacher and learner dashboards, predictive analytics and automatic
feedback. There is also rising use of natural language processing technologies “Countries such as Germany have had, historically, through
and multimodal learning analytics. E-Learn interviewed experts from North World War II, a huge abuse of their private data, and thus

PHOTO: AFP Andy Buchanan

America, Latin America and Europe in order to understand these trends people are much more concerned with respect to ethics
and to find out how they are experimenting with novel uses of data in and privacy,” explains Gasevic. “What we are seeing, since
education, as well as their perspective on the future of learning analytics.. we are running a major project called SHEILA,2 is that
students are aware of the ethical and privacy protection
by: priscila zigunovas questions and they have high expectations that institu-
tions will protect their privacy, but at the same time, they
also have big expectations that their data will be used.”
LEARNING ANALYTICS IS AN EMERGING FIELD, AND ITS ADOPTION BY help make their students’ educational experiences is that we have a great idea for a project and all
higher education institutions around the world is very uneven. better, but there is not as much action yet as one of the stakeholders are on board, but nobody In Latin America, a recent study revealed what researchers
The United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia are might hope,” Wise explains. “I think everybody knows who is able to give permission to look at the already knew: adoption of learning analytics in Latin Ameri-
considered leaders in this domain, while regions such as Latin feels a little behind the curve of what is possible. different data sources we need. This has not been can countries is still at very initial stages, according to Xavier
America are still at an initial stage of exploring its possibilities. They think everyone else is doing these spectac- something that universities have had to deal with Ochoa, professor and director of the Teaching and Learn-
ular things, but (with a few notable exceptions) before because nobody has asked,” explains Wise. ing Technologies Research Group at the Escuela Superior
In the United States, there is great awareness and inter- most universities are all working through the same Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
est in learning analytics by higher education institutions, set of issues. The reason is that there are a variety In Europe, according to Dragan Gasevic, professor
says Alyssa Wise, associate professor of learning sciences & of barriers that need to be overcome to put robust and chair in learning analytics and informatics “There are few institutions that are committed to implement-
educational technology and director of New York Universi- learning analytics systems into place,” she adds. at The University of Edinburgh, the majority of ing learning analytics in their core processes, but there’s a
ty’s Learning Analytics Research Network (NYU-LEARN). institutions are aware of learning analytics, and lot of interest. I haven’t talked with any administrator that
These barriers include technical and infrastructural there are some small experiments taking place. is not very willing to try learning analytics at their institu-
“If you talk to leaders at almost any higher education institution challenges, and important questions around data tion,” says Ochoa. According to him, the lack of research-
in the country, you will see that they know about learning stewardship and access to data. “One of the biggest Possible barriers for adoption include shortage ers and education professionals with expertise in learning
analytics, and they are excited about the idea of using data to challenges we face with learning analytics projects of capacity or knowledge to actually understand analytics is the main barrier for adoption in the region.

24 25
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See next some of the most interesting experiments that
are taking place at institutions around the world.
Predictive Analytics: An Upward Trend
Alyssa Wise, from New York University, is involved in several
different projects that work with proactive support for students
through predictive modeling. In predictive analytics, a compu-
tational model is created based on students who have previously
taken a course, and then applied to students who are beginning the
course in order to identify those who are likely to have difficulties.
“The accuracy of the model we have is quite good. We can
identify as early as the first day of class who are the
students likely to have trouble in a course. The
challenging thing is: what do we do about it?” she says.
It is evident through this example that being able to
predict difficulties isn’t enough. Researchers and edu-
cation professionals still need to figure out how to best
use this information to support teaching and learning.
In one of the projects, Wise explains, the model shows that
student difficulties in introductory college mathematics courses
are linked to inadequate prior preparation. “In this particular
model the path toward action is actually straightforward. We
can offer these students learning resources and mastery driven
practice sets to help them get up to speed on the skills and concepts
that they may not be strong enough in at the start,” she says.
However, in other cases, the model can predict who will have
trouble, but the factors used to predict are not very clearly
actionable. “In this case, we know which students are going
to have challenges, but we do not know why or how. So, it’s a
much more difficult challenge to figure out what to do with the
model. Do we show it to the instructors? How do the instruc-
tors contact the students and what do they say?” says Wise.
“We have to be careful because you do not want to tell students
at the start of a course that you are expecting them to do poorly.
This has the potential to be demotivating, and in some cases
26
induce stereotype threat, and thus become a
self-fulfilling prophecy,” adds Wise. “Instead, it
is important to stay positive and focus on what
actions they need to take to be successful.”
According to the expert, NYU has started to
build teacher dashboards that give instructors
an overview of their students’ digital activities.
This can be used both to evaluate particular class
elements and identify students that may need
particular attention. “The next step is to study how
instructors use these new sources of information
to inform their teaching and how we can better
support them in this process of data-informed
pedagogical decision-making,” Wise describes.
This illustrates why a great deal of attention is
now being paid to how institutions are putting
R O U N DTA B L E
learning progression, their time management
and their misconceptions,” explains Gasevic.
This empowers teachers so they can get much deeper in-
sight into what is happening in their classrooms, especially in
blended or flipped models. And more importantly, instructors
can also provide personalized individual feedback at scale.
Alyssa Wise
Associate Professor of
Learning Sciences & A project in which Gasevic is involved aims to accomplish exactly
Educational Technology that. Project OnTask began in 2016 led by The University of
and Director, NYU
Sydney in collaboration with University of Technology Sydney,
Learning Analytics
Research Network University of New South Wales, University of South Australia,
(NYU-LEARN), New York University of Texas at Arlington, and The University of Edinburgh.
University, United States
“With learning analytics and support of the OnTask software, in-
structors are able to provide personalized feedback that scales up
PHOTO: AFP Dominick Reuter
highly. For the amount of work to support 3 to 5 students, they
are able to personalize feedback for hundreds or thousands of
students”, Gasevic explains. The project’s results show increase
in student performance, satisfaction, and learning process.
The connection between learning analytics and learning design is
another important topic in the field. Learning analytics can help
data and models into practice in ways that are eth- teachers to reflect on the effectiveness of their learning design.
ical and useful to support teaching and learning.
“For example, when I am teaching a course, I can re-
Feedback Loops: Empowering flect on what is working in my course, or what is not
Students and Teachers working, and based on that I can make certain changes
in my design and, in little time, start making that or-
Establishing or improving feedback loops between chestration much more effectively,” explains Gasevic.
teachers and learners is the main gain of learning
analytics according to Dragan Gasevic, from The Gasevic and his team developed an award-winning software
University of Edinburgh. That can be especially help- called LOCO-Analyst, a tool that aims at providing teachers
ful in larger classes, sometimes with hundreds of with feedback on the relevant aspects of the learning pro-
students, which makes it impossible for a teacher to cess taking place in a web-based learning environment.
interact with all of them at a more personalized level.
“When we developed LOCO-Analyst we were trying to
“Learning analytics helps us get the analyze different types of digital traces generated by
insight into the learning patterns learners as they were using and interacting with digital
of every one of our students, in or- resources on the web and inside of their learning envi-
der to understand, for example, their ronments, such as Blackboard Learn,” he explains.
27
E - L E AR N
According to the expert, one of the function-
alities that is most appreciated by teachers
offers critical insight not only at the level of
particular resources, but at the conceptual level,
and the way students are actually construct-
ing knowledge around certain concepts. The
insights into different acts of social interaction
that happen among students are also valued.
Gasevic sees a fairly big disconnect in terms
of what is actually needed by teachers and
students, and what is currently out there. “What
is happening in reality is that most teachers
and students do not understand the content
in their dashboards. I attribute that to major
problems, and the first problem is related to
the lack of proper ethnographic studies trying
to understand the teachers and the students
in the way they can embed and use analytics
inside of their specific tasks,” says Gasevic.
Beyond the LMS: Multimodal
Learning Analytics
At the beginning, learning analytics worked ex-
clusively with data from online tools, like learn-
ing management systems or online games. But
what about the learning that is happening out-
side the computer? How could data from the re-
al world, such as in classrooms, student groups,
or even when students are doing their home-
work, be captured and measured? This branch
is called multimodal learning analytics and
it’s Xavier Ochoa’s personal field of research.
“Multimodal learning analytics arise natu-
rally out of the need to understand learning
where it is happening. For example, there is
a lot of learning that happens when students
work together, trying to solve a problem or an
exercise in a course. If there is no computer
28
R O U N DTA B L E
there, there aren’t traces of these activities. Maybe you have What’s Trending?
the end results of what they did, but a great deal of informa-
tion is lost if you only analyze the end result,” he explains. • Technical and theoretical advances are making
it possible to collect better and richer data.
Multimodal learning analytics exploit audio and video
recordings, what students write, look at, and say, and all this • This can be done not only through online
information is used to get a clear picture of the learning process. tools, but also through clickers, sensors and
motion detectors that collect data from the real
“Humans are multimodal in nature, we capture world. That’s multimodal learning analytics.
information through all our senses, so we
are trying to make the computer do some- • Providing automatic, personalized feedback
thing similar,” explains Ochoa. through student behavior analysis is becoming
more common, especially for large classes.
According to him, as technology became more accessible
over the recent years, the development of multimodality • Natural language processing technologies
became a reality. Two factors that have enabled the field of are being used to analyze student-created
multimodal learning analytics are the development of artifi- products. This allows instructors to go
cial intelligence and the availability of very cheap sensors. beyond multiple-choice questions and
respond to students’ creative works as well.
“Imagine that you can have a device that costs almost
nothing with a camera and a microphone,” describes • Researchers also want to discover how
PHOTO: AFP Rodrigo Buendia
Ochoa. “With this type of sensors and the right software, analytics can help understand students’
it’s possible to analyze, for example, student posture, create emotions, not just their cognitive state.
transcripts of what the student is saying, or capture emo-
Xavier Ochoa
tions in the student’s voice. So, now, computers are able Full Professor, Director of the Information • A challenge that researchers currently face
to see, are able to hear, and we are trying to exploit those Technologies Center, Escuela Superior is that tools have to be designed to work in
Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Ecuador
capabilities to better understand the learning process.” specific learning contexts, but at the same
time they need to be general enough to be used
This expert estimates that 30% of studies on learning ana- will analyze their slides, if they have too much text or across different courses and even institutions.
lytics currently include some kind of multimodality. That the font is too small, and will give an automatic feed-
could be an indication of institutions realizing that they need back on the presentation,” describes Ochoa. • Learning analytics will be increasingly
to be more holistic when looking at learning processes. used to support decision making for
On that same area, ESPOL is using multimodal learning students, instructors, administrators,
One example of a multimodal analytics project devel- analytics to understand what differentiates experts from institutions and even governments.
oped by ESPOL is a tutor environment where students non-experts while they are trying to solve a problem. That’s a
can practice giving presentations. Students enter a room, type of system where multimodal learning analytics is used to
SOURCES
close the door, and then they are greeted by a virtu- provide feedback not for the student, but for the instructor.
al audience to whom they can present their slides. 1. LAK11. (2011). 1st International Conference on Learning
Analytics and Knowledge 2011. Retrieved November 15,
“We can try to understand if a student has reached mastery in 2017, from https://tekri.athabascau.ca/analytics/program.
“The system will analyze their posture, their gaze, the a skill just by looking at him or her. That’s exactly what a pro-
2. SHEILA. (n.d.). Using data wisely for education futures.
volume of their voice, if they are stammering, and it fessor would do, observe student behavior,” compares Ochoa. Retrieved November 16, 2017, from http://sheilaproject.eu.
29
E - L E AR N C U STOM E R S N A P S H OT
Sponsored by Blackboard

Concordia University
Wisconsin: How to Achieve
a Record Retention Rate
Identifying at-risk students and helping them out. That’s what the
use of Blackboard intelligence and learning analytics solutions
has brought to Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW).

by: leonardo tissot

mequon, wisconsin, united states

BEFORE THE USE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY, IF STUDENTS
were struggling with learning, the university had
to rely on faculty reports. And several times, when
it came to this point, it was already too late for stu-
dents to get back on track and save their semesters.
Elizabeth “Now, we are able to make an early intervention,”
Polzin says Elizabeth Polzin, Assistant Vice President
Assistant Vice of Academics for Student Success at CUW.
President of
Academics for Student
Success at Concordia The work started about a year ago, first limited to
University Wisconsin on-campus undergraduate students. That was a
precaution measure – making sure they were getting
reliable data. And the results have been great so far.
Last fall, CUW had a retention rate of
PHOTO: AFP Darren Hauck
collected this past year helped us better understand
the challenges our students were encountering and
aided us in much earlier intervention,” she says.
In Search of a More
Personalized Experience
At CUW, students are not just “a number.” “We are proud
to say we know students’ names at CUW. The ability to use
analytics to better serve our students provides them with a
personalized experience. Rather than waiting until the end
of the semester to determine what went wrong, we have to
be able to take note when they stop attending class or begin
to fall behind in their coursework,” Elizabeth points out.

72%. A year later, the university experi-
enced a 10% increase, reaching a record
82% retention rate. Along with the
involvement of administration and fac-
ulty, analytics also was a big part of this
result, Elizabeth believes. “The data we
The most important endeavor is to find out how
students are developing in their academic com-
mitments while there are still opportunities
for recovery if they are doing poorly, not just
at the end of the semester when it is too late.
That is what academic support is there for.

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E - L E AR N
“With the Blackboard learning analytics tools, this year has been
a bit of an explosion for us. We just started to dabble with what
types of reports we could create, and better strategize our out-
reach. I think it’s one of the reasons we saw a big jump on our
retention rate: we had the opportunity to provide personalized
outreach before the semester was over,” the assistant VP says.
THE IMPACT OF LEARNING ANALYTICS AT CUW
RETENTION RATE
81.7%
71.62%
(New Record)
2016
2017
Offering Better Quality Outreach
Based on the data provided, CUW is working with dashboards
that can be viewed by each of their advisors, with focus on student
performance and a variety of risk factors. For example, “advisors
can now easily view whether a student has had a significant drop
on their GPA from the prior term, if they are registered for 18 or
more hours but have a low GPA, or if they have had a significant
drop in term GPA from their cumulative GPA” among other data.
The dashboards help the university envision how to
support students more efficiently – even the ones
who need outreach at the beginning of the semester,
before they even start struggling with their educa-
tion. “With a review of identified risk factors at the
beginning of the term, our intervention can start
much earlier than it has in the past,” Elizabeth says.
CUW also has an intervention team to help students, such as
getting to know what types of problems they are experiencing
32
Over the past four years, we've focused
on collaboration with the teaching and
and trying to formulate solutions – from finan-
learning community by sharing:
cial to mental health. If a student disappears for
Visit E-Learn online
a while, it’s possible – through the attendance
feature – to determine if they haven’t been
and stay up-to-date
to class. With that type of real time informa- with online
tion, a university staff member can follow up educational trends.
with the student to determine what support
they may need. Instead of using automated
emails, we’re able to provide individualized ideas
outreach from someone the student knows.” perspectives
Building a Better Relationship
Between Faculty and Students
The use of data analysis has improved relation-
ships between faculty and students due to a new
referral system for professors. In the past, when a
student started to struggle, faculty may have felt as insights
though they had to deal with the situation on their
own. However, that’s not something all professors
feel comfortable with. Now, there is a system in
place where faculty can refer students they are
concerned about, and an academic support team
is able to use analytics to address students’ needs.
practices
A Way to Provide Revenue
for Universities
More than offering students and faculty the best
possible experience, learning analytics has also
been impacting CUW’s revenue through academic
support. “It’s a better use of time and human re-
sources in general. As a supervisor, I prefer to not
have my team spinning their wheels in a direction
where they end up in a dead end. Using analytics
gives us focus and direction as to the best way
to serve our students,” Elizabeth reflects. “The
bottom line is: through the use of analytics,
we know that our decisions are informed, Get all content Read our stories and see how they can
related to learning benefit you and your institution:
and the results we’ve seen are a positive
analytics here
consequence of that,” she concludes. www.elearnmagazine.com
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 “The only way forward is to make
sure you understand all the data that
is being collected about individual
students, and be in a position to
gather it together and provide it
quickly to any student that asks for it.”

Niall Sclater
Consultant and Director
at Sclater Digital

“Analytics is not a replacement for human

judgment. It’s a form of information, but
it still needs to be interpreted, and that
interpretation requires human wisdom.”

Timothy Harfield
Senior Product Marketing Manager
for Blackboard Analytics

“At Condordia University

Wisconsin, students are not just
a number. We are proud to say
we know students’ names.”

Elizabeth Polzin
Assistant Vice President of
Academics for Student Success
at Concordia University Wisconsin