Penetrating the fog: analytics in learning and education

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Cover illustration by Elena Cinguino
PDF (Italian)
Published: Dec 31, 2014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17471/2499-4324/195
Keywords:
Educational Technology, Learning Analytics, Academic Analytics, Big data, Higher education, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)

Main Article Content

Phillip D. Long
Schools of ITEE and Psychology e Centre for Educational Innovation & Technology, University of Queensland
George Siemens
Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute, Athabasca University

Abstract

In the era of Internet, mobile technologies and open education, the need for changes to improve the efficiency and quality of higher education has become crucial.
Big data and analytics can contribute to these changes and reshape the future of higher education. Basing decisions on data and evidence seems stunningly obvious. However, higher education, a field that gathers an astonishing array of data about its “customers,” has traditionally been inefficient in its data use, often operating with substantial delays in analyzing readily evident data and feedback. In this paper, the value of Analytics for Higher Education is discussed, and a model of learning analytics development is presented. The main pedagogical and ethical issues about the use of learning analytics are also pointed out, since learning is messy, and using analytics to describe learning is not easy. Nevertheless, Learning Analytics can penetrate the fog of uncertainty around the future of higher education, and shed light on how to allocate resources, develop competitive advantages, and most important, improve the quality and value of the learning experience.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 22 No. 3 (2014): TD63 - Dossier - Learning Analytics
Section
Articles - Special Issue

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