As we engage more and more with the use of diverse technologies in our teaching, we – intentionally or not – collect a wealth of information about our students’ engagement and behaviour online. Learning analytics refers to the use of student data to understand and enhance teaching and learning with a view to optimising student success. By providing information on what resources students have accessed, when and how they have accessed them and how long they have spent using them, a clear picture of student learning behaviour can be developed. This information can give those who teach an invaluable insight into which resources their students are using and how active they are. It can also give students a much better picture of how engaged they are with the course material relative to their peers. Most valuably, this information can be provided in real time, giving both those who teach and students the opportunity to take timely, informed action if required. To learn more, read more about Learning Analytics Benefits for Staff
- *Note: As a result from the STELA project, the Policy on the Use of Data to Enhance Teaching, Learning and Assessment (Learning Analytics) promotes the use of learning analytics for the purposes of improving the student experience.
All VLEs include some tool that will allow you to track your student engagement. The Site Statistics in our current VLE (Sulis) allows teachers to view site usage statistics and user activity events. Summary statistics can be viewed on the initial tool landing page. These summary reports present a quick overview of site usage, including visits, activity and use of resources. Additionally, custom reports may be created for more detailed reporting.
See a short overview of the choices that you have for drawing learning analytics from Sulis:
Brightspace
We are still exploring the functionality around learning analytics in Brightspace, but this video provides a very comprehensive overview of its functionality:
Customer Success Data Series, Pt. 1: Easy Analytics for Instructors
Source: Brightspace tutorials is licenced for use by University of Limerick through service provision agreement
Learn more about the tools mentioned in the video in the articles in the Brightspace Knowledge Base.
Also, both Panopto and BigBlueButton include statistics of use and engagement.
How can I use this data to improve my students' experience?
Quite often, these reports can be used to identify students at risk of disengaging from your module. You may search, for example, for students who have logged in the VLE by week 2, or have not watched a crucial video. You might choose to approach that person directly to check if they are having any difficulty through an informal conversation. To learn more, you may want to read this Student Intervention Guide.
If you have a large class, you can select a small percentage of those that appear most disengaged and send a personalised and positive email, which could go a large way. If you want to go in this direction, you may find this Designing Automated Interventions/Communications short guide helpful.
Other times, you may choose a critical point on the semester, such continuous assessment, to follow up on your class performance and provide appropriate group feedback or modify your teaching curriculum accordingly. For further inspiration on how Irish institutions and staff who teach are currently making the most of their data, visit the collection of case studies in the ORLA (Online Resource for Learning Analytics) website.
Discover more information related to using learning analytics in your teaching
