The Society for Learning Analytics Research - Interdisciplinary group who provides research on Learning Analytics.
The Learning Analytics Conference - A venue for reporting and analyzing research.
Google Learning Analytics Group - Learning Science Workshop.
Thank you for all the information on learning analytics. I was not really sure what this meant before I visited your blog. I am sure as with most schools, you have an emphasis on data, data, and more data. We spend part of our planning time on Tuesdays and Thursdays in our PLC groups gathering and reviewing data. Technology has definitely made some data gathering easy. The video on your homepage brought up an interesting idea about invisible assessment. I like the idea of gathering data about daily activities and student interaction with content from students’ use on computers. I also found your purpose page very interesting. It was great to hear about the schools success with determining and improving graduation rate due to early identification. This made me think of our data service account with I Tracker. This program keeps records on our students and will identify if they are at risk based on behavior, grades, and attendance. It’s also updated automatically after a student takes a Lexile test, Star Math, or DCAS. It will be interesting to see, with the emphasis being on data in most schools, what comes next with learning analytics.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading Lyndsey! I had no idea what Learning Analytics were myself until researching for this blog. I was surprised to find that they were how companies tracked who they should be advertising to and that this same type of information can be used to improve educational outcomes for individual students! I agree that "invisible" data collection could be very beneficial.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, thinking about your ITracker system, I was impressed this year when students were changed in their reading group within a week or two of receiving their score on their DCAS for reading. It was an impressive response speed and could not have happened if the school was not immediately using the data for individualizing instruction. It is amazing that the data tracking gave the school the ability to have such a fast response within the classroom!
We have a class called E-Time which for many students is a curriculum support class in the area of math or language arts. We are able to use the data from DCAS and other sources to rearrange groups, which we call flex grouping, in order to better fit our students needs. It sounds like you do something very similar with your reading groups.
DeleteWe also use ITracker. It is nice to have all of that information in one place. We look at that information a lot during PLCs. It helps us determine RTI placements and other small groups. Having a system like ITraker saves a lot of time and paperwork. Can you imagine if we had to individually keep track of all of that information? I don't think they make enough notebooks to keep up with that!
DeleteThat's funny! Can you imagine flipping through a bunch of notebooks writing information in each one. That would be crazy! I did find an app today that can take data from word, excel, etc and compile it so that you have charts and graphs and lists. I would assume an app like that would have a disconnect factor but it is a great idea!
DeleteI was not familiar with what Learning Analytics was until I read your blog. It is well organized and has great flow! The use of graphics and videos really helped. Thank for you all of the additional resources at the top, it gives the reader a great place to continue their learning!
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura! I really appreciate you reading. I hope it's helpful!
DeleteHi Ada! I really learned a lot by looking at your blog. Although I had a vague idea of what learning analytics is, I honestly did not know enough to implement it into my classroom. Now that I have read your blog, I am much better informed. I looked online and Blackboard has built-in learning analytics tools. I can't wait to use them! I plan to use them to do the following: (1) identify at-risk students; (2) identify which tools are being used the least, which tools are being used the most and which tools best engage students; and (3) identify how many logins, time on task and other metrics have occurred over time. I definitely think that this information will help me deliver a higher quality class to my students, so thanks again for all of the valuable information!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that too! I turned on some of them on different points in the online class. Just like you, I am using the number of page views and time on task. It is also awesome that blackboard gives the instructor warnings if things are getting behind for a student. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!
DeleteHi Ada and Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a lot of good points about Learning Analytics. Stephanie, I really like your plan. It is super important to identify at-risk students and to identify which tools are best for those students. Thank you for sharing, it will be helpful to me as I move forward in my career as an educator.
Thanks for reading Laura! I agree, I think that most of this class will benefit us in our careers. I believe that technology is a necessary component of education now, and only more so in the future.
DeleteLaura, I agree that it is imporant to identify at-risk students. I think, as teachers, that is what we spend a majority of our time doing. We are constantly looking at data and crunching numbers. it sounds like Learning Analytics would save a lot of time! And we could all use that!
DeleteNice blog Ada! I have never heard of Learning Analytics. I could not believe the graduation rate rose from 24% to 86% in the school from the video. That is amazing! If it achieves results like that, why haven’t we implemented it yet? Coming from a school with a high poverty rate, I think my district would really benefit from it. I like that the data is all in one place. But most importantly, it is a time saver! Everyone needs time savers! High success rate and time saver… What more could you ask for?
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome isin't it! That school really started using the data once they could gather and use it more efficiently. I guess that goes to show that the with the right tools AWESOME things can happen!
DeleteI would assume that just like any other technology, until you know how to use it, it feels so difficult. When I think about your question (why not us yet) I think of all of the teachers who fought computers, then smartboards, this would be the same. Change takes time and training. Do you have anti-technology teachers in your school?