At the University we already gather information about students personal situation and their engagement with their course through VLE usage, however this data is not currently being used for pedagogic purposes. To implement Learning Analytics (LA) would require a large shift in approach, attitude and awareness to its potential.
One noted problem with our current situation is the lack of awareness for the use of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL). This misunderstanding of the area mostly comes from management who do not understand what it is our e-Learning team does in this field and thusly does not support our ideas or initiatives. To make sure that the use of a tool such as LA was implemented correctly we would need to secure buy-in from management who could help cascade change downwards to teaching and support staff.
This would then require teaching staff to have an understanding of LA as it is they who could directly benefit from the information it provides. This then poses the question, who is going to be responsible for interpreting data? If we expect teaching staff to review the data gathered on their students, they would firstly need to be trained in the skills of analytics, which would be costly in both time and money and also lead to stretching the academics time even thinner. We might also consider employing an analyst per school to deal with interpreting and compiling learner data, this would be costly.
Consultation about the process will also be key to successful implementation. Making sure that all stakeholders involved with the LA project will be key to the acceptance of the process. If we openly consult with learners, academics and management staff we can make them aware of what data will be gathered and allow for them to raise any concerns early on in the process.
A further consideration is the infrastructure that would be required to implement LA. It would require servers to cope with the increased CPU load, and server space for the storage of data. This would require resources and staff to maintain.
Conclusion
For us to implement LA across the whole university would be a long term task. This does not mean it would not be possible but it would require management, staff and students to be actively involved in the process of making it a possibility. At the current time, with the financial issues affecting Higher Education I am not sure it would be seen as a priority project for the University.
H817 Block 4 Week 25 - Activity 19
Activity 19 Report
At the University we already gather information about students personal situation and their engagement with their course through VLE usage, however this data is not currently being used for pedagogic purposes. To implement Learning Analytics (LA) would require a large shift in approach, attitude and awareness to its potential.
One noted problem with our current situation is the lack of awareness for the use of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL). This misunderstanding of the area mostly comes from management who do not understand what it is our e-Learning team does in this field and thusly does not support our ideas or initiatives. To make sure that the use of a tool such as LA was implemented correctly we would need to secure buy-in from management who could help cascade change downwards to teaching and support staff.
This would then require teaching staff to have an understanding of LA as it is they who could directly benefit from the information it provides. This then poses the question, who is going to be responsible for interpreting data? If we expect teaching staff to review the data gathered on their students, they would firstly need to be trained in the skills of analytics, which would be costly in both time and money and also lead to stretching the academics time even thinner. We might also consider employing an analyst per school to deal with interpreting and compiling learner data, this would be costly.
Consultation about the process will also be key to successful implementation. Making sure that all stakeholders involved with the LA project will be key to the acceptance of the process. If we openly consult with learners, academics and management staff we can make them aware of what data will be gathered and allow for them to raise any concerns early on in the process.
A further consideration is the infrastructure that would be required to implement LA. It would require servers to cope with the increased CPU load, and server space for the storage of data. This would require resources and staff to maintain.
Conclusion
For us to implement LA across the whole university would be a long term task. This does not mean it would not be possible but it would require management, staff and students to be actively involved in the process of making it a possibility. At the current time, with the financial issues affecting Higher Education I am not sure it would be seen as a priority project for the University.