EFFECTIVE APPLICATION OF LEARNING ANALYTICS IN EDUCATION
Experts believe data-driven strategies, if done correctly, can be rewarding for customer retention. In the field of education, large datasets of learners are available, however not until recently, universities and schools have gotten the hang of using them in order to enhance the educational experience.
As more and more students are relying upon online data sources, a continual upgrade and expansion of online technology offering advanced digital learning platforms has become more common.
Dave Kenworthy, director of digital services at CoSector, University of London explains, “The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is currently the main data source being used or planned for use by most UK institutions. Measurement of student participation through VLE accesses, submission of assessments and other data can be used for understanding a student cohort’s learning progress (and by proxy likely academic success). This forms one of the key concepts of predictive learning analytics.”
Furthermore, Elliot Gowans, senior vice president of cloud software company D2L believes data analytics is the solution to overcome the increasing struggles faced by teachers and educational institutions. Data analytics can help teachers to monitor every student’s learning pathway and also help to recognize indicators of learner engagement.
The thought is supported by Alice Duijser, director EMEA and APAC of digital textbook company VitalSource, who further said modern learning platforms also offer diverse options to students as well as to teachers.
One of the common challenges faced by educational institutions is to use such data analytics effectively. Kenworthy suggests, instead of using advanced AI and other statistical models, people can rely upon traditional learning resources.
“People often get carried away with analytics and tend to want advanced statistical models, like AI, which they just don’t need. By inputting very simple datasets you can immediately begin to gather basic data,” commented Kenworthy.
