Open Education 2011:Openness and Learning Analytics

John Rinderle @johnrinderleNorman Bier @normanbier

Open Learning Initiative

Produce and improve scientifically-based courses and course materials which enact instruction and support instructors

Provide open access to these courses and materials

Develop communities of use, research and development that enable evaluation and continuous improvement

Introduction: OutcomesShared understanding of challenges, tensions and possibilities in learning analytics, around the dimensions of:

• Potential of well-used OER in a use-driven design context• Adaptability (Variety)← → Analytics (Coherence)• Analytics Tools and Approach• Data—needs and challenges

Describe community-based analytics plans:• Flexible, long-range planning• Useful, short-term steps

Commit to action• Identify best existing efforts

Driving Feedback Loops    

Infinite Points of Light

Infinite Points of Light

Infinite Points of Light

Infinite Points of Light

Infinite Proliferation

The 4 R’s

ReuseRedistributeReviseRemix

Infinite Proliferation

The 4 R’s

ReuseRedistributeReviseRemix

NOT:

Recreate

Add:Evaluate

Proliferation isn’t just OER…

Intro to CS @ CMU Statistics @ everywhere

Core Statistics

Business Statistics

Research Statistics

Medical Statistics

What drives change in these scenarios?

• Data

• Intuition

• Market demand

• Instructor preferences

The problems of variety

• Quality is highly variable

• Much duplication of effort

• Difficult to choose appropriately

• Hard to evaluate

• Impossible to improve

• Hard to scale success up 

Effectiveness

is hit or miss

Effectiveness

What is working in open education? Why? And how do you know?

Effectiveness

Demonstrably support students in meeting articulated, measurable learning outcomes in a

given set of contexts

So why don't we do this now?

• It's hard

• It's expensive

• Individual faculty can't do it alone

• It can be threatening to educators

• Disparate systems

• How do we measure it?   We need enabling processes and systems

Driving Feedback Loops    

Great, but:What does it mean when we get out of the realm of discussion and into the realm of practice?

Learning AnalyticsWhat are they?

How do we create and use them?

What do we mean by learning analytics?

 

Proxies vs authentic assessment and evaluation

Analytics Definition

 

Data Collection Reporting Decision Making Intervention Action

Collecting the data is not enough.  We also need to make sense of if in ways that are actionable.

Types of analytics

• Educational/Academic Management analytics

• Classroom Management analytics

• Learning Outcomes analytics

The problem of data collection

1. Agreed upon standards

2. Core collection

3. Space for exploration

The problem of data collection

1. Agreed upon standards

2. Core collection

3. Space for exploration

• Ownership

• Privacy

• Policy

Ideal world

•Common data standards

•Analytics-enabled OER

•Commonly accepted ownership and privacy approaches

•Commitment to measuring effectiveness through assessment

Bring Together What Already Works

1) Data Collection Systems Data Schemas

2) Communities of Evidence

3) Analysis Tools

Learning Dashboard

DataShop

Evidence Hub

Learning Registry

Communities of Evidence

And build new things

1) Data Collection Systems Data Schemas

2) Communities of Evidence

3) Analysis Tools

Driven by different types of data

Raw

Interaction

Behavioral

Contextual

Paradata

Semantic

Metadata

Synthetic Data

Share Alike and Share Data

Community Based Approach

A middle ground?

 Infinite Variety

The OneTrue Course

   Communities Coalesce    

Can we put these together?

"Full spectrum" analytics to drive different types of decision making, address different feedback loops

Learning Intelligence Systems

What would we be giving up?

 This approach forces us to allow our minds to be changed by evidence.

Conclusion: next steps

• Innovate• Standardize• Scale

Conclusion: next steps

• Innovate• Standardize• Scale

• Commitment to Assessment and Evaluation

• Community Definition of Analytics-enabled OER

• Common approach to data

• Shared and private analytics platforms

 “Improvement in Post Secondary Education will require converting teaching from a ‘solo sport’ to a community based research activity.”

—Herbert Simon

Questions

• Do you believe in this approach to analytics-enabled OER?

• Can this better address the pedagogy vs. reuse value curve?

A Virtuous Cycle

 

Data

Theory

Educational

Technology &

Practice