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What is happening?

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Descriptive Analytics

Descriptive Analytics is the examination of data or content, usually manually performed, to answer the question "What happened?" (or What is happening?), characterized by traditional business intelligence (BI) and visualizations such as pie charts, bar charts, line graphs, tables, or generated narratives.

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Descriptive Analytics - Gartner IT Glossary

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Descriptive Analytics is the examination of data or content, usually manually performed, to answer the question "What happened?" (or What is happening?), characterized by traditional business intelligence (BI) and visualizations such as pie charts, bar charts, line graphs, tables, or generated narratives.

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Predict future student performances.

Intervene when students are struggling and provide unique feedback to their answers.

Personalize the learning process for each student, playing to their strengths & encouraging improvement.

Adapt teaching & learning styles via socialization, pedagogy & technology.

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Below are a few definitions for leaning analytics:

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Solar Society of Learning Analytics Research 

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Solar Society of Learning Analytics Research 

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Learning Analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their content, for purposes of understanding & optimizing learning & the environment in which it occurs. (2011)

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Learning Analytics is the interpretation of a wide range of data produced by and gathered on behalf of students in order to assess academic progress, predict future performance & spot potential issues. (2011)

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Detecting performance difficulties.

Frustrated language (ie. message boards)

Lower average

spent on site

long time between logins

inattention vs lack of understaning

Could even distinguish between guessing vs knowing the multiple choice.

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Empowering student learning with Learning Analytics

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Learning, academic and predictive analytics

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Enhance Your Classroom With Learning Analytics

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Enhance Your Classroom With Learning Analytics

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This is a great article on how learning analytics can improve your students learning.

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Currently, a teachers' decision making process on how to serve students best is blurred as they cannot effectively determine each student's individual needs, interests and capabilities in learning in a classroom.

One of the most exciting innovations in the education sector that can assist teachers in making informed decisions regarding how to help each student achieve their true potential is learning analytics.

When students are introduced to a new concept, they have different knowledge levels resulting from previous sessions. The problem sets in when the same curriculum in the form of a course book is used to administer learning to every student without knowing their particular needs. As a result, when the learners are examined and the results collected, getting a clear picture into a student's understanding of the concepts taught will not be complete.

The main aim of learning analytics is enabling teachers to understand the learning level and ability of each student so that they can tailor their approach. Learning analytics serves a specific role for teachers; helping them identify particular needs of each student much quicker to facilitate the process of making informed decisions regarding how to help them in the most effective way.

At the moment, some common information is collected about every single student, such as attendance, grades, interaction with physical resources in school, relationship with fellow students, teachers and administrators among others. However, we are not able to utilize the gathered data to identify how fast the students are learning, how effective the teaching methods are as per the needs of each student, how learning materials can be allocated to each student appropriately, how the learning gaps of each student vary from others and so on because we don't have the necessary or appropriate tools to do so.

This is where technology can have a significant impact in learning analytics comes. Learning platforms can help teachers gauge the learning levels of each student and even their learning styles. As a result, they will be able to take remedial action to help the student and assign appropriate learning materials.

Teachers have always collected data in the form of test scores and exam results to know how students are progressing academically. However, it is virtually impossible for a teacher to collect detailed data, analyze it and identify trends in the learning patterns of students. Application of technology makes it possible to come up with appropriate analytics tools that are tailored to meet the needs of any teacher. These tools automates much of the work that teachers have to do enabling them to spend less time in administrative activities and more on improving student learning experiences.

Over the years, teachers together with administrators have kept track of the educational outcomes as well as behaviors of their students using attendance records, observations, scores, grades, etc. Analytical tools can combine this wealth of information along with a student's daily academic activity and help inform teachers about the trends in student learning and help plug any learning gaps quickly. These tools can highlight specific areas that are difficult for a student, helping the teacher to quickly provide remedial steps. Teachers can even easily identify what learning material would help the student best based on their learning styles.

Further, technology tools can use analysis to help identify teachers who are good at teaching certain topics. Schools can then assign their best teachers to teach all students for these topics ensuring that students get the best from each educator.

Analytics can provide us with invaluable insights into different factors that influence the success of students regarding attendance, login frequency, time spent on task, contact frequency with teachers or faculty members, etc. With the traditional methods, it was virtually impossible for a teacher to find out when a student did their work, how frequently they logged into the system, what a student's learning style was and so on.

Learning analytics is a foundation for making informed changes in the education system; i.e., altering how teachers and administrators create the curriculum, its delivery, assessment of students' learning, offering learning support and allocating resources. However, analytics shouldn't be seen as something that takes over the teaching experience. This is because analytical tools won't capture the detailed aspects of classroom experience, like discovery of new interests, motivation or community engagement. Instead, analytics only plays a specific role: assisting teachers to identify the needs of students more quickly so they can make informed decisions that will enrich the learning process and make it more effective

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Enhancing the classroom learning experience through Learning Analytics

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Currently, a teachers' decision making process on how to serve students best is blurred as they cannot effectively determine each student's individual needs, interests and capabilities in learning in a classroom. One of the most exciting innovations in the education sector that can assist teachers in making informed decisions regarding how to help each student achieve their true potential is learning analytics.

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Why did it happen?

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Diagnostic Analytics

Diagnostic Analytics is a form of advanced analytics which examines data or content to answer the question "Why did it happen?", and is characterized by techniques such as drill-down, data discovery, data mining and correlations.
Also see:

Gartner's Data & Analytics Summit - This inaugural summit will offer valuable insight and help redefine the role of data and analytics in digital business.

Free research and webinars from Gartner on Data & Analytics.

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Diagnostic Analytics - Gartner IT Glossary

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Diagnostic Analytics Diagnostic Analytics is a form of advanced analytics which examines data or content to answer the question "Why did it happen?", and is characterized by techniques such as drill-down, data discovery, data mining and correlations.

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What is likely to happen?

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What should I do about it?

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An Introduction to Prescriptive Analytics

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Trends in Learning 2016 - 5: Learning Analytics

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1. I would use learning analytics as a way to form small groups. The data collect can help drive lesson plans and pin point what topics students are having difficulties in. I would also use learning analytics as a self evaluation tool for myself. I could use it to see what areas I need to improve my teaching.

2. I could also create student portfolios using the data collected. This would help students set goals and keep track of their learning.

3. It could help me identify at risk students earlier and get them help faster. This would allow students to have interventions sooner and it would provide the information for what they need interventions in.

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Learning Analytics Helps Inform K-12 Decisions

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Learning Analytics Helps Inform K-12 Decisions

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Technology Solutions That Drive Education

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No one appreciates the value of research more than educators. Learning analytics offers a powerful tool to point teachers and district leaders on the front lines of education to new areas of opportunity. Yet, too little of the massive amounts of education data and research conducted over the years informs practical changes and actions within school districts.

Educators simply lack the time to use research and data to the full advantage of administrators, teachers and students. Whether it's locating appropriate research; extricating valuable data points specific to an educator's needs; determining what the research means to a given district; or putting an action plan in place, education professionals shouldn't be expected to do it all alone.

Finding Actionable Learning Analytics Insights from Student Data

Educators have had access to massive amounts of education data for decades, but they need help if they are to use that data in an easy, actionable way. As a former educator, I understand that district administrators and teachers do not need to be told that research can help them find new opportunities - they already know that. What they need are tools to help them dissect research and figure out what it means to them, quickly and effectively.

Looking for Research-Driven Solutions

One resource available to educators is a professionally related absences toolkit from the Frontline Research and Learning Institute that allows school districts to look at data on professional absences - not in a silo, but in the context of national averages - and point to potential solutions.

For instance, we found that, nationally, absences for professional development and school business account for 18 percent of all professional absences - the second largest reason that employees miss work, after illness.

At a time when 27 percent of teachers are considered chronically absent, districts should use data to understand why educators may not be in the classroom. When districts can see the reasons why teachers are absent, they can begin to look for solutions.

Keep Learning Analytics Grounded in Reality

Our research on this subject also found that administrators in human resources tend to overestimate the amount of professionally related absences, while curricula and instruction professionals tend to underestimate or accurately estimate such absences. Using data to point to what's actually happening in a district encourages collaboration across departments to make sure that teachers are in the classroom as much as possible, and that when they are engaged in professional development, it is for meaningful and substantial learning that makes their time away from the classroom worthwhile.

Educators know that data is a valuable tool. Research should be used to help them take the next step in applying relevant research to their unique circumstances.

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How Learning Analytics Can Help Inform K-12 Decisions

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No one appreciates the value of research more than educators. Learning analytics offers a powerful tool to point teachers and district leaders on the front lines of education to new areas of opportunity. Yet, too little of the massive amounts of education data and research conducted over the years informs ­practical changes and actions within school districts.