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Since I am at the beach on vacation this week, I thought this would be the perfect background!

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Since I am at the beach on vacation this week, I thought this would be the perfect background!

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What are the advantages of using learning analytics?	                                                                                        My answer to this question is best shared through my review of current research. Most notably,  in their briefing for Jisc (formerly the Joint Information Systems Committee) on learning analytics and student success, Sclater, Peasgood, & Mullan (January 2017), give the following overview of learning analytics:  	Every time a student interacts with their university – be that going to the library, logging into their virtual learning environment or submitting assessments online – they leave behind a digital footprint. Learning analytics is the process of using this data to improve 	 learning and teaching. Learning Analytics refers to the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about the progress of 	learners 	and the contexts in which learning takes place. Using the increased availability of big datasets around learner activity and digital footprints 	left by student activity in learning environments, learning analytics take us further than  data currently available can.	https://www.jisc.ac.uk/reports/learning-analytics- in-higher-education	                                                                          Additionally, Martin & Ndoye (2016), state that "one of the major benefits is that learning analytics provide students with the availability of immediate and instant feedback they can use while still working on their assignments or projects" . They go on to say that " learning analytics could have multiple benefits for online course instructors as well as students. Online course instructors can use multiple assessment techniques through the lens of learning analytics to support student learning through data driven decision making model".     ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1625&context=jutlp	                                                                                             In our reading Penetrating the Fog: Analytics in Learning and Education, we findLong and Siemens (2011) sharing their view of the value of analytics and big data as:        (1) their role in guiding reform activities in higher education, and         (2) how they can assist educators in improving teaching and learning.  And yet,  they contend that it is not sufficient to treat big data and analytics as useful only for evaluating what learners have done and for predicting what they’ll do in the future. They boldly assert that "Analytics in education must be transformative".https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM1151.pd	In closing,  I find it especially interesting and timely to share the perspective of Kurt O. Gilliland (2017)  that, as we learned in Discussion 2, the success of the flipped classroom relies upon the preparation of students before class and their participation in class.  To that end, In his article for Medical Science Educator, March 2017, Volume 27, Issue 1, pp 9–13 , he maintains that "Learning analytics allows faculty to determine the extent to which students are prepared. In a histology course utilizing the flipped classroom, learning analytics showed that only some students prepare for class. However, learning analytics also enabled faculty to determine problematic content in advance of the session."	Gilliland, K.O. Med.Sci.Educ. (2017) 27: 9. doi:10.1007/s40670-016-0364-2

# data[].attributes.subject
What are the advantages of using learning analytics?	                                                                                        My answer to this question is best shared through my review of current research. Most notably,  in their briefing for Jisc (formerly the Joint Information Systems Committee) on learning analytics and student success, Sclater, Peasgood, & Mullan (January 2017), give the following overview of learning analytics:  	Every time a student interacts with their university – be that going to the library, logging into their virtual learning environment or submitting assessments online – they leave behind a digital footprint. Learning analytics is the process of using this data to improve 	 learning and teaching. Learning Analytics refers to the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about the progress of 	learners 	and the contexts in which learning takes place. Using the increased availability of big datasets around learner activity and digital footprints 	left by student activity in learning environments, learning analytics take us further than  data currently available can.	https://www.jisc.ac.uk/reports/learning-analytics- in-higher-education	                                                                          Additionally, Martin & Ndoye (2016), state that "one of the major benefits is that learning analytics provide students with the availability of immediate and instant feedback they can use while still working on their assignments or projects" . They go on to say that " learning analytics could have multiple benefits for online course instructors as well as students. Online course instructors can use multiple assessment techniques through the lens of learning analytics to support student learning through data driven decision making model".     ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1625&context=jutlp	                                                                                             In our reading Penetrating the Fog: Analytics in Learning and Education, we findLong and Siemens (2011) sharing their view of the value of analytics and big data as:        (1) their role in guiding reform activities in higher education, and         (2) how they can assist educators in improving teaching and learning.  And yet,  they contend that it is not sufficient to treat big data and analytics as useful only for evaluating what learners have done and for predicting what they’ll do in the future. They boldly assert that "Analytics in education must be transformative".https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM1151.pd	In closing,  I find it especially interesting and timely to share the perspective of Kurt O. Gilliland (2017)  that, as we learned in Discussion 2, the success of the flipped classroom relies upon the preparation of students before class and their participation in class.  To that end, In his article for Medical Science Educator, March 2017, Volume 27, Issue 1, pp 9–13 , he maintains that "Learning analytics allows faculty to determine the extent to which students are prepared. In a histology course utilizing the flipped classroom, learning analytics showed that only some students prepare for class. However, learning analytics also enabled faculty to determine problematic content in advance of the session."	Gilliland, K.O. Med.Sci.Educ. (2017) 27: 9. doi:10.1007/s40670-016-0364-2

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How do you see yourself personally using learning analytics?	                                                                                              I earned my doctorate in educational leadership and published my dissertation Exploring Students' Emotional Experience Within The Distance Learning Enviroment in 2011.  Since that time, I have continued my research studying various aspects of collegiate students' experiences with online learning and I can personally use enhanced knowledge of learning analytics for my ongoing academic research.   The following serve as points of reference and sources for guidance in my continuing academic research pursuits.	1) In their recent online discussion of learning and teaching, The University of Adelaide states that Learning Analytics can be used to enhance learners’ engagement and performance in courses through the collection, analysis and reporting of online data. They point out that "Used effectively, learning analytics can help improve student experience and enhance current learning and teaching practices.  In detailing their principles for using research effectively they stress "the need to ensure that any interpretation or manipulation of data to extract meaning is based on sound technique which is subject to expert peer review and, if necessary, through advice and mentoring by those more experienced in techniques of quantitative data analysis."  They go on point out that "Their principles address this by aiming to use the most appropriate models and by ensuring that members of staff using the data or information are best placed to do so. Key elements of the SLTA include the promotion of the development of evidence-informed models of learning,  teaching and assessment, enriched through the use of digital technologies that result in a compelling, outcomes-based approach to enhancement and innovation, focused on the primary goal of student success."	https://www.adelaide.edu.au/learning/teaching/learning-analytics/academics/ 	                                         2)  Journal of Learning Analytics is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, disseminating the highest quality research in the field. The journal is the official publication of the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR).  Their overview follows:	With an international Editorial Board comprising leading scholars, it is the first journal dedicated to research into the challenges of collecting, analyzing and reporting data with the specific intent to improve learning. “Learning” is broadly defined across a range of contexts, including informal learning on the internet, formal academic study in institutions (primary/secondary/tertiary), and workplace learning. The journal seeks to connect researchers and developers with practitioners, creating and disseminating new tools and techniques, studying transformations, and providing ongoing evaluation and critique of the conceptual, technical, and practice outcomes. The interdisciplinary focus of the journal recognizes that computational, pedagogical, institutional, policy and social domains must be brought into dialogue with each other to ensure that interventions and organizational systems serve the needs of all stakeholders. The journal seeks to bring into dialogue the intersection of the fields of Education, Computation and Sense making.	http://learning-analytics.info/	                                                                  3)  As mentioned above, The Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) is an inter-disciplinary network of leading international researchers who are exploring the role and impact of analytics on teaching, learning, training and development. SoLAR has been active in organizing the International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge (LAK) and the Learning Analytics Summer Institute (LASI), launching multiple initiatives to support collaborative and open research around learning analytics, promoting the publication and dissemination of learning analytics research, and advising and consulting with state, provincial, and national governments.	           https://solaresearch.org/

# data[].attributes.subject
How do you see yourself personally using learning analytics?	                                                                                              I earned my doctorate in educational leadership and published my dissertation Exploring Students' Emotional Experience Within The Distance Learning Enviroment in 2011.  Since that time, I have continued my research studying various aspects of collegiate students' experiences with online learning and I can personally use enhanced knowledge of learning analytics for my ongoing academic research.   The following serve as points of reference and sources for guidance in my continuing academic research pursuits.	1) In their recent online discussion of learning and teaching, The University of Adelaide states that Learning Analytics can be used to enhance learners’ engagement and performance in courses through the collection, analysis and reporting of online data. They point out that "Used effectively, learning analytics can help improve student experience and enhance current learning and teaching practices.  In detailing their principles for using research effectively they stress "the need to ensure that any interpretation or manipulation of data to extract meaning is based on sound technique which is subject to expert peer review and, if necessary, through advice and mentoring by those more experienced in techniques of quantitative data analysis."  They go on point out that "Their principles address this by aiming to use the most appropriate models and by ensuring that members of staff using the data or information are best placed to do so. Key elements of the SLTA include the promotion of the development of evidence-informed models of learning,  teaching and assessment, enriched through the use of digital technologies that result in a compelling, outcomes-based approach to enhancement and innovation, focused on the primary goal of student success."	https://www.adelaide.edu.au/learning/teaching/learning-analytics/academics/ 	                                         2)  Journal of Learning Analytics is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, disseminating the highest quality research in the field. The journal is the official publication of the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR).  Their overview follows:	With an international Editorial Board comprising leading scholars, it is the first journal dedicated to research into the challenges of collecting, analyzing and reporting data with the specific intent to improve learning. “Learning” is broadly defined across a range of contexts, including informal learning on the internet, formal academic study in institutions (primary/secondary/tertiary), and workplace learning. The journal seeks to connect researchers and developers with practitioners, creating and disseminating new tools and techniques, studying transformations, and providing ongoing evaluation and critique of the conceptual, technical, and practice outcomes. The interdisciplinary focus of the journal recognizes that computational, pedagogical, institutional, policy and social domains must be brought into dialogue with each other to ensure that interventions and organizational systems serve the needs of all stakeholders. The journal seeks to bring into dialogue the intersection of the fields of Education, Computation and Sense making.	http://learning-analytics.info/	                                                                  3)  As mentioned above, The Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) is an inter-disciplinary network of leading international researchers who are exploring the role and impact of analytics on teaching, learning, training and development. SoLAR has been active in organizing the International Conference on Learning Analytics & Knowledge (LAK) and the Learning Analytics Summer Institute (LASI), launching multiple initiatives to support collaborative and open research around learning analytics, promoting the publication and dissemination of learning analytics research, and advising and consulting with state, provincial, and national governments.	           https://solaresearch.org/