In education today, technology alone doesn't always lead to immediate
success for students or institutions. In order to gauge the efficacy of
educational technology, we need ways to measure the efficacy of
educational practices in their own right. Through a better understanding
of how learning takes place, we may work toward establishing best
practices for students, educators, and institutions. These goals can be
accomplished with learning analytics.
Learning Analytics: From Research to Practice updates this emerging
field with the latest in theories, findings, strategies, and tools from
across education and technological disciplines. Guiding readers through
preparation, design, and examples of implementation, this pioneering
reference clarifies LA methods as not mere data collection but
sophisticated, systems-based analysis with practical applicability
inside the classroom and in the larger world.
Case studies illustrate applications of LA throughout academic settings
(e.g., intervention, advisement, technology design), and their resulting
impact on pedagogy and learning. The goal is to bring greater efficiency
and deeper engagement to individual students, learning communities, and
educators, as chapters show diverse uses of learning analytics to:
- Enhance student and faculty performance.
- Improve student understanding of course material.
- Assess and attend to the needs of struggling learners.
- Improve accuracy in grading.
- Allow instructors to assess and develop their own strengths.
- Encourage more efficient use of resources at the institutional level.
Researchers and practitioners in educational technology, IT, and the
learning sciences will hail the information in Learning Analytics: From
Research to Practice as a springboard to new levels of student,
instructor, and institutional success.
