Learning Analytics

Learning analytics, to provide a contemporary example we'll all be familiar with, is the equivalent of tailored ads on Facebook or Youtube. Once you're logged into Facebook, every site you visit while logged in is recorded and based on your browsing habits, the ads on the sidebar will change. If I visit the H&M website, I get little notifications about sales they are having, and if I visit Groupon every day, the sidebar inserts a daily Groupon deal. This theory is slowly being integrated into an educational environment, where its operative use will be gleaning data from the patterns of each student's online behavior (yes, privacy is a concern, and yes it is addressed even if it isn't fixed). The main problem now is that it's hard to gather this information when each student visits multiple websites. The solution there is to filter all activity through a dashboard, in hopes of identifying learning issues early enough to create a solution. For reading, the closest to my discipline, they suggest "Kno," an e-textbook company, launched the “Kno Me” tool, which provides students with insights into their study habits and behaviors while using e-textbooks. Students can also better pace themselves by looking at data that shows them how much time has been spent working through specific texts, and where they are in relation to their goals.