Jose Luis Santos

Learning Analytics Dashboard Applications

This article introduces learning analytics dashboards that visualize learning traces for learners and teachers. We present a conceptual framework that helps to analyze learning analytics applications for these kinds of users. We then present our own work in this area and compare with 15 related dashboard applications for learning. Most evaluations evaluate only part of our conceptual framework and do not assess whether dashboards contribute to behavior change or new understanding, probably also because such assessment requires longitudinal studies.

Learning dashboards: an overview and future research opportunities

Abstract In this paper, we present work on learning analytics that aims to support learners and teachers through dashboard applications, ranging from small mobile applications to learnscapes on large public displays. Dashboards typically capture and visualize traces of learning activities, in order to promote awareness, reflection, and sense-making, and to enable learners to define goals and track progress toward these goals. Based on an analysis of our own work and a broad range of similar learning dashboards, we identify HCI issues for this exciting research area.

Goal-oriented visualizations of activity tracking: a case study with engineering students

Increasing motivation of students and helping them to reflect on their learning processes is an important driver for learning analytics research. This paper presents our research on the development of a dashboard that enables self-reflection on activities and comparison with peers. We describe evaluation results of four iterations of a design based research methodology that assess the usability, use and usefulness of different visualizations. Lessons learned from the different evaluations performed during each iteration are described. In addition, these evaluations illustrate that the dashboard is a useful tool for students. However, further research is needed to assess the impact on the learning process.

Addressing learner issues with StepUp!: an evaluation

This paper reports on our research on the use of learning analytics dashboards to support awareness, self-reflection, sensemaking and impact for learners. So far, little research has been done to evaluate such dashboards with students and to assess their impact on learning. In this paper, we present the results of an evaluation study of our dashboard, called StepUp!, and the extent to which it addresses issues and needs of our students. Through brainstorming sessions with our students, we identified and prioritized learning issues and needs. In a second step, we deployed StepUp! during one month and we evaluated to which extent our dashboard addresses the issues and needs identified earlier in different courses. The results show that our tool has potentially higher impact for students working in groups and sharing a topic than students working individually on different topics.

Towards responsive open learning environments: the ROLE interoperability framework

In recent years, research on mash-up technologies for learning environments has gained interest. The overall goal is to enrich or replace traditional learning management systems (LMS) with mash-ups of widgets and services that can be easily combined and configured to fit the learner needs. This paper presents the implemented prototype of the ROLE interoperability framework and a business and an educational case study. The framework provides a common technical infrastructure to assemble widgets and services in Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). Evaluation results indicate that the perceived usefulness and usability is high for one case study in which a mature LMS was enriched with ROLE technology. In the second case study, an early mash-up prototype was deployed. The usefulness and usability of this early prototype were rated low, but the case study provides interesting insights for further research and development.

Success, activity and drop-outs in MOOCs an exploratory study on the UNED COMA courses

This paper presents an exploratory study about two language learning MOOCs deployed in the UNED COMA platform. The study identifies three research questions: a) How does activity evolve in these MOOCs? b) Are all learning activities relevant?, and c) Does the use of the target language influence?. We conclude that the MOOC activity drops not only due to the drop-outs. When students skips around 10% of the proposed activities, the percentage of passing the course decrease in a 25%. Forum activity is a useful indicator for success, however the participation in active threads is not. Finally, the use of the target language course is not an indicator to predict success.

Evaluating the Use of Open Badges in an Open Learning Environment

This paper reports on our ongoing research around learning analytics. We focus on how learning analytics can be used to increase student motivation and the use of badges as a way to aggregate learning activity being a representation of their goals and progress along the course. The context of this work is an open learning environment, based on wikis, blogs, twitter, an activity stream mash-up and an open badges system. Our evaluation analyses perceived usefulness and usability of the system, as well as the impact on student motivation. Our results indicate that badges are useful to motivate students while activity streams have the potential to activate students.

Improving Teacher Awareness Through Activity, Badge and Content Visualizations

This paper introduces LARAe (Learning Analytics Reflection & Awareness environment), a teacher-oriented dashboard that visualizes learning traces from students, badges and course content. We also present an evaluation of the dashboard in a course on Human-Computer Interaction. The LARAe teacher dashboard provides a detailed overview of group and individual activities, achievements and course outcomes. To help visualize the abundance of traces, badges are used to abstract essential aspects of the course such as course goals and social activity. This paper reports our work on LARAe, presents the course in which we evaluated our approach with students and teachers, and analyses our first results that indicate that such an environment can help with teacher awareness.

Learning HCI and InfoVis in the Open

In this paper, we report on our experiences with novel learning strategies for HCI and Information Visualisation, in the context of a computer science master curriculum. What sets our experiences somewhat apart is the focus on openness. This includes the use of Open Educational Resources (OER), as well as open communication between the students, the professor and the general public, through web2.0 tools like blogs, wikis, Facebook and Twitter.