Overview

Background

Following on from the TEL009 investigation into analytics a further pilot of analytics in Learn and Moodle has been initiated. The TEL019 and the TEL017 have similar overarching aims to deliver access to high quality and understandable analytics directly to students in the context of their courses.

Each of our VLE platforms records a large amount of data about student interactions, but the ability to report on this, and in particular to display this information to students is not well developed. Basic course reporting facilities exist for staff which allow them to see student behaviour on an individual basis, or interaction with a particular course element. There is little or no comparative reporting capability however (e.g. student X relative to the average for the course).

This project will build on work carried out in Jan - July 2014 https://www.projects.ed.ac.uk/project/tel009. The TEL009 project report provided a “wish list” of types of data and display options which may be included in the development. This project will continue to make use of staff and student consultation events to steer the technical and associated non-technical developments, to ensure that there is transparency and clarity on the aims and objectives of the project throughout. This will also help ensure that the key information and appropriate display formats are prioritised.

Scope

Within Scope

Investigate approaches for delivering useful and understandable analytics data to students who use the Moodle platform for Online Distance Learning
Review the available “off-the-shelf” plugins. This should be informed on a technical, academic perception, and student engagement basis
Small adjustments to the Moodle platform are permitted if they meet the need of making analytics data visible to students
Create and disseminate information about analytics to the University community in conjunction with similar activities taking place in TEL017

Out of Scope

Extensive development and changes to the Moodle platform and existing plugins
Collecting and analysing any information that is not already collected in Moodle and plugins available at the time of completion of TEL009
Information can only be used for the purpose of monitoring student progress for course/personal use and cannot be made visible outside of the Moodle environment

Objectives

Identify the way that student data is collected during trials of the TEL009 Moodle approaches for student analytics
Identify ways that this information can be used and highlight any benefits and trends that this may lead to
Make it clear to the university the types of information that is collected within Moodle and outline how this data may be used
Make recommendations on further work that may be required in implementing student analytics in Moodle

Deliverables

A review of Moodle approaches for analytics that are in place based on evidence and accounts from the staff and students involved in the trial of the tools
An analysis of the review with implications for further work and developments for Moodle in the future
Develop information for Staff and Student on the types of data that is collected in Moodle and how it may be used by the University. This information must be clear and make good use of visualisations to make the content easier to understand
Produce guidelines and support information for staff and students that shows how to use any of the chosen Moodle analytics approaches
Assist with the TEL017 project in producing information to the University community that shows how we collect and use analytical data within VLEs

Benefits

Greater awareness and understanding of the role of data collected within VLEs across the University community
Potential benefits to student experience from using these tools ~ depending on findings of trials
Providing a clearer understanding and wider debate of how analytics should be used in the future

Success Criteria

Greater awareness and transparency about the data that is being gathered within Moodle and analytics more generally in collaboration with similar objectives in TEL017
A better understanding of the approaches used in Moodle for collecting data with real examples of how it can be used by students and staff within the University of Edinburgh
Evidence that the analytics have been used by staff and students
Evidence to help identify the value of the analytics tools that have been used in the trial
An analysis of future developments and direction for continuing to find more uses of analytics within Moodle and how to make the information available to the students

This article was published on Oct 18, 2016