18 January 2021 [JISC, UK] – Three key lessons learned from The Open University’s award-winning use of data.
It’s a common assumption with learning analytics (LA), that just getting hold of data is enough, and that the magic will happen all by itself. But that’s certainly not the case.
Start small
Fully integrating learning analytics into an organisation takes a lot of time and effort, and small steps are a great way to start.
Back in 2014, when we started to launch our first learning analytics dashboards at the Open University, we spent a lot of time investigating what was working for our organisation, what wasn’t working, and figuring out where we could do better. If we noticed, for example, that the data reflected students were particularly struggling during a certain week or a certain module, we would then focus in on what was different about that week or module; could learning design be improved? Is the student dealing with other external factors? This kind of exercise seems like a small, niche investigation, but it has wide-ranging implications, and is an essential step in the implementation of LA.
Similarly, the OU has a very flexible approach to what modules students can take within their degree pathways. This sometimes means that, for example, student A could do really well in module 1, but then struggle with module 2. This allows teachers to look at how they might better advise module pathways, or transitional content.