SoLAR, (Society for Learning Analytics and Research) defines learning analytics as the “measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occurs” (SOLAR, 2013, p. 1).
Learning Analytics (LA) offers us a lens into the student learning experience and has been identified as one of the “fastest growing areas of research into technology-enhanced learning”(DEHub, 2012, p. 8). In line with this,LA was cited in the 2011 Horizon Report (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011) as an emerging technology predicted to impact on teaching, learning and research in the far-term horizon (four / five year window). Subsequently it wascited as a technology predicted to enter mainstream use in the mid-term horizon (two / three year window) in the 2012 (Cummins, Johnson, & Adams, 2012)& 2013 Horizon Reports(Johnson, Adams Becker, Cummins, Estrada, Freeman, & Ludgate, 2013).
The focus of the research is to explore LA in the context of Dublin Institute of Technology(DIT) and its learning management system (LMS) namely Blackboard Learn.
LMS such as Blackboard, Moodle and Desire2Learn track and store vast quantities of data on students and their engagement with course content .This potentially can provide insight intostudents and assist lecturers in making informed decisions regarding their pedagogical practice .The proposal aims to examine the data and reporting features available through Blackboard to determine if it assists lecturers and students in making better informed decisions regarding the student learning experience.
The purpose of the research proposal is not to peddle LA as the solution to every problem in education but to support the decision making process with regard to student learning.
