As UBC continues to shift towards online learning, there is an increasing need to explore new ways of supporting students and faculty.
Learning Analytics takes a data-driven approach to improving learning and the student experience by measuring, collecting, analyzing and reporting data about learners to understand and optimize learning and learning environments. For example, some questions we can answer with learning analytics is how long did students who did well in a course spend doing online readings? How can we better predict the demand for a course? What courses in one year are correlated with a high GPA in the following year? The answers to these questions will help UBC continuously adapt and improve our delivery of higher education.
Since September 2017, UBC has launched twelve exploratory learning analytics pilots as part of the Learning Analytics Project. The primary goals for the pilots were to expand on the UBC community's existing expertise and interest, build traction in learning analytics, facilitate the development of prototypes, and gain insight into uncharted areas to guide UBC’s overall approach to learning analytics.
Currently, the Learning Analytics project is moving into the operationalize and sustainment phase to deliver an ongoing Learning Analytics service. The Centre for Teaching and Learning Technologies (CTLT) and UBC IT will work together to deliver and support the service, and effectively integrate learning analytics into everyday teaching and learning. Work over the next few months, the Learning Analytics team will largely focus on supporting academic continuity as UBC continues remote learning, with courses primarily delivered online to support social distancing.
Learning Analytics is an example of how UBC is working to improve the teaching and learning experience, supported in Strategy 15: Student Experience and Strategy #11: Educational Renewal. For more information about Learning Analytics, visit https://learninganalytics.ubc.ca.
