Big Data and Learning Analytics in Blended Learning Environments: Benefits and Concerns
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.9781/ijimai.2014.275Keywords:
Decision-level, Education, Learning, Big Data, Planning, Learning AnalyticsAbstract
The purpose of this article is to examine big data and learning analytics in blended learning environments. It will examine the nature of these concepts, provide basic definitions, and identify the benefits and concerns that apply to their development and implementation. This article draws on concepts associated with data-driven decision making, which evolved in the 1980s and 1990s, and takes a sober look at big data and analytics. It does not present them as panaceas for all of the issues and decisions faced by higher education administrators, but sees them as part of solutions, although not without significant investments of time and money to achieve worthwhile benefits.Downloads
References
[1] Allen, I. E. & Seaman, J. (2014). “Grade Change: Tracking Online Learning Education in the United States.” Needham, MA: Babson Survey Research Group. http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/gradechange.pdf
[2] Accessed June 6, 2014.
[3] Simon, H. A. (1945). Administrative Behavior. New York: Macmillan.
[4] Simon, H. A. (1957). Administrative Behavior (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
[5] Simon, H. A. (1960). The New Science of Management Decision. New York: Harper & Row.
[6] Simon, H. A. (1979). Rational Decision Making in Business Organizations. American Economic Review, 69, 493–513.
[7] Simon, H. A. (1982). Models of Bounded Rationality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
[8] Tyson, C. (2002). The Foundations of Imperfect Decision Making. Stanford, CA: Stanford Graduate School of Business Research Paper Series.
[9] Carlson, R. V., & Awkerman, G. (Eds.). (1991). Educational Planning: Concepts, Strategies and Practices. New York: Longman.
[10] Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. New York, NY: Doubleday Currency.
[11] Dibello, A.J. & Nevis, E.C. (1998). How Organizations Learn. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[12] Goldstein, P.J. & Katz, R. N. (2005). Academic Analytics: The Uses of Management Information and Technology in Higher Education. Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research.
[13] Alias, T. (2011). Learning Analytics: Definitions, Processes, and Potential. Unpublished paper. http://learninganalytics.net/LearningAnalyticsDefinitionsProcessesPotential.pdf
[14] Kirk, J. (February 7, 2006). 'Analytics' Buzzword Needs Careful Definition. Infoworld. http://www.infoworld.com/t/datamanagement/analytics-buzzword-needs-careful-definition-567 Accessed: June 3, 2014.
[15] IBM Software Group (2001). Analytics for Achievement. Ottawa, Ontario. http://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/en/ytw03149caen/YTW03149CAEN.PDF Accessed: June 10, 2014.
[16] Feldstein, M. (November 2013). Course Signals Effectiveness Data Appears to be Meaningless (and Why You Should Care). Blog posting on e-Literate Website. http://mfeldstein.com/courssignalseffectiveness-data-appears-meaningless-care/ Accessed: August 9, 2014
[17] Iten, L., Arnold, K., Pistilli, M. (March 2008). Mining Real-time Data to Improve Student Success in a Gateway Course. Paper presented at the Eleventh Annual TLT Conference. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University. http://www.itap.purdue.edu/learning/docs/research/TLT%2008%20presentation%20summary.pdf Accessed: August 9, 2014
[18] Pistilli, M.D., Arnold, K. & Bethune, M. (November 18, 2012). Signals: Using Academic Analytics to Promote Student Success. EDUCAUSE Review http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/signalsusing-academic-analytics-promote-student-success Accessed August 8, 2014.
[19] Straumsheim, C. (November 6, 2013). Mixed Signals. Inside Higher Education. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/11/06/researchers-castdoubt-about-early-warning-systems-effect-retention Accessed: August 9, 2014.
[20] Siemens, G. (June 2014). The Journal of Learning Analytics: Supporting and Promoting Learning Analytics Research. Journal of Learning Analytics, 1(1). http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/JLA/article/view/3908
[21] Accessed: August 11, 2014.
[22] Johnson, L., Adams-Becker, S., and Estrada, V. & Freeman, A. (2014). The NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Higher Education Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.
[23] Gunn, V. (May 7, 2014). Learning Analytics, Surveillance, and the Future of Understanding our Students. News Blog posting of the Society for Research in the Higher Education. http://srheblog.com/2014/05/07/learning-analytics-surveillance-andthe-future-of-understanding-our-students/ Accessed: August 11, 2014.
[24] Bennett, E. (2011). Moving Toward a National Education Database. Unpublished paper.
[25] Sanger, D.E. & Perlroth, N. (June 6, 2014). Internet Giants Erect Barriers to Spy Agencies. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/07/technology/internet-giants-erectbarriers-to-spy-agencies.html?_r=0 Accessed: June 15, 2014.
[26] Simon, H.A. (1971). Designing Organizations for an Information-rich World in Martin Greenberger, Computers, Communication, and the Public Interest, Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Press.
[27] Silver, N. (2012). The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — but Some Don't. New York: Penguin Press, Inc.
Downloads
Published
-
Abstract60
-
PDF20
Submit Article
Information
