Learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs. The growth of online learning since the 1990s, particularly in higher education, has contributed to the advancement of Learning Analytics as student data can be captured and made available for analysis. When learners use an LMS, social media, or similar online tools, their clicks, navigation patterns, time on task, social networks, information flow, and concept development through discussions can be tracked. The rapid development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) offers additional data for researchers to evaluate teaching and learning in online environments.
Definition
Although a majority of Learning Analytics literature has started to adopt the aforementioned definition, the definition and aims of Learning Analytics are still contested.
Learning Analytics as a prediction model
One earlier definition discussed by the community suggested that Learning Analytics is the use of intelligent data, learner-produced data, and analysis models to discover information and social connections for predicting and advising people's learning. But this definition has been criticised by George Siemens and Mike Sharkey.
Learning Analytics as a generic design framework
Dr. Wolfgang Greller and Dr. Hendrik Drachsler defined learning analytics holistically as a framework. They proposed that it is a generic design framework that can act as a useful guide for setting up analytics services in support of educational practice and learner guidance, in quality assurance, curriculum development, and in improving teacher effectiveness and efficiency. It uses a general morphological analysis (GMA) to divide the domain into six "critical dimensions".
Learning Analytics as data-driven decision making
The broader term "Analytics" has been defined as the science of examining data to draw conclusions and, when used in decision-making, to present paths or courses of action. From this perspective, Learning Analytics has been defined as a particular case of Analytics, in which decision-making aims to improve learning and education. During the 2010s, this definition of analytics has gone further to incorporate elements of operations research such as decision trees and strategy maps to establish predictive models and to determine probabilities for certain courses of action.
Learning Analytics as an application of analytics
Another approach for defining Learning Analytics is based on the concept of Analytics interpreted as the process of developing actionable insights through problem definition and the application of statistical models and analysis against existing and/or simulated future data. From this point of view, Learning Analytics emerges as a type of Analytics (as a process), in which the data, the problem definition and the insights are learning-related.
In 2016, a research jointly conducted by the New Media Consortium (NMC) and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) -an EDUCAUSE Program- describes six areas of emerging technology that will have had significant impact on higher education and creative expression by the end of 2020. As a result of this research, Learning analytics was defined as an educational application of web analytics aimed at learner profiling, a process of gathering and analyzing details of individual student interactions in online learning activities.
Learning analytics as an application of data science
In 2017, Gašević, Коvanović, and Joksimović proposed a consolidated model of learning analytics. The model posits that learning analytics is defined at the intersection of three disciplines: data science, theory, and design. Data science offers computational methods and techniques for data collection, pre-processing, analysis, and presentation. Theory is typically drawn from the literature in the learning sciences, education, psychology, sociology, and philosophy. The design dimension of the model includes: learning design, interaction design, and study design. In 2015, Gašević, Dawson, and Siemens argued that computational aspects of learning analytics need to be linked with the existing educational research in order for Learning Analytics to deliver its promise to understand and optimize learning.