Learning analytics is a relatively new phenomenon in education. It involves analysing the online behaviour of students within an electronic learning environment or a digital learning and working environment

The 2011 Horizon Report lists learning analytics in the 4-5 year adoption horizon, but the rapid rise of analytics tools combined with the increasing demand for data-driven decision making may be pushing this horizon closer. Does your institution have a strategy for mining the wealth of information in your LMS, among other sources of data about teaching and learning activities? This presentation will cover a  range of examples where learning analytics are already being used to increase student engagement, improve pedagogical practices, and raise retention and success rates, particularly for at-risk students. The presenters will provide practical recommendations for applying learning analytics effectively at your institution.

Long-time e-Literate readers know that I have been a fan of the concept of learning analytics for a number of years now. But it became apparent at this year’s Learning Impact conference that learning analytics are the new hotness. Everybody is talking about them, and increasing numbers of vendors (LMS vendors, ERP vendors, textbook vendors, etc.) are trying to figure out how to get in on the party.

On the topic of web analytics careers, this is a reprint of an article about web analytics training that originally appeared at the WAA.  If you could start your career over, what would you do?

I’m taking a break from the BlendKit posts to reflect on this EDUCAUSE article: Penetrating the Fog: Analytics in Learning and Education. It caught my eye because I’ve been sitting on a hiring committee charged with finding a top-rate instructional designer to join the team working on hybrid and online courses at UC Davis. One of the questions we asked our candidates was about learning analytics–what they are and how one might use them in a hybrid or online class.

Learning analytics promises to harness the power of advances in data mining, interpretation, and modeling to improve understandings of teaching and learning, and to tailor education to individual students more effectively. Still in its early stages, learning analytics responds to calls for accountability on campuses across the country, and leverages the vast amount of data produced by students in day-to-day academic activities. While learning analytics has already been used in admissions and fund-raising efforts on several campuses, “academic analytics” is just beginning to take shape

According to the 2011 Horizon Report, learning analytics refers to “the interpretation of a wide range of data produced by and gathered on behalf of students in order to assess academic progress, predict future performance, and spot potential issues.” Below are articles, presentations and seminars that further discuss the growing use of learning analytics in higher education and the benefit student’s gain from it.

A few resources from the past month or so that might be of interest:

Learning analytics is the use of intelligent data,