BRIEF SURVEY OF ANALYTICS IN K12 AND HIGHER EDUCATION

Ananda Gunawardena
2017 International Journal on Innovations in Online Education  
Use of computers in education is now ubiquitous. Students have access to course media through a variety of devices including PCs, tablets, and smart phones. The data generated by online learning platforms have the potential to change the way we teach and learn. In this brief survey paper, we explore the role of analytics in teaching and learning. In particular, how learning analytics can lead to educational process innovation. We will explore history, current state, tools, privacy issues, case
more » ... tudies, and future potential for analyticsbased education. KEY WORDS: analytics, K12, higher education, data driven, analytics driven HISTORY Predictive analytics has its origin in the 1940s, when governments first started using the computational models with early versions of modern computers. Today, we have the enormous Excellence 2020" strategic plan and scale blended learning. In early 2012, Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS) identified a need for a teaching and learning platform that could meet a variety of communication and instructional needs. The system must also integrate with existing platforms like Google Docs and it must be deployed in less than a year. CCPS found that teachers favored Edmodo because of peer recommendations and for its familiar and intuitive user interface, seamless communication between teachers and students, easytobuild formative assessments, engaging educational apps, and accessibility from any device. The study involved 58,800 students, 4200 teachers, and 42 schools. Edmodo was adopted for increased student engagement as student experience with similar platforms meant that students quickly and easily embraced Edmodo. To start the process, CCPS established an Edmodo subdomain, which gave district administrators the ability to manage and support site usage by using Edmodo analytics, as well as foster districtwide communication and collaboration. They then trained 4200 teachers over the course of three days during summer break, in preparation for the 2012-2013 school year. With Edmodo′s free platform, Volume 1, Issue 1, 2017
doi:10.1615/intjinnovonlineedu.v1.i1.80 fatcat:caft6hlzjjcipnzoyzarce34wm