Introduction to Learning and Knowledge Analytics

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= an open (and free) course intended for professional development and to raise awareness of the role that analytics can play in education, learning and development, and in evaluating organizational information flows.

URL = http://www.learninganalytics.net/?p=138


Description

"This is an open (and free) course offered by the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute (TEKRI) at Athabasca University. The course is not offered for-credit and is intended for professional development and to raise awareness of the role that analytics can play in education, learning and development, and in evaluating organizational information flows.


The growth of data surpasses the ability of organizations or individuals to make sense of it. This concern is particularly pronounced in relation to knowledge, collaboration within an organization, teaching, and learning. Learning institutions and corporations make little use of the data learners "throw off" in the process of accessing learning materials, interacting with educators and peers, and creating new content. In an age where educational institutions are under growing pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency, analytics promises to be an important lens through which to view and plan for change at course and institutions levels.


Corporations likewise face pressure for increased competitiveness and productivity, a challenge that requires important contributions in organizational capacity building from work place and informal learning:

  • Learning analytics can play a role in highlighting the development of employees through their learning activities.
  • In enterprise settings, information flow and learning/knowledge networks can yield novel insights into organizational effectiveness and capacity to address new challenges or adapt rapidly when unanticipated event arise.
  • The expansion of learning and knowledge work beyond formal institutional boundaries, myriad platforms in the cloud hosting the activity of individuals will be providing/exchanging analytics.


Advances in knowledge modeling and representation, the semantic web, data mining, analytics, and open data form a foundation for new models of knowledge development and analysis. The technical complexity of this nascent field is paralleled by a transition within the full spectrum of learning (education, work place learning, informal learning) to social, networked learning. These technical, pedagogical, and social domains must be brought into dialogue with each other to ensure that interventions and organizational systems serve the needs of all stakeholders. As a multi-disciplinary field, learning analytics requires contributions from learning sciences, computer sciences, statistics, information sciences, sociology, and psychology.

Learning and Knowledge Analytics 2011 is a conceptual and exploratory introduction to the role of analytics in learning and knowledge development. Most of the topics do not require advanced statistical methods or technical skills. Topics covered during the six-week course will introduce participants to a systemic and integrated view of analytics." (http://learninganalytics.net/syllabus.html)