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Overcoming the MOOC Data Deluge with Learning Analytic Dashboards

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Book cover Learning Analytics: Fundaments, Applications, and Trends

Part of the book series: Studies in Systems, Decision and Control ((SSDC,volume 94))

Abstract

With the proliferation of MOOCs and the large amount of data collected, a lot of questions have been asked about their value and effectiveness. One of the key issues emerging is the difficulty in the sense—making from the data available. The use of analytic dashboards has been suggested to provide quick insights and distil the large volume of learner interaction data generated. These dashboards hold the promise of providing a contextualized view of data and facilitating useful research exploration. However, little has been done in defining how these dashboards should be created, often resulting in a proliferation of systems for each new research agenda. We present our experience of building MOOC dashboards for two different platforms, namely Coursera and FutureLearn, motivated by a set of design goals with input from a diverse set of stakeholders. We demonstrate the features of the system and how it has served to make data accessible and useable. We report on problems faced, drawing on analyses of think-aloud sessions conducted with real educators, which have informed our dashboard process.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Please refer to the note at the end of the chapter with links to the respective websites.

Abbreviations

HCI:

Human computer interation

HTML:

Hypertext markup language

JSON:

JavaScript object notation

MOOC:

Massive open online course

SUS:

System usability scale

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Correspondence to Lorenzo Vigentini .

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Vigentini, L., Clayphan, A., Zhang, X., Chitsaz, M. (2017). Overcoming the MOOC Data Deluge with Learning Analytic Dashboards. In: Peña-Ayala, A. (eds) Learning Analytics: Fundaments, Applications, and Trends. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, vol 94. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52977-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52977-6_6

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