Learning analytics as an academic research space has been growing in influence for nearly a decade. Campuses globally are deploying learning analytics to address a range of challenges including student dropout, poor engagement and targeted marketing as well as predict teaching and resource needs. As a field, learning analytics has advanced rapidly both as a research domain and as a practical on-campus activity to increase organizational use of data. In this presentation, Dr. George Siemens will explore both the research and the practice of analytics in education, focusing on the development of the Society for Learning Analytics, models for research and organizational data use and growing sophistication of data collection through psychophysiological approaches.
Dr. George Siemens researches networks, analytics, wellbeing and openness in education. Dr. Siemens is Professor and Executive Director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab at University of Texas, Arlington and cross-appointed with the Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University. He has delivered keynote addresses in more than 35 countries on the influence of technology and media on education, organizations and society. His work has been profiled in provincial, national and international newspapers (including The New York Times), radio and television. He has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on grants totaling more than $15 million, with funding from the National Science Foundation, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada), Intel, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Boeing, and the Soros Foundation. He has served as a collaborator on international grants in European Union, Australia, Senegal, Ghana, and United Kingdon. He has received numerous awards, including honorary doctorates from Universidad de San Martín de Porres and Fraser Valley University for his pioneering work in learning, technology and networks. He holds an honorary professorship with University of Edinburgh and adjunct status with University of South Australia.
Dr. Siemens is a founding President of the Society for Learning Analytics Research. He has advised government agencies in Australia, European Union, Canada and United States, as well as numerous international universities, on digital learning and utilizing learning analytics for assessing and evaluating productivity gains in the education sector and improving learner results. In 2008, he pioneered massive open online courses (MOOCs). He blogs at http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/ and on Twitter (@gsiemens).
AIM Analytics 