In teaching-learning process, the greatest challenge or the major aspect of Instructional design and delivery is to know the behavior of the learners. In the ongoing revolution in education, we tend to focus on students: how their experience is changing, how to personalize learning, how to make the classroom a more engaging and effective place. As the educational landscape changes, so will teachers’ needs and job responsibilities. We need to ensure that teachers have the tools they need to best serve students in this new educational environment. One of the innovations in education I’m most excited about is the field of learning analytics.

Learning Analytics is the process of measuring and collecting data about learners and learning with the aim of improving teaching and learning practice through analysis of the data

The 2012 Horizon Report defines learning analytics as “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. […] The goal of learning analytics is to enable teachers and schools to tailor educational opportunities to each student’s level of need and ability in close-to-real time.”

You can watch this video on Learning Analytics for Learning. Click on the hyperlink

https://vimeo.com/104688307

Learning Analytics are, in essence, the collection of data that is gathered while learners are engaging in the eLearning experience. Analytics also consist of the analysis and reporting of this information. Specifically concerning eLearning, vital pieces of data are recorded throughout the duration of the eLearning course such as learners’ score on a particular test/exam, how quickly they are progressing through a module, how many times have they have logged in, whether they have participated in a discussion board, etc. At the same time, Learning Analytics also offer online facilitators and instructors a comprehensive look at how a learner is performing, if he/she may need additional help with a particular lesson or subject, and even if the learner is likely to pass or not an eLearning course.  Such data can then be used to make educational analysis and predictions that help to determine which learning materials are appropriate, useful or irrelevant for the learners. This is primarily based upon learner’s performance, skill level, and personal interests.

Learning Analytics play an important role in e-learning by

Helping to predict learners’ performance
Providing learners with a personalized eLearning experience
Increasing learners’ retention rates
Helping to improve future eLearning courses
Boosting in cost efficiency

Learning analytics have helped to design user interface for elearning. There are lot of scope for research using the data collected through Online Learning.

References and further learning

https://elearningindustry.com/5-reasons-why-learning-analytics-are-important-for-elearning

Case Study on How You Can Evaluate The Learnability of Online Courses