Yes We Can (But Maybe Not Yet): The Impact of Data Poverty on Realising the Potential of Learning Analytics

Learning analytics (LA), as research and practice, has been committed to contributing to understanding students’ learning and the contexts in which their learning occurs since its emergence in 2011. Core to learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and use of student data. As highe...

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Main Authors: Paul Prinsloo, Sharon Slade, Mohammad Khalil
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ubiquity Press 2023-10-01
Series:Ubiquity Proceedings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://account.ubiquityproceedings.com/index.php/up-j-up/article/view/75
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author Paul Prinsloo
Sharon Slade
Mohammad Khalil
author_facet Paul Prinsloo
Sharon Slade
Mohammad Khalil
author_sort Paul Prinsloo
collection DOAJ
description Learning analytics (LA), as research and practice, has been committed to contributing to understanding students’ learning and the contexts in which their learning occurs since its emergence in 2011. Core to learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and use of student data. As higher education becomes increasingly digitised and datafied, institutions have access to not only more data, but also a variety, velocity and granularity of data. However, there is also increasing evidence of data poverty - referring not only to students’ unable to afford data, but also institutions without, inter alia, the data infrastructure and analytical skills to realise the potential of LA. In both cases, the fiduciary duty of higher education institutions to provide enabling and supportive learning environments are severely compromised. In this conceptual paper, we provide an introduction to the notion of data poverty as it relates to both students and institutions before mapping key dimensions of student data poverty and their implications for LA. We also discuss institutional data poverty before concluding with a number of pointers to move from ‘not yet’ to ‘yes we can’ in providing evidence-led teaching and student support.
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spelling doaj.art-54d6da9fd053440fb059111aef0240892024-01-18T05:31:38ZengUbiquity PressUbiquity Proceedings2631-56022023-10-0110.5334/uproc.7575Yes We Can (But Maybe Not Yet): The Impact of Data Poverty on Realising the Potential of Learning AnalyticsPaul Prinsloo0Sharon Slade1Mohammad Khalil2University of South AfricaIndependent ResearcherUniversity of BergenLearning analytics (LA), as research and practice, has been committed to contributing to understanding students’ learning and the contexts in which their learning occurs since its emergence in 2011. Core to learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and use of student data. As higher education becomes increasingly digitised and datafied, institutions have access to not only more data, but also a variety, velocity and granularity of data. However, there is also increasing evidence of data poverty - referring not only to students’ unable to afford data, but also institutions without, inter alia, the data infrastructure and analytical skills to realise the potential of LA. In both cases, the fiduciary duty of higher education institutions to provide enabling and supportive learning environments are severely compromised. In this conceptual paper, we provide an introduction to the notion of data poverty as it relates to both students and institutions before mapping key dimensions of student data poverty and their implications for LA. We also discuss institutional data poverty before concluding with a number of pointers to move from ‘not yet’ to ‘yes we can’ in providing evidence-led teaching and student support.https://account.ubiquityproceedings.com/index.php/up-j-up/article/view/75data povertyhigher educationlearning analyticsstudent success
spellingShingle Paul Prinsloo
Sharon Slade
Mohammad Khalil
Yes We Can (But Maybe Not Yet): The Impact of Data Poverty on Realising the Potential of Learning Analytics
Ubiquity Proceedings
data poverty
higher education
learning analytics
student success
title Yes We Can (But Maybe Not Yet): The Impact of Data Poverty on Realising the Potential of Learning Analytics
title_full Yes We Can (But Maybe Not Yet): The Impact of Data Poverty on Realising the Potential of Learning Analytics
title_fullStr Yes We Can (But Maybe Not Yet): The Impact of Data Poverty on Realising the Potential of Learning Analytics
title_full_unstemmed Yes We Can (But Maybe Not Yet): The Impact of Data Poverty on Realising the Potential of Learning Analytics
title_short Yes We Can (But Maybe Not Yet): The Impact of Data Poverty on Realising the Potential of Learning Analytics
title_sort yes we can but maybe not yet the impact of data poverty on realising the potential of learning analytics
topic data poverty
higher education
learning analytics
student success
url https://account.ubiquityproceedings.com/index.php/up-j-up/article/view/75
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