With the proliferation of computers and handhelds in our education institutions, it was only a matter of time, one started asked questions about their efficacy as a teaching and learning enabler. Are these just a fad; a passing fancy? Will students and teachers tire of gadgets in class? Would they be more the cause of problems than solutions? Was there a way of measuring the impact of technology, digital content, digitisation and justifying the cost of setting up and maintaining the overall Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure in a school?
Without a doubt, even tier two and tier three cities in India are becoming modern Silicon Valleys. Even as we speak, this brain power – our demographic dividend – is being nurtured in thousands of school and universities across the nation. Over the last decade alone, various forms of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have made their way into classrooms – from the ubiquitous Smart Boards to hand-held tablets – technology has become a friend, a tool and an enabler, for every stakeholder in the eco system. In fact, for this generation of students, the journey from being mere digital literates to savvy digital natives has been spectacular. Today, schools proudly display the brands of their ICT partners alongside their own names.
What has further aided this is the tremendous amount of innovation (and investment) ICT has seen, on the supply side, in the same time period. Encouraging government policies, private enterprises, competitive schools, and of course eager parents, are spurring the growth in this sector even further.
So, investment and installation of computers in schools, done! But, does it solve problems of create new ones? One thing is clear – the mere installation of computers in classrooms and/ or labs is not a solution to anything. That looks good only in marketing brochures. As with any effective teaching tool, the use of ICT in schools also require 1) training, 2) Up to date and adaptive content, 3) interactive platforms, 4) skilled teachers, 5) visionary leaders, and, most importantly 6) continuous monitoring of output and outcomes – that, in turn, leads to hybrid forms of pedagogy. This last point brings me to the crux of this essay.
Analysis of Learning outcomes in an ICT enabled environment – or Learning Analytics – particularly in a K-12 institution was something very new to me. In fact, it came to me as one of those ‘duh!’ revelations. Why isn’t Learning Analytics as common as Business Analytics or even Web Analytics? Would we all not want to make informed decisions on teaching, learning, content, media, pedagogy, etc. based on facts and data?
What Learning Analytics does is that it measures, collects, analyses and delivers data about learners for “purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occurs”.
Among other things, this data is helpful:
- Show how the ICT infrastructure is being used by students in various classes and in different subjects
- For learners to reflect on their achievements and patterns of behaviour in relation to others;
- For teachers – as sign-posts to students requiring additional support or attention;
- Provide teachers with live on-task and engagement display in class to manage classes
- To understand the attention spans and distractibility of individual students
- To help teachers plan interventions – where required – with individuals or groups;
- As a tool to improve current courses or develop new curriculum offerings; and
- For administrators taking decisions on efficiency and effectiveness of, say, third-party content.
- To correlate investment in third party content to efficacy and outcome of study
- To gauge ICT ‘aptitude’ of individual students.
When a teacher reviews a student’s progress during the class indicating each student’s level of engagement, his or her attention span in class, corrective measures can then be taken as necessary. Teachers can also learn how and what resources students use to aid their learning – whether teacher assigned or self-discovered; which students have good ICT skills and which have poor skills or even problematic computer use. How does computer use in their school correlate with test results, and for which groups? Learning Analytics provides this data on each student.
All said and done, how many schools in India currently use any form of Learning Analytics? I would, personally, be interested in hearing first-hand from those who do and about their experience(s) – good, bad or ugly.
I would really appreciate if you would write to me at johnkphilip@outlook.com and initiate a dialogue. I may be able to assist you in introducing Learning Analytic tools in your school too.