Engaging Learning Analytics
in MOOCs:
the good, the bad, and the ugly
Mohammad Khalil, Behnam Taraghi and Martin Ebner
Educational Technology

hello!
I am
Mohammad
Khalil
You can find me:
@TuMohdKhalil Mohdkhalil.wordpress.com mohammad.khalil@tugraz.at
PhD Candidate

Where is our research Department located...
our department
Educational Technology
TUGraz, Austria
OER
MOOCs
Learning AnalyticsPersonalized Learning
Big Data
Adaptive Learning
Educational Data Mining
Technology Enhanced Learning
Lifelong Learning

1. MOOCs
The new generation of Distance Learning

MOOCs ?
Image from: http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/685689/file-3231367982-jpg/blog-files/massiveopenonline_620x400.jpg?t=1462361738877

To Summarize:
You can attend courses
from prestigious universities
for free

2. Learning Analytics
It is a data analytics...but in educational systems
like...MOOCs

“Collecting traces that learners leave behind and using
those traces to improve learning.
-Erik Duval

Learning Analytics
Data Collection
Mouse Clicks
Quizzes
Activity &
Engagement
Forums
Assignments
Video LEctures
Logins

Learning Analytics
Analysis &
Interpretation
Lackner, E., Khalil, M., Ebner, M. “How to foster forum discussions within MOOCs: A case study”, IJARE (in review).
Khalil, M., Ebner, M. (2016). “What Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) Stakeholders Can Learn from Learning
Analytics?”. Learning, Design & Technology. Springer International Publishing.

How does it look like?
Source: BME Solutions Ltd
iMooX Learning Analytics (iLAP)

Is it only great
like this?

The Good
X 9
The Bad
X 6
The Ugly
X 4
Learning Analytics of MOOCs ...

The GOOD
▸Prediction (... students at risk, performance...)
▸Recommendation (... suggest course, article...)
▸Visualization (... dashboards, plots...)
▸Entertainment (... Gamification elements...)
9

The GOOD
▸Benchmarking (... evaluate courses, difficulties...)
▸Personalization (... customize courses, notes...)
▸Enhance Engagement (... interventions for
subpopulations...)
▸Communicate Information (... statistical
analysis to different stakeholders…)
▸Cost Saving (... allocate resources effectively...)
9

The Bad
▸Security
○ Students Database security configuration is overlooked.
○ Achieve confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
▸Privacy
○ MOOC datasets may hold sensitive information.
○ Considered as a threat and constraint.
▸Ownership
○ Who owns the collected data?
6

The Bad
▸Consent
○ Declaration on data collection
○ Processed data usage, sell to third parties or research?
▸Transparency
○ Transparent of research or data usage
▸Storage
○ Storing big data can be costly and complex
○ European Directive 95/46/EC says personal data needs to
be stored no longer than necessary.
6

The Ugly
▸False Positives
○ Decisions based on small subset of data.
○ Forums activity as an example!
▸Fallacy Analytics
○ Analytics could fail!
○ Wrong predictions, interventions, visualizations...
▸Bias
○ Bias towards certain hypothesis leads to biased LA
▸Distill meaningful data
○ Pay efforts for ineffective results
4

Conclusion
▸Learning Analytics imply
high potential in MOOCs.
▸Code of practice is required
to carry out the optimum
outcomes.

Thanks!
any
questions
?
@TuMohdKhalil Mohdkhalil.wordpress.com mohammad.khalil@tugraz.at
Educational Technology
Presentation available on: http://elearningblog.tugraz.at & http://mohdkhalil.wordpress.com