learningTECH
Data-day view of learning
By Geoff Rebbeck
CLASSROOM KNOWLEDGE
CHECKERS PROVIDE A QUICK WAY
OF REGISTERING STUDENT CHOICES
AS A CLASS PROCEEDS.
A picture of how students are progressing can be
built up by using learning analytics. The challenge is
to make the information useful, says Tom Andrew
Half a lemon, two eggs and
180˚C. Three pieces of data which
in isolation mean very little. In the
context of making a cake, they
may be crucial. In a similar sense,
learning organisations gather lots
of data, often stored on separate
systems, serving a single purpose.
Now some organisations are
attempting to produce a detailed
picture of a learner’s progress by
bringing together this fragmented
data. Learning analytics, as it’s
known, is an emerging concept
which is gathering pace across
the world.
In the UK, Jisc (formerly the
Joint Information Systems
Committee) has been working for
the past three years to develop
a solution which will be off ered
to learning providers. So far, 50
organisations are participating.
The purpose of this is not to
develop a ‘big brother’ system,
but to make use of the data we
already have to improve teaching
and learning by understanding
our students better.
The challenge is making sense
of this data and transforming
it into useful information.
Attendance and punctuality data
are obvious examples. But what
about library loans? VLE usage?
Time spent on campus when not
in class?
The key to big data is to look for
patterns. Do learners who never
visit the library make less progress
than those who do? Is there an
academic impact on travelling
more than an hour to college?
You may already be able to off er
an opinion on those questions
through your own experience,
but this project is attempting
to examine the data and find how
we can better act and respond
to learners’ needs.
Tom Andrew
is the learning
technology and
innovation
coordinator at
Aylesbury
College. He was
a runner-up in
the Association
for Learning
Technology’s
Learning
Technologist
of the Year
2015 and
Turnitin’s Global
Innovation
Awards 2016.
Visit his website
at goo.gl/
OmkyMY
To fi nd out more on
learning analytics in
the UK visit
goo.gl/1kHyHc
TONY GILBERT IS A COMPUTING LECTURER AT NEW COLLEGE
SWINDON AND A MEMBER OF SET
New College Swindon has been using Kahoot! to increase learner engagement in class.
This is a free tool which can be accessed online. There are over 13 million ready-made
quizzes or tutors can create their own.
Kahoot! is a fun game using a series of multiple-choice questions.
Students receive points on answering correctly within a given time,
and it quickly becomes very competitive. Each student needs a
device with internet connection to log in to the game. The tutor
also requires a device with a projector to use Kahoot!.
The tutor can run the game manually and discuss the answers
in more detail between questions, or run the game automatically.
The results are instantly shown to the learners and the tutor can
also download a Microsoft Excel file for further assessment
records. Students love the competitive nature of the game
and a lot of students request tutors use Kahoot! in lessons
either as a starter or plenary activity.
Read more about Kahoot! at goo.gl/bXzcCs
Plickers is a knowledge checker
that has gained a following for its
simplicity and the ability to use it
without students needing personal
devices. A set of square cards are
distributed to students who hold
them up when asked. Which way
they hold them up triggers one of
four possible choices that the teacher
registers with a mobile device.
goo.gl/EYUZJJ
XtLearn is a reliable service allowing
you to curate collections, and gather
great resources around a subject
or theme that resize on any screen
size. Apart from adding owned
and found content to a collection,
XtLearn includes access to all the
old excellent National Learning
Network (NLN) materials that were
always a good indexing system
away from being top notch.
Collections are excellent in
supporting fl ipped learning.
goo.gl/ub2ncb
For an end-of-year project for your
students, suggest they create a
‘video/audio/image selfi e online
time capsule’ about their lives, using
Pearltrees. It needs some thought
as they will talk to every generation
of their families to come for the rest
of time! goo.gl/0lzTUo
And don’t forget the excellent and
free Citizen Maths. Not particularly
well known outside the Maths
fraternity, they are free, bite-sized
lessons aimed at boosting
confi dence in using the maths of
everyday life. goo.gl/oB7QUZ
Geoff Rebbeck is a teacher in
further and higher education. He is
a Fellow of SET and a multi-award
winning expert in e-learning. Visit
Geoff ’s website at goo.gl/Rbf9TX
INTUITION ISSUE 28 • SUMMER 2017 29