Friday, March 29, 2013

Learning analytics, formative assessment and student data banking


If there are no targeted hints that students can ask for, if there is no targeted feedback, if there is no well-designed question, there is no semantic data.

There is a very interesting blog post (and an entry into the learning analytics universe that makes a number of important points about the types of data we need to capture from students in order to i) help them learn through coherent and useful suggestions, as well as to ii) to generate objective measures of what learning outcomes various courses and curricula (including MOOCs) actually achieve, as opposed to what they claim or presume to achieve.    


What can we do when we are empowered with this sort of semantic data and analysis?  Here are just some examples:  ... Use semantic analyses like learning curve analysis to identify areas where content needs to be improved

It also highlights the need for formative assessments that go beyond multiple choice questions, something that beSocratic is uniquely suited to do.  

Clearly something we need to incorporate into a useful educational tools (and student education bank) system.