Learning Analytics

The University is interested in the use of learning analytics for enhancing the student experience, course design and student attainment. Our project exploring this area of analytics began in 2014, and we continue to improve our understanding.

What is learning analytics?

Learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occurs...

       Society for Learning Analytics Research, 2024

Learning analytics is concerned with combining different types of data regarding student engagement and learning in order to better understand, and improve, the learning experiences of our students. Learning analytics can be particularly valuable when teaching at scale or online makes it more challenging for staff to know how their students are learning. 

Learning analytics and student data analysis hold great potential to address the challenges confronting educational institutions. By merging technical methods for data mining with educational theory research and practice, learning analytics offer novel and real-time approaches to assessing critical issues such as student progression and retention, 21st century skills acquisition and personalised learning. 

The University's learning analytics activities cross many disciplinary, organisational, practice, and research boundaries.  Our projects include work by the Centre for Research in Digital Education, Information Services, Student Systems, and the Institute for Academic Development. 

 

Information about the University's learning analytics policy.

Information about the University's use of learning analytics.

Information about some of the learning analytics projects, past and present, at the University of Edinburgh.

Information about learning analytics and data within our VLEs.

Further Information

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