Letterkenny IT Digital Attendance Monitoring System

LYIT continuously strives to enhance the experience of its students. A key goal in this process is to improve student retention, in which in-class attendance has been found to play a significant role. Attendance was traditionally recorded on a paper-based system, with data being manually compiled and digitised. This proved to be both cumbersome and time consuming. Recognising that retention reporting would be best served by a user-friendly approach that would eliminate the need for paper-based documents, allow the creation
of records for lecturers and the transfer of data to administration staff for timely reporting, senior managers within LYIT sought the development of a bespoke digital attendance monitoring system.

Analytics Policy Development in IT Blanchardstown

IT Blanchardstown has long recognised the value of data for enabling an evidence-based approach to decision-making. Given an increasing interest in maximising the power of that data, but cognisant of the importance of using it in an ethical and sustainable way, the need was established for an institute-wide policy and strategy that would set boundaries and guidelines for operationalising learning analytics initiatives. It was a necessary first step in ensuring appropriate use of student data for learning analytics, and to collaboratively define
a roadmap for next steps in implementing data enabled student success initiatives.

Assessment Analytics at DCU

Coordinating module assessments across a semesterised programme is a recognised challenge of semesterised programmes. Within this context, DCU found that lecturers working independently to design and manage their module assignments could lead to a lack of coordination across programmes, potentially leading to an increase in student anxiety, particularly at key times. Responding to this challenge, and recognising the value of assessment data as a means of understanding students’ progress through their programme, DCU set out to develop a means of capturing, analysing and reporting on assessment data in order to effectively manage students’ workloads and to maximise the value of learner data as a resource for identifying students at risk of non-progression.

National Teaching Expert Learning Impact Awards

The national learning impact awards, co-ordinated through the National Forum, aim to support institutional efforts to promote, learn from and extend the reach of excellent practice in teaching and learning across all disciplines. Ireland has three learning impact awards, the student-led Teaching Hero Awards were completed in September 2014 and 2016, and one institution-led Teaching Expert Awards was initiated and presented in 2015. The third national learning impact award type, the discipline-focused DELTA Award. was prsented in 2017. This document describes the process and criteria for the Teaching \expert Awards.

Learning and Teaching in the European Higher Education Area

Trends 2018 provides an institutional perspective on the developments in the European Higher Education Area. It continues the work started by Trends 2015 in examining how European higher education institutions change and adapt their learning and teaching approaches in response to changing demand, technological and societal developments, and in consideration of European and national level policies and reforms.
A key point is how the implementation of learning outcomes and student-centred learning, central reform goals of the Bologna Process and the EU Modernisation Agenda has contributed to the enhancement of learning and teaching, and how, in turn, this has impacted institutional strategies and structures that support learning and teaching

Identifying Learning Analytics Questions

The fundamental role of Learning Analytics is to answer questions. These questions should provide actionable insights that institutions, teaching staff and students use to drive effective change. Identifying the initial question to be addressed is a key first step as it will dictate every other aspect of the institutional strategy.

This resource is intended to help institutions to review some questions they may wish to begin with as well as some of the data sources that may be used to provide answers. It is divided into questions designed to enable institutional insights, lecturer-facing insights and student-facing insights.

This resource should not be considered an exhaustive list, but rather a high-level guide to some of the popular applications of Learning Analytics. It should also be noted that the data recipes below are not the only means of answering the questions listed, they are merely suggested methods.

Institutions are also reminded that any use of personal data must be fully compliant with the conditions of the GDPR.

EFFect principles (International)

These 10 European Principles for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching were developed by the European Principles for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (EFFECT) Erasmus+ project team. They underpin the need to re-emphasise the education mission of the university. They aim to serve institutional leaders working with staff, students and external stakeholders to ensure the quality, relevance and attractiveness of higher education. More information on this project is available here. The IUA and the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning were partners on this project.