The great diversity of the student body in Australian universities is reflected in students’ ages, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, motivations and experiences with technology. University teachers are also increasingly reliant on – and expected to use – a range of technologies to support student learning both on and off campus. In designing and delivering online learning activities to meet diverse student needs, teachers commonly face educational challenges. This project identified common problems faced by teachers and students when learning online, and determine the types of learning analytics teachers would find useful to effectively address these problems.

The project involved three phases:

  • Phase 1: The first phase of the project explored teachers’ views on how learning analytics could help them address known difficulties or problems with teaching and learning online.
  • Phase 2: In this phase a web-based analytics tool was developed that supported teachers to more easily interpret learning analytics to help them improve teaching and learning practices.
  • Phase 3: Once developed, the web-based analytics tool was trialled in four subjects across the University Melbourne, Macquarie University and the University of South Australia.

Through an active dissemination program, this project helped to realise the full potential of learning analytics, by providing university teachers with a better understanding of how analytics could be interpreted, applied and actioned.