Competency 2.1

Competency 2.1: Describe the learning analytics data cycle.

Learning Analytics Data Cycle

The process of Learning Analytics is a cycle and not linear due to the fact that we need to revisit the steps according to the data and results.

I see the data cycle as follows:

Cleaning the data could be time consuming and challenging depending on the nature of data. If the data is not cleaned thoroughly, it will not produce accurate results. For example, a data set where duplicates are not removed when processed will not yield expected results.

Manipulating the data will help us make data easier to work with. We can change the set of data to deal with, reshape it to another form, reorder the data etc. according to our requirements.

Analyzing the data is to make sense of the data using different methods. It requires adding in possible transformations to process the data. Based on the analysis, prediction models can also be built for future data.

Viewing the data involves looking into the processes data/ results using various visualization techniques. A lot of visualization options are available to try and understand data.