Learning analytics, soft and hard

Analytics: soft and hard
Jon Dron, TEKRI, Athabasca University LAK11

We shape our dwellings and afterwards our dwellings shape our lives

Crowd teaching
1990s - collaborative filtering, tag clouds, social adaptation, recommender systems for learning (e.g. CoFIND)
2000s - social navigation, collective intelligence, crowd wisdom, controllable environments (e.g. Dwellings)
2010s - nature of social learning technologies (e.g. The Landing)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationallibrarynz_commons/3326203787/sizes/o/

teacher
designer
activity
group
set
net
learner
analytics
collect
compute
convey

Why learning analytics?
to help learning designers make effective changes
to help teachers know how learners are doing
to help learners know how they are doing
to help learners decide what to do next
to tell learners what to do next

What is a technology?

Technologies are assemblies

What is a learning technology?
Pedagogies
Methods
Processes
Techniques
learning designs
Organizational structures
Software
hardware
management systems
assessment systems
content

The dance of technology

Softness
Increasing the adjacent possible

Hardness
Makes things easier By reducing choice

Human
Flexible
Machine
Inflexible
Soft
Hard
Two views of soft and hard technology

Hard is easy

Soft is hard

Cognitivist/ behaviourist
Individual
controller
Social constructivist
Group
guide
Connectivist
Network
co-traveller
Wholist
Set
What the learner needs
Four generations of distance learning
Anderson & Dron, in press
generation focus teacher role

Individual
controller
Group
guide
Connectivist
Network
co-traveller
Wholist
Set
Postal service and telephone

Individual
controller
Group
guide
Connectivist
Network
co-traveller
Wholist
Set
Forums and the LMS

Individual
controller
Group
guide
Connectivist
Network
co-traveller
Wholist
Set
User generated, Web 2.0

Individual
controller
Group
guide
Connectivist
Network
co-traveller
Wholist
Set
Crowd intelligence, personalization, analytics

Individual
controller
Group
guide
Connectivist
Network
co-traveller
Wholist
Set
Soft
Hard

Soft for whom?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sGYULzoQCgA/SA6HEWNCB5I/AAAAAAAABeA/FTkqbqDd9do/s1600-h/1964-worlds-fair-schoolmarm.jpg

For example...

Developers
Course developers
Policy makers
Tutors
Students
System Administrators
Teachers
Learning Management Systems
Plugin developers
Soft
Hard

Developers
System Administrators
Course developers
Policy makers
Tutors
Students
...and everyone else
Teachers
Administrators
Alumni
Social networking system
Plugin developers
Soft
Hard

social networking tools are cool. BUT...

Soft is hard

Hard is easy

to help learning designers make effective changes
to help teachers know how learners are doing
to help learners know how they are doing
to help learners decide what to do next
to tell learners what to do next
Human - adaptable
Machine - adaptive
Soft
Hard

Some risks of analytics
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mob_Chase.JPEG
http://www.flickr.com/photos/osucommons/3226077133/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cornelluniversitylibrary/3855473015/in/set-72157622140446726/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationaalarchief/2948560477/sizes/o/

Softening analytics
scrutable, not opaque
signposts, not fenceposts
adaptable, not adaptive
aggregation, not integration
BUT....

Being in control
Choosing when to choose
Control
Choices

A target: Making the hard soft, making the soft hard (when we need them to be)
Soft
Hard
Soft
Hard

Assemblies

Some take-aways
Learning technologies are blends of soft and hard technologies
Softness increases the adjacent possible. Hardness increases efficiency and reduces error ( if we automated the right things)
Soft is hard and hard is easy - we need both
We need control over amount of hardness in all our technologies
Assemblies can give the best of both worlds

thank you
http://jondron.athabascaU.ca [email_address]

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Learning analytics, soft and hard

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