A look at the current state of UK Moodle usage from a sample of colleges, universities and businesses in 2015.

1. “BigDataSmallDataTrendyData”
Lewis Carr
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

2. Background
This presentation and its findings are part of a
study I have been conducting for the past
year.
With the help from the UK Moodle Community,
FE Colleges, ex-colleagues, work-based
learning providers, small businesses, friends
and well wishers.
Goals of the Project:
To find out how we are really using Moodle
and how we can use data to make predictions
and shape the future of our online delivery.
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

3. Big Data and Industry
Analytics
How my digital profile knows more
about me than...me!
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

4. Have I sold my soul to the data mining devil?
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

5. Supermarket Analytics
How my physical footprint leaves a digital
footprint
And even how the weather influences what I buy
Supermarket chains now receive detailed data
on 2/3 of all shopping baskets.
Such data shapes our spending habits and build
customer profiles.
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

6. Did you know?
When UK Temperatures rise 4c
Beef burger sales increase by
42%
When UK Weekend
Temperatures rise 10c rise
BBQ meat sales increase 300%
& Coleslaw by 50%.
Demand for vegetables drops
25%
Cold weather increases sales of
cauliflower soup, long life milk,
sausages and root vegetables.
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

7. Moodle Data
Moodle is a data mining beast.
The log files alone provide a wealth of information that
allows us to draw conclusions and make learner
predictions.
Interest in learning analytics has been fuelled partly by
the recent rise in popularity of MOOCs.
MOOCs generate enormous sets of learner activity
data that can be used to develop analytics.
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

8. What I tried to discover
Which tools are used most?
Which tools are most preferred by learners?
When do teachers create content?
How often do users login to Moodle?
When do learners access courses?
What is the most engaging Moodle tool?
...what does the online behaviour of an active student look like?
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

9. Most popular resources (hits)
Assignment 46%
File 28%
URL 9%
Forum 8%
Quiz 4%
Folder 3%
Lesson 2%
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

10. So we need to create more files and
Assignments? And less quizzes and lessons
right?
WRONG.
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

11. Most engaging resources (resource count/no.of resources)
Assignment 29%
Quiz 26%
Lesson 21%
Forum 11%
Folder 6%
File 4%
URL 3%
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

12. Building a better picture
Files are popular with students
simply due to the sheer number
of them.
Often it is all a student has
access to.
Quizzes, lessons and forums
have a much higher “hit rate”
when we compare averages.
(Hits / number of resources)
Students tend to revisit quizzes
and lessons more than they do
files.
Proving that self-assessment
increases learner engagement.
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

13. What is the most
engaging tool in use on
Moodle?
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

14. Messaging
Astonishingly, Moodle messaging is 4x more
engaging for learners than any other course tool
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

15. When are teachers building course content?
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

16. When are teachers building course content?
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Start of Term
Christmas
Start of Term
Exams
Holidays
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

17. Some other useful discoveries
On mature Moodle sites (3 years plus)
Resources (file uploads) decrease annually by
15%
On mature Moodle sites (3 years plus)
The creation of other activities decreases by
2%
-15% -2%
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

18. Course Activity by students
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

19. Course Activity by students
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Assignments!!
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

20. Our top 50 learners (most loyal customers)
Our most active/engaged learners access 13
courses on average
13
courses
91
days
Our most active/engaged learners access
Moodle 91 days in the year
(twice per week, more during term time)
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

21. Site Logins
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

22. Interesting discovery
Logins double in the second year of running
Moodle
x2
logins
3
years
Logins average out on Moodle sites that have
been running longer than 3 years.
The trend/shape of the graph is almost a
mirror image of the previous year.
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

23. What does all this data tell us?
We need to adapt
messaging into our
teaching practices
and activities
We need more
quizzes, lessons
and forums
Moodle usage is
driven by term
calendars
We need more
student engagement
in Dec, April & June

24. Supermarket Strategies - getting to know your
customers better
Strategy 1
Customer-driven offers and
promotions.
Strategy 2
Improving aisle layouts and
planograms with market basket
analysis.
Strategy 3
Shelf life management and
replenishment planning.
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

25. e-Learning Strategies - getting to know your
students better
Strategy 1
Student-driven landing pages,
conditional release of content
and better notifications.
Strategy 2
Improving course layouts with
Moodle usage reports &
analysis.
Strategy 3
Course content management
and replenishment planning.
Deciding what resources suit
which learners and when to
release them.Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr

26. Corporate Use of Moodle
Learners enrolled on
an average of just 2
courses
Quizzes (70%),
SCORM (20%) &
forums the most
popular tool used
Logins consistent
throughout the year
except Dec & July
Learners
engagement
between 30 and 40
days

27. End of Presentation
Lewis Carr | @lewiscarr