EADTU-EU Summit 2024

1. Towards Personalized
Education
Facing Big Data challenges for actionable learning
and teaching.
Dr. Ir. Roland Ettema
Zuzanna Glogowska MSc.

2. • The Information Expertise Center (IEC) at the Open University (OU) operates
on a "hub and spoke" model.
• This model features a central team, the "Hub," focused on data-driven
innovation, closely linked with various decentralized work teams, the
"Spokes."
• The IEC facilitates collaboration and exchange of best practices and data
among teams through the central hub.
• It offers flexibility in allocating analytics resources to optimize innovation
realization, productivity, and knowledge sharing among work teams.
• The Hub plays a vital role in talent strategy and development, ensuring the
right deployment of resources to the Spokes and facilitating data and
knowledge sharing across the organization.
INFORMATION EXPERTISE CENTER (IEC)
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3. Context: a new LMS (Brightspace) in 23/24 operational
Dream: Education shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all experience but
tailored to individual needs and aspirations.
Focus: we delve into the realm of personalized education,
exploring the technical challenges lurking beneath
the surface.
Agenda topics:
1. Tracking Learning Progress
2. Aggregating Diverse Learning Paths
3. Clustering Students in Mass Approach:
NEW DATA, BIG AMBITIONS AND NEW CHALLENGES
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4. 12/5/24
Raw, Unstructured, and Messy Data
Actionable Information
Categorized Data
Sorted Data
Arranged & Filtered Data
Visually Presented Data
Explained Data
Our Focus in
this presentation
Dealing with data

5. Tracking learning
Dealing with approx.
15.000 learners path data.

6. pagina 6
Using Big Data for actionable learning and
teaching
How can we compare diverse learners' paths
over different course contents?
Our LMS Data
400
Courses
35000
Topics
9000
Modules
100000
Learning Activities
Our Challenge
COURSE STRUCTURE STANDARDIZATION – THE CHALLENGE

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Using Big Data for actionable learning and
teaching
Reading Course Content Watching a knowledge clip Categorizing Content based on
Topic Activities
Beginning
Orienting
Reading
Executing
Participating
Feedback
Assessment
Finishing
From 100.000 Data Points to 9 Categories
COURSE STRUCTURE STANDARDIZATION – CATEGORIZING

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Using Big Data for actionable learning and
teaching
COURSE STRUCTURE STANDARDIZATION – MAPPING PRACTICALITIES AND SAMPLE USAGE
Example Topic Title Mapping
Learning Unit, Chapter, Study Unit  Mapped to “Reading - Study Content”
Tool Linkage
(Quiz, Assignment, etc.)
File Extension
(.ppt, .xlsx, .py, etc.)
External Tools
(Kaltura, Ans, etc.)
Topic Title
(Mapping on keywords)
4 steps of data mapping

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Using Big Data for actionable learning and
teaching
FOLLOWING STUDENTS THROUGH THE COURSE STRUCTURES
The Data
1.2 million aggregated events (From 01.06.2023 until today)
The Challenge
How can we follow the students in their learning journey?
Orienting Reading Reading Assessment Reading Orienting Executing PASS
Finishing Reading Reading Orienting Reading Assessment Executing PASS
Expectation
Reality

10. Aggregating Diverse
Learning Paths
Aggregating data to informative data
that teachers understand

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Using Big Data for actionable learning and
teaching
FOLLOWING STUDENTS THROUGH THE COURSE STRUCTURES
Passive Passive Passive Active Passive Passive Active PASS
Passive Passive Passive Passive Passive Passive Passive FAIL
Active Active Active Active Passive Passive Active PASS
Categorizing Content
based on Topic Activities
Beginning
Orienting
Reading
Executing
Participating
Feedback
Assessment
Finishing
Categorizing Content
based on Type of Activity
Passive
Active
Process Map: Active - Passive
Process Map: Course Planning Conformance

12. Clustering Students for a
mass approach
Is clustering a feasible and accessible
technique?

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Using Big Data for actionable learning and
teaching
CLUSTERING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Expectation
Source: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2014)
Reality

14. pagina 14
CLUSTERING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Obtaining a Certificate Taking an Exam
Activity Type: Orienting Activity Type: Doing
Blue:
Certificate Not Obtained
Green:
Certificate Obtained
Red:
Certificate Obtained
Red:
Took an exam
Other Color:
Did not take an exam
Blue Shades:
Did less than 2 Orienting activities
Red:
Did More than
16 Orienting activities
Green:
Did between 7 and 12
Orienting activities
Blue Shades:
Did less than 13 Activities
Green:
Between 25 - 38 activities
Orange/Red:
More than 50 activities

15. Thank you!
Roland Ettema
Zuzanna Glogowska