Learning Analytics: A brief introduction

So what is Learning Analytics?  In brief, it’s the use of statistical analysis, data mining, and similar methodologies to improve student learning.  This can be done is a wide variety of ways.  For example, a detailed analysis of student demographics might find that certain groups of students are more likely to succeed in online versus traditional versions of the same course.  With this information, a university or department might attempt to guide students to the type of course which maximizes the likelihood that they will succeed.  Or we might conduct a detailed analysis of student performance throughout a course to look for identifiable predictors of difficulty.  Limited resources could then be targeted to specific students to more effectively influence outcomes.

Here’s a good overview.