Examining student views on the use of the learning analytics dashboard of a smart mooc

Abstract

In this study, the views of students using the adaptive dynamic intelligent tutoring system supported by learning analytics designed as smart MOOCs on the learning dashboard of the system were examined. The learning dashboard of the system in question shows the results of video analytics indicators, exam analytics indicators, and system usage indicators from the data obtained from students’ interactions with the system. In addition, the system’s learning dashboard provides the descriptive statistics results of the students and the predictive statistics results that can reveal the student’s status for the following weeks of the course. In other words, the student learning dashboard shows results that predict both the current and future situations. The research was carried out on 36 university students. The study’s data were obtained through the researchers’ semi-structured student opinions determination form. Content analysis was performed in the analysis of the data. The research findings reveal that the learning dashboard helps show the status of students’ engagement, seeing how much time they spend on the lesson and how often they study, telling what to do in terms of being successful in the future, and increasing student motivation. In addition, the visuals in the learning dashboard helped increase the intelligibility of the results of learning analytics, enabling the students to determine their own level and see where they are, allowing them to see the topics they learned well and to self-evaluate. The majority of the students stated that the learning dashboard has no disadvantages. A few students stated that insufficient results in the learning dashboard could lead to decreased student motivation. In line with the findings obtained from the research, a discussion was made about what should be considered in terms of learning dashboard design and its effective use, and various suggestions were made.