Do universities need to know which books students have read? How often they come to class? Or even when they contact their tutors? Universities say they can gain valuable information by tracking students’ behaviour online. The data collected can be used to not only enhance the student experience, but also identify top resources and understand how students from different background learn best.
But should universities be spending money on tracking and monitoring how students choose to learn? Is it ethical? And does it actually improve the student experience?
One project set up by Nottingham Trent University looked at four factors that signal student engagement – library use, card swipes into buildings, VLE use and electronic submission of coursework – and then analysed the progression and attainment of particular groups such as male or female, widening participation or third year students. They discovered that if a first-year student’s average level of engagement is low, then they were less likely to perform well in second year.
Another scheme, Co-Tutor, created by researchers at Loughborough University identifies how often students and staff meet up. It also helps staff know when it might be best to intervene by flagging up students who miss important lectures.
Monitoring student behaviour, however, is often hard to do without using that data to monitor the behaviour of staff too. And there’s a concern that we are at risk of bombarding staff with data about their students without actually showing them what it all means, or how they can use it.
Join us on Friday 10 July with data experts and academics to talk about the pros and cons of surveilling students – and whether universities can be trusted not to misuse data. The debate will run from 12-2pm GMT in the comments section below. To take part, create a Guardian comment account.
We plan to discuss:
- Pros and cons of monitoring students
- Transparency around and accessing personal data
- Impact on university staff
- Success stories and benefits
- Challenges and pitfalls
- Tips and advice on how to best use data
Panelists:
• Rob Englebright, learning technology adviser and developer at the University of Brighton @Rob_work
• Mandy Honeyman, associate lecturer, the Open University @mkh_at_work
• Michael Webb, director of technology and analytics, Jisc @technlytics
• Paul Brook, EMEA team lead: cloud & big data, Dell @paulbrookatDell
• Norman Shamas, director of pedagogy at TechChange, an online education company. He also teaches topics such as digital safety and privacy @NormanShamas
• Phil Sugden, senior functional business analyst for the student services department at the University of Derby
• Euros Jones, specialist in privacy and data protection, Weightmans LLP
Post any questions you have for the panelists below the line.
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