LA-SIG: Digging Deeper into the Ethical Use of Learning Analytics

7am Singapore/Hong Kong | 11am Auckland | Other time zones

Ensuring that learning analytics are used in an ethical way is a concept that learning analytics practitioners, teachers, designers, and researchers continue to grapple with as data becomes more prevalent in education. Building a shared understanding of how we can bring together research on this concept with policy and practice is key to being able to address this challenge.

In response, the ASCILITE Learning Analytics SIG team have put together a series of activities to explore the ethics of learning analytics in more detail. The series started with a discussion of a recent white paper on the ethical use of learning analytics in Australian higher education. Throughout March the LA SIG hosted an asynchronous discussion of the key issues that arise from the paper, followed by a panel of experts discussion (webinar) in mid-April. The LA SIG is currently preparing an online workshop focused on the topics that emerged from these conversations and the outcomes of the workshop will inform the development of a resource for the learning analytics and educational technology community.

In the first part of this talk, we will share some of the issues commonly raised by researchers and practitioners in the field. We will tackle topics that range from transparency and data ownership, to student agency and responsibility, as well as why privacy is instrumental in learning analytics. In the second part of the workshop, we will invite participants to join and further the conversation by exploring everyday uses of learning analytics and the ethical issues that can arise in relations to these. The outcome of this discussion will feed into the future workshop that will be held as a part of the “digging deeper” series.

Organizers: Srecko Joksimovic – University of South Australia; Hazel Jones – Griffith University; Linda Corrin – Swinburne University of Technology

Target audience: Practitioners, Researchers, Students

Target level: Introductory to intermediate

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/165417645631