Data-informed VLE Engagement: Enhancing Student and Staff Engagement Through Learning Analytics at Dublin City University (DCU)

About this initiative

The DCU Analytics Project was conducted as part of the SATLE 2020 funding provided by the National Forum. The strategic focus of the funding was Transforming Teaching and Learning for Student Success.

The project focused on using learning analytics to enhance student success through creating, analysing and reflecting on learning analytics reports.

The overarching goal was to examine data available through DCU’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to evaluate and improve staff and student engagement.

Project Objectives

The project aimed to use data from the VLE to improve existing processes and provide continuing professional development (CPD) activities to enhance assessment quality and engagement with programmes.

The project consisted of three distinct approaches:

1. Enhancing the VLE through additional reporting functionality using publicly available Moodle plugins and internally developed plugins.
2. Creating reports to extract key data from the VLE.
3. Introducing a learning analytics initiative to enhance language learning.

Each approach was structured to measure staff and student engagement.

Implementation

Enhancing VLE Functionality

DCU enhanced its VLE through four plugins. These included a commercial analytics plugin providing over 100 analytics reports, the Configurable Reports plugin for developing reports internally, a self-assessment plugin enabling students to assess their skills and competencies, and an attendance plugin enabling staff to monitor classroom attendance. The project team recognised that the commercial plugin’s licence fee would not be sustainable beyond the project’s lifetime. The Configurable Reports plugin therefore enabled the team to develop its own reports, drawing inspiration from the commercial reports.

Restructuring the VLE

The project also involved restructuring the VLE to support meaningful reporting. Courses were organised by faculty, academic year and school, with previous courses moved into the appropriate sections. This enabled reporting on the current academic year and the previous three academic years, supporting longitudinal analysis. Student profiles were enhanced with programme names and academic years, while staff Moodle roles were updated to reflect actual positions.

Developing Analytics Reports

The team developed more than 15 reports throughout the project. Examples included reports examining the adoption of course templates designed to promote universal design, identifying which VLE features staff used or did not use, and supporting the collection of data required for professional accreditation. These reports also helped identify areas for targeted CPD and examples of staff expertise across the university.

Supporting Student Engagement Through Language Learning

The L2 Learning initiative was developed by DCU staff to support second-language learning among DCU students and students at seven partner institutions. It provided analysis of peer conversation exercises based on audio transcriptions from Zoom. Students received visual representations of their participation, including conversation flow and the proportion of conversations contributed by different participants. They could also replay recordings and reflect on their learning using e-portfolios.

Results and Impact

Improved Efficiency in Module Analysis

Before the project, staff spent two weeks manually analysing a sample of 300 modules across the university to assess course accessibility. Following the development of the analytics reports, more than 2,500 modules could be analysed in a matter of minutes, providing a more comprehensive picture of accessibility across the university.

Reduced Administrative Workload

The report supporting professional accreditation was estimated to save staff up to 500 hours per academic year within one faculty.

Streamlined External Examiner Processes

A report was developed to support external examiners by bringing together samples of continuous assessment submissions and lecturer feedback from modules across an entire programme.

Following a trial involving six programmes, the report was rolled out across all university programmes.

Increased Student Engagement in Language Learning

The L2 Learning initiative involved DCU and seven partner universities across five countries, with more than 500 participants.

The project reported tremendously positive student feedback and significant improvement in student engagement.

Sustainability

The project emphasised sustainability through the development of internally created analytics reports rather than continued reliance on a commercial plugin.

The reports were intended to inform future CPD activities and support improvements in existing processes.

The reports developed through the project were also made available to Moodle users worldwide, extending their availability beyond DCU.

Conclusion

The DCU Analytics Project used learning analytics to examine staff and student engagement within the VLE. Its activities included enhancing Moodle functionality, restructuring the VLE, developing analytics reports and supporting second-language learning.

Reported outcomes included more efficient analysis of course accessibility, reduced staff time required for accreditation reporting, streamlined external examiner processes, and positive feedback and improved engagement in the language learning initiative.

The project also established reporting functionality intended to remain available beyond the funding period.