The Evolution of Big Data and Learning Analytics in American Higher Education

By Anthony G. Picciano. 2012

440 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Data-driven decision making, popularized in the 1980s and 1990s, is evolving into a vastly more sophisticated concept known as big data that relies on software approaches generally referred to as analytics. Big data and analytics for instructional applications are in their infancy and will take a few years to mature, although their presence is already being felt and should not be ignored. While big data and analytics are not panaceas for addressing all of the issues and decisions faced by higher education administrators, they can become part of the solutions integrated into administrative and instructional functions. The purpose of this article is to examine the evolving world of big data and analytics in American higher education. Specifically, it will look at the nature of these concepts, provide basic definitions, consider possible applications, and last but not least, identify concerns about their implementation and growth. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Subfields: Computer Science Applications, Information Systems, Management Information Systems

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/707de524a7ae19d2fecb67089590172d91e90c9a

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Citations in the corpus

Big Data and analytics in higher education: Opportunities and challenges (2015, methodology): “…and operational data gathered processes aimed at assessing institutional performance and progress in order to predict future performance and identify potential issues related to academic programming, research, teaching and learning (Hrabowski, Suess & Fritz, 2011a, 2011b; Picciano, 2012).”
Using learning analytics to predict (and improve) student success: a faculty perspective (2013, methodology): “Data-driven decision making involves making use of data, such as the sort provided in Learning Management Systems (LMS), to inform educator’s judgments (Jones, 2012; Long & Siemens, 2011; Picciano, 2012).”
Learning Analytics Methods, Benefits, and Challenges in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review. (2016, background): “Picciano (2012) noted a lack of sufficiently trained database administrators and designers to address present needs.”