Learning analytics is everywhere nowadays. This is because it offers infinite opportunities to the world of academic and corporate learning and development.  Learning analytics is a huge area in which there are diverse tools, accomplishing diverse tasks. They are often considered as the learning analytics solutions. Learning analytics is an application of data gathering, analysis, measurement and reporting to L&D professionals and trainers with an aim to improve and optimize the learning experience and atmosphere for the learners.   As defined by 2016 Horizon Report[1], learning analytics is the educational application of the web analytics used for learner profiling; a process of collecting and evaluating the learners’ interaction processes in the online learning activities. This article highlights why learning analytics are important as well as the top 5 learning analytics being used across the industries.

Why Learning Analytics?

The key challenge of the instructional design as well as eLearning development is to determine the learners’ behavior. This way, the L&D professionals can develop a learning experience that delivers the most benefit to the learners, ensuring that each and every part of the learning course is assisting them towards accomplishing their goals and objectives. One of the most successful ways to gather this valuable data is using learning analytics.

Concerning learning, the data is collected while the learners are engaged in the learning experience. The analytics contains analysis as well as the reporting of this data. The vital data pieces are recorded throughout the learning course duration like learners’ score in a specific exam or quiz, or how fast they progress through a chapter or how many times they logged in or whether they participated in a discussion board etc. Simultaneously, learning analytics provide online instructors and facilitators a detailed look at how a learner performs, if she or he needs extra assistance with a specific subject or lesson, and even if she or he is likely to pass the course or not. This data is then used to create academic analysis and forecasts that help determine which learning content is suitable, useful or not relevant to the learners. This is fundamentally based on learner’s performance, personal interests and skill level.

Choosing Learning Analytics

While choosing learning analytics, remember that optimization is the ultimate goal of this kind of solution, making trainers’ and instructors’ lives easier to emphasize on what matters the most; learners and learning improvement.

So, here we present the 5 top learning analytics tools that greatly help optimizing the learning experience and learners’ progress.

  1. Wooclap

Wooclap is an audience response system tool that helps improve in-class learners’ engagement. It is a Belgian based app that enhances students’ learning through a playful mechanism of in-class quizzes app. This app also serves as a great learning analytics since it provides analytics to the instructors. The instructors are able to evaluate who responded what and how much time they consumed to answer. This analytic app also has a feedback wall so that students are able to communicate with their instructors and discuss their issues they are faced with. Hence, Wooclap is a nice qualitative data provider.

  1. YET Analytics

YET analytics is one of the most comprehensive learning analytics and visualization tools that is heavily used by freelance trainers and L&D professionals at companies. Having its platform built over Xapi, YET analytics offers a diverse range of visual analytics that help enhance learning content and learners’ understanding. It also offers valuable insights on role readiness, career pathing and talent development, and its advance engagement analytics are based on various learning ecosystems. Moreover, it delivers precise predictive analytics solutions to meet diverse learners’ needs.

  1. Bright Bytes

BrightBytes is often used by big organizations since it is based on a SaaS-based analytics platform, centered around four fundamental frameworks that gauge the technology effects in a learning setting. Its analytics tool helps evaluate how instructors and students make the most of technology for learning, study the devices’ availability and access to internet, measure the instructors’ and learners’ skill level with multimedia and assess learning culture, learners’ professional development and technology needs across the business.

  1. Knewton

Knewton is a US-based, impressive platform that facilitates adaptive learning via data analysis. By evaluating the learners’ real-time performance data, Knewton alta, its higher-end version, helps instructors adapt their learning and training content to each of the learners and monitor their progress. The platform also has its own online courses that are verified and automatically adapt to the progress of the learners. Moreover, Knewton delivers a complete learning analytics solution for businesses, emphasized on the best data insights that help educators improve and adapt their content effectively.

  1. Clever

Clever is one the fastest growing, US-based learning analytics being used in Edtech right now. Delivering a single sign-on tool to instructors and learners alike, to navigate between all the software and learning resources, Clever has recently launched its new product, named Goals.

First, Goals tool helps instructors define objectives for each of their learners such as activities to do, resources to utilize and so on. Then, it helps them track the students’ progress with accuracy. The students can also track their progress. Clever is a very interesting analytics solution to help students in the learning process and to keep a track of their personal engagement with the learning resources.

So, these were our top 5 learning analytics that we love to recommend. If you have already tried any of these, share your experience by commenting on this article.

 [1] https://library.educause.edu/resources/2016/2/2016-horizon-report

Copyright 2019 Bryant Nielson, all rights reserved

Previous articleDoes Your Company Need to Offer Online Learning?
Next article5 Ways to Take Advantage of the 80/20 Rule for Education
Bryant Nielson, Publisher and Managing Editor
http://www.YourTrainingEdge.com
Bryant Nielson is heavily involved in the Corporate Training and Leadership and Talent space. He currently is the Managing Director for CapitalWave Inc and the training division, Financial Training Solutions. He brings a diverse corporate experience of organizational development, learning and talent development, and corporate training, that also includes personal coaching of top sales individuals and companies of all sizes. For the prior 4 years, Bryant was the Managing Director and Leadership and Talent Manager for Lengthen Your Stride! LLC. In this position, Nielson was the developer of all of the courses for MortgageMae University (MMU), the Realtor Development Center (RDC), and of Lengthen Your Stride! (LYS). In that position, he developed material, refined over many years of use and active training, and condensed the coursework and training to be high impact, natural learning, and comprehensive. Bryant has over 27 years of Senior Management experience encompasses running his own Training and mortgage firm, in New York City. He strongly believes that the corporate training is not to be static but should 'engage and inspire' students to greater productivity and performance.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR